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This study compares the short-term behaviour of finance directors the UK and in Japan, in the context of their corporate governance systems, using the funding, structure and evaluation of Research and Development (R&D) projects as indicators. The empirical part of the study consists of two questionnaire studies carried out in the UK and Japan. A number of personal interviews were also carried out with UK and Japanese senior finance managers. The results of the study indicate different management behaviour with respect to short-termism in the UK and Japan. There is a statistically significant difference in perceptions between the finance directors of two countries. Managers in both countries appreciate and would like to use long term performance criteria to assess and manage R&D projects. In practice however, Japanese finance directors are much better protected from short-term pressures than their UK counterparts in dealing with most aspects of their management R&D. These differences in behaviour are identified and possible reasons for them are offered in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although much has been made of the trend towards knowledge and technology outsourcing by firms and organisations, few studies have attempted to analyse the specific factors associated with the decision to use external technological knowledge sources in the innovation process. This paper outlines some key results from a study of the practices of a number of UK firms and organisations and the development of a Decision Support Framework (DSF) model, to aid understanding of the decision-making process surrounding the external sourcing of technological knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]