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. Notes Work on this project has been supported by the Volkswagen Foundation. My thanks to the staff of the archive of the Bayer AG, Leverkusen, Germany, especially to Mr Pohlenz and Mr Pogarell, and to the staff of the Hagley Museum and Library in Wilmington, Delaware, USA. I am indebted to Dr Peter Morris, Science Museum London, Dr Helmut Trischler, Deutsches Museum, Munich, Prof. Dr. Ulrich Wengenroth, Technische Universität München, Declan O'Reilly, Cambridge University, and David Hounshell, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, for their help and useful comments.