AT&T provides equity, access to operating systems technology, low cost manufacturing capabilities, and credibility. Kyocera, a Japanese manufacturer of ceramic packaging for the semiconductor industry and other high technology products, also provides equity as well as access to the Asian market, sophisticated packaging technology and manufacturing capability. And British & Commonwealth, a London-based shipping conglomerate, [...]

As competition continues to grow in technology-based industries, strategic relationships will become ever more important. Industry shakeouts are inevitable. Not all 500 computer companies and 10,000 software companies will survive. Small companies have to ask themselves whether they can go it alone without the resources and credibility offered by larger companies. For companies that start [...]

The product-creation process breaks down into four stages:
Basic research. Although most industrial advances rely on progress in basic research, industry funds very little of this work. Basic research seeks to answer fundamental scientific questions, such as the internal structure of matter or the properties of human-body proteins. It is a long and uncertain process. No [...]