2. RDI challenges

The stakes involved in RDI are primarily economic: at macro-economic level, they reflect the strategy of Western governments in their quest for technological advantage; at company level, they reflect the need to improve operating margins. In 1921, American economist Franck Knight established the sources of profit . Three types of activity can be distinguished:

• chronic activity: the company produces objects or services whose manufacture and sale are almost certain. Production is massive and margins low. Many craft businesses fall into this category;

• risky activities:...