When discussing international strategies, is it reasonable to consider a business to be composed of 4 ‘super’ functions: operations, marketing, support services, and research and development (R&D)?

When discussing international strategies, is it reasonable to consider a business to be composed of 4 ‘super’ functions: operations, marketing, support services, and research and development (R&D)? Is it reasonable to make the distinction that the first three functions are concerned with on-going activities and the present, whereas R&D is concerned with the future, and thus R&D can be treated separately?

When international strategies, in my opinion, Research and Development (R&D) should not be treated as a separate entity. The main argument that I would present here is the fact that international strategies are too important for the growth of an organization. Different function like operation, marketing, support services and research and development must be working simultaneously with each other and in close collaboration. I mean how we can define a future without a focus on the operations, marketing and support services. These three functions should be used as a guide when conducting the Research and Development function for future growth.