Established in 1970, R&D Management is today one of the leading journals of the technology and innovation management (TIM) field that spans the business and management subject areas. It publishes innovative research with high academic interest. This paper reviews the journal's history and the major contributions of its first 40 years, examines its present position in the context of TIM literature, and then looks at the factors which might affect the journal in the future. Descriptive and nonparametric bibliometric methods are used to examine the historic performance of the journal and the field, its current position, and the factors shaping future development.