Strategies for success: Research organization in German chemical companies and IG Farben until 1936*

Abstract

Merging six leading chemical companies to form one single enterprise meant also finding adequate ways to coordinate more than 1000 research chemists in more than 50 laboratories scattered all over Germany. IG Farben was successful in organizing corporate research by using the experience and structures of the former independent companies. In the corporate innovative process, the applied works laboratories, the large Technical Stations and semi‐works were of much greater importance than has so far been realized. Their existence goes well back into the late 19th century, but their role has been neglected. In analyzing the research structures of the core chemical companies in Germany until 1925, we find IG's organization anticipated. Though IG used most of the traditional instruments of the former companies, it pursued a much more active research and product policy than known today and developed its own concepts of organized research, which were in contrast to those of its competitors, DuPont in the USA and ICI in Great Britain.

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