Two factors weigh heavily against the effectiveness of scientific research in industry.
One is the general atmosphere of secrecy in which it is carried out, the other the
lack of freedom of the individual research worker. In so far as any inquiry is a
secret one, it naturally limits all those engaged in carrying it out from
effective contact with their fellow scientists either in other countries or in
universities, or even, often enough, in other departments of the same firm.
The degree of secrecy naturally varies considerably. Some of the bigger firms
are engaged in researches which are of such general and fundamental nature
that it is a positive advantage to them not to keep them secret. Yet a great
many processes depending on such research are sought for with complete secrecy
until the stage at which patents can be taken out. Even more processes are
never patented at all but kept as secret processes. This applies particularly
to chemical industries, where chance discoveries play a much larger part than
they do in physical and mechanical industries. Sometimes the secrecy goes to
such an extent that the whole nature of the research cannot be mentioned.
Many firms, for instance, have great difficulty in obtaining technical or
scientific books from libraries because they are unwilling to have their
names entered as having taken out such and such a book for fear the agents
of other firms should be able to trace the kind of research they are
likely to be undertaking.
Such secret methods would be really effective, however unethical,
only if those turning out the secret research had a personal interest
in its secrecy. But here the system defeats itself. The general
suppression of the results of industrial scientific research by the
firms concerned has a depressing effect on the research worker.