Abstract :
Strategies for information gathering that go beyond just reading journals and attending conferences are examined. Among them are the use of electronic mail, visiting other companies, circulating reports within the company, and communicating with marketing departments. The practice of bootlegging time, equipment, and materials to keep a line of research out of the internal information flow, at least temporarily, because of a special insight into and conviction about the value of a field (even if it happens to be at variance with what top managers may see as important) is discussed.<>