Thomas Edison as a manager of R&D: the case of the alkaline storage battery, 1898-1915

Abstract

From 1898 to 1915, Thomas Edison devoted the resources of his laboratory in the US to developing an alkaline storage battery. Initially, Edison intended that this battery would be used in electric automobiles, but technical problems prevented him from introducing his battery before this market disappeared. It is argued that in the course of this invention Edison modified his style and approach. In particular, Edison became less of a tinkerer and more of a research director supervising a team of college-trained chemists and engineers. As a research director, Edison motivated his experimenters by using informal management techniques and he insisted on keeping research closely connected to manufacturing. Most of all, his approach shifted from being divergent in which he tried many solutions, to being convergent, in which he directed experiments toward a highly specified goal.>

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