An analysis and experiences on the management of international and joint R&D projects

International and joint R&D projects have been gaining due attention from large‐scale companies all over the world, especially with the development of new production concepts and technologies and internationalization of operations such as manufacturing, projects, and services. The major issues that confront the international R&D projects are the management focus, the strategic approach and methods for improving the effectiveness of international and joint R&D projects. In this paper, a conceptual model is developed to discuss these issues. Then, the experiences of Finnish large‐scale companies on international R&D projects are presented with help of the conceptual model. Based on the literature review and the experiences of Finnish international firms, a framework has been offered for successfully managing international and joint R&D projects.