The Interdependence of Science and Business

Science has been the foundation for many of the most significant technological advancements across the globe. From new drug treatments and energy production to the latest computer chip technology. While innovation is the driving factor behind science but business is about making money and keeping shareholders satisfied. Traditionally, the business and science worlds have been thought of as separate entities. Both are interconnected and it is impossible to separate their impact on business from the effect of research.

While the business world is primarily concerned with making money, its long-term consequences can have significant social, environmental and economic impacts. Science is likewise concerned with the impacts of its actions in particular its decisions about the exploitation of resources and sustainability. A shrewd business, for instance, will exploit a resource to the level that is scientifically sustainable. However, greedy businesses have led to over-exploitation of natural resources and ecological catastrophe.

We have categorised the many ways that corporations attempt to influence science at the macro as well as meso-levels, and mapped the intended effects and outcomes of these strategies (TL carried out the initial codification, AG second-coded 20 per percent of the papers). We found that companies employ five macro-level strategies to decrease the perceived credibility of favourable research findings and increase the credibility of favorable scientific findings. These strategies are implemented through meso strategies that in time, can skew the evidence base in favor of industry. This eventually leads to three distal outcomes: to raise doubt about the potential harms posed by industry-related products and practices, to encourage policies that favor industry and to maximize the use, consumption and sales of industry products and services, thereby maximising corporate profits.

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