Organizational transformation
The organizational transformation was intended to increase the R&D performance of the corporate R&D center in terms of both the commercialization of R&D projects and the generation of important patents. That performance increased dramatically. Among 79 recently completed R&D projects, 33 were transferred successfully to business units and contributed to commercial value creation. Another 15 R&D projects are now in the process of commercialization. The remaining R&D projects succeeded technically but not commercially. More surprising was the change in patenting--foreign patent applications reached 85 percent of all patent applications in 2004, about four times the 1997 figure of 19 percent.