The Interdependence of Science and Business
From the development of new drug therapies and energy production to computer chip technology Science has provided the foundation for many of the world’s most important technological innovations. While innovation is what drives research, business is about profit and keeping shareholders satisfied. Business and science were traditionally thought of as two distinct realms. However, the two are interconnected, and it is impossible to isolate the impact of research in science from its business implications.
While business is focused on profit, the long-term ramifications of its decisions can have significant environmental, social, and economic impacts. Science is also concerned with the impact of its decisions in particular its decisions about resource exploitation and sustainability. A wise business, for instance, will exploit a resource at the level that science deems sustainable. However, greedy business have led to the over-exploitation of natural resources and ecological catastrophe.
We have codified the expected results and the consequences of these strategies. (TL did the initial code and AG coded 20% of the papers). We found that corporations employ five macro-level strategies, which work together to diminish the credibility of skeptical science and to increase the value of favourable science. These strategies are implemented via meso-strategies which, over time, skew evidence in favour of the industry. This ultimately works to produce three distal outcomes-to cast doubt about the potential harms of industry products and practices, promote policies that favor industry and to boost the use, consumption, and sales of industry products and services, thus increasing profits for corporations.