Morphological analysis in agricultural R&D: A technologist's approach to the definition and economic evaluation of technologies

The research scientist, the planner, and the R&D manager require a methodology that can compose a wide range of technological options within a realistic production system context and subject these options to a comprehensive, multi-parameter economic analysis. A technologically-oriented approach to the generation and ex-ante assessment of technologies is developed for this purpose in an agricultural R&D context. The approach is based on morphological analysis, in which a production process is defined as a series of tasks each of which can be accomplished by one or more alternative techniques. The model is customized for any specific production system using information provided by technology experts. This information is received in the language of the technologist, structured in a way that promotes an holistic view of the system, and processed to answer the needs of the economic evaluator. The model has been well received by technologists in the analysis of about a dozen diverse R&D projects.     

Networks and the Decision to Persist with Underperforming R&D Projects

Drawing on aspiration level theory and the networks literature, this paper develops a model toward decision makers' persistence with underperforming R&D projects based on the perceived properties of their personal network. The assumption is that positive feedback from network partners motivates persistence, and that this effect is multiplied when the decision makers' network is larger and denser, when network ties are predominantly strong, and when communication frequency within the network is high. The model is tested by a field experiment and conjoint methodology. Analysis of 1632 persistence decisions nested within 51 scientists responsible for R&D projects reveals that more positive feedback enhances persistence of underperforming R&D projects, and that this effect becomes stronger with increasing network size, network density, and communication frequency. These findings extend the project management literature by focusing on the social environment of the decision maker as one so far neglected factor in empirical studies on persistence decisions. Moreover, this study is among the first to investigate contingency relationships between feedback received from network partners and network structure. Finally, while most studies have emphasized that individuals and organizations can profit from their engagements in social networks, this paper suggests a potential dark side of networks by showing that networks can encourage decision makers to persist with their investment in an underperforming—and potentially failing—project. These results can help project managers involved in networking activities to better understand the effects of these activities on their decision policies, and thus draw better and more accurate decisions. Second, this study provides insights into how organizational strategy with respect to dissemination of R&D results and involvement of the organization's R&D managers in the scientific community influences the persistence of underperforming R&D projects, and thereby the organization's R&D expenditures. This can assist top managers to design financial controls and allocate financial resources to managers of underperforming R&D projects in line with the organization's networking strategy.     

Development and application of a new methodology of evaluating industrial R&D projects

This paper proposes a new methodology of evaluating industrial R&D projects to assess the effectiveness of future R&D in terms of financial credibility, to prioritize them efficiently by clear criteria to reduce the time and burden consumed by both project leaders and management staffs. A new methodology has been developed and applied to all Sumitomo Electric Industries (SEI) R&D projects, and is recognized as a useful system for evaluating many R&D projects in a short period, such as 150 projects per month.     

Strategies for Linking Vertical Cooperative R&D to Commercialization in Korea

Since 1982, the government of Korea has actively promoted vertical cooperative R&D programs between government-sponsored research institutes (GRIs) and private firms. A number affirms participated in the programs because cooperative R&D could lower the risk and could contribute to rapid commercialization of many technologies. In this article, Chulwon Lee, Zong-Tae Bae, and Jinjoo Lee examine the effectiveness of participant firms' strategies for commercial utilization of cooperative R&D results, from the viewpoint of technology sourcing at the project level. The data have been obtained from 162 cases of vertical cooperative R&D projects from a diverse group of industries in Korea. Three different commercialization strategies are empirically derived through cluster analysis of the relative usage rates of cooperative R&D and of other supplementary technology acquisition methods. They find that the effectiveness of these strategy clusters varies significantly according to the types of innovation, that is, project-business relatedness. If the project belongs to an existing business area, in-house development augmented cooperative R&D strategy is the most effective. On the other hand, licensing-in supplemented cooperative R&D strategy is the most successful, if the project belongs to a new business area. Findings suggest that firms participating in cooperative R&D projects should try to utilize other supplementary technology acquisition methods in order to achieve commercial utilization of cooperative R&D results.     

R&D management through network mapping: using the Internet to identify strategic network actors in cooperative research networks

Most R&D management techniques to date have emphasized the immediate organizational context or the internal structure and process of the R&D project. Recently however attempts have been made at situating R&D management in a wider context of inter‐organizational R&D activities. This paper presents the technique of R&D network mapping as a means of providing strategic intelligence to the R&D manager. The paper backgrounds this technique with a discussion of the general issue and significance of R&D networks. A methodology for R&D network mapping is then exemplified by outlining how a network database of cooperating projects and institutes in the telecom research sector was built by utilizing the World Wide Web. Finally a number of suggestions are made as to how and when network mapping should be applied in strategic R&D management.     

R&D as an option on market introduction

Discounted cash flow methods for making R&D investment decisions cannot properly capture the option value in R&D. Since market and technology uncertainties change expectations about the viability of many new products, the value of projects is frequently adjusted during the R&D stages. Capturing the adjustment in expectations has an option value that may significantly differ from the Net Present Value of R&D projects. However, there are no historic time series for estimating the uncertainty of the value of R&D projects. As a result, the standard Black and Scholes model for financial option valuation needs to be adjusted. The aim of this paper is to report the application of a particular option pricing model for setting the budget of R&D projects. The option value of the model captures jumps or business shifts in market or technology conditions. The approach originates from applying current insight into the valuation of R&D projects to the field of multimedia research at Philips Corporate Research. This way, the gap between real option theory and R&D practice is further diminished.     

Partner technological heterogeneity and innovation performance of R&D alliances

This study investigates the impacts of partner technology heterogeneity on innovation performance of alliance firms both in terms of R&D output and the enhancement of partners’ innovation capability. We apply a generalized semi-parametric model on a questionnaire survey result of 413 High and New Technology Enterprises in China. In order to ensure the robustness and practicability of our result, PCA is applied to extract comprehensive information and SiZer analysis is employed to test the linearity and significance of the nonparametric functions in the model. Our results indicate that collaborations between partners with different industry technologies exert inversed U-shaped R&D output pattern and affect very little the innovation ability of focal firms. The impact of industry domain divergence is no longer significant when partner technology heterogeneity is added in the model of analysis. Partner technology heterogeneity leads to an ascending S-shaped R&D output pattern and contributes positively to innovation capabilities. One of the implications of our findings is that when choosing R&D alliance partners, firms are better off avoiding candidates from a different industry domain but opt for potential collaborators who are in the same industry but in the different technical domain, which may facilitate more effective organizational learning. Further, we argue that the reasons behind the S-shaped R&D output pattern led by technology heterogeneity being the co-existence of competition and cooperation between partners where firms collaborate in value-creation by combining diverse resources and compete for acquiring partner’s distinct technology and resources. Therefore, we suggest that, for the sustainability of collaborative innovation outcome, both cooperation and competition amongst alliance partners should be encouraged and well balanced at different stages of joint R&D projects.     

System modeling of the R&D domain through the object–process methodology: a practical tool to help R&D satisfy its customers' needs

Research and Development is an intricate process involving a host of challenging technological frontiers. This paper presents a practical tool to help R&D personnel satisfy the needs of customers by a systematic evaluation of R&D performance. To establish a sound methodology for R&D performance evaluation, we employ the object-process analysis (OPA) part of the object–process methodology. Using OPA, we gradually expose the constituents of the R&D system, its environment and the interaction between them. Through this systematic top-down refinement, we provide a comprehensive generic view of the R&D domain. The framework presented in the paper allows the user to describe, order, and inter-relate the issues that R&D managers should consider when managing, evaluating and planning R&D. As the approach addresses structure and behaviour in a unified, integrated manner, the analysis provides insights into both the static and dynamic aspects of the R&D domain and establishes a solid basis for its enterprise modeling.     

Stakeholder analysis for R&D project management

R&D projects affect the interests of different stakeholders in different ways. Understanding the stakeholders and analysing their interests helps in the better management of R&D projects. In this paper we discuss a methodology to systematically analyse the stakeholders of R&D projects. This methodology includes Freeman's (1984) three levels of analysis: rational, process and transactional. Based on these three levels, the stakeholder management capability of an R&D project is determined. The final stage is based on Mitchell et al . (1997) approach to analysing the dynamics of stakeholders. This methodology is illustrated using a New Zealand case relating to a road pricing R&D project.     

An SAO‐based text‐mining approach for technology roadmapping using patent information

A technology roadmap (TRM) links technologies with a company's strategic objectives and so supports acquisition of required technologies in advance of needs. It is a powerful tool for strategic planning and technology management. Because technology is changing rapidly and market competition is fierce, the role of a TRM is becoming increasingly important. To support the role of a TRM, many firms and governments that use roadmapping are becoming interested in reducing costs while retaining objectivity during TRM development. One suggestion to achieve these goals is to use the keyword‐based quantitative approach to creating a TRM, but the information provided by the approach is limited because of the characteristics of keyword information. To solve this limitation, this research uses the concept of ‘function’ to support quantitative analysis for developing a TRM. The concept of function can provide information on the uses and purposes of a technology. To represent a function, a subject–action–object structure is commonly used. The suggested approach allows research and development (R&D) managers to extend the views of product and technology during development of a TRM. In addition, by reducing the time required to develop a TRM, the proposed approach supports quick and accurate decision‐making by R&D managers.     

Flexibility planning for managing R&D projects under risk

Incorporating managerial flexibility in an innovative R&D project is important, because managers face greater uncertainty in today's competitive and dynamic changing environment. It is essential to bring managerial flexibility into R&D project planning to decrease technical and market risks, while increasing potential market value. The objective of this paper is to develop a flexibility planning methodology based on real option analysis to improve managerial flexibility for R&D projects. The proposed methodology identifies potential risks that may occur during every R&D stage. It also recognizes a cascading option structure to resolve the identified risks, and evaluates and selects adequate options that maximize the potential value of the project. Instead of using a traditional option pricing method, a dynamic programming model that considers multidimensional product performance and market payoff is used to evaluate the R&D project value. Using the proposed methodology, managers can identify future scenarios as a function of their management actions. The proposed flexibility planning methodology can help managers improve managerial flexibility of R&D project and increase the success rate of product launch. A drug development project is used to illustrate the proposed methodology.     

Cross‐cutting organizational and demographic divides and the performance of research and development teams: two wrongs can make a right

In interorganizational research and development (R&D) teams, diverse skills and insights may be combined productively, but the team members' differing organizational backgrounds may also inhibit team performance. In this paper, it is argued that interorganizational R&D teams are more likely to perform with a certain demographic composition. In particular, the problems of an organizational divide can be overcome by a second, demographic divide that cuts across organizational boundaries. With a cross‐cutting demographic divide – or faultline – interorganizational R&D teams may perform; without it, they tend to perform poorly. Supportive evidence is provided in a fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis on 51 projects conducted in a single R&D partnership. As this implies, interorganizational R&D teams should deliberately be composed to show a cross‐cutting demographic divide.     

The organizational impact on R&D: Computer aids for the disabled

R&D often reflects social concerns which are represented in the organization and implementation of scientific inquiry. An analysis of R&D projects for the disabled provides a glimpse into the link between such social concerns and its consequent organizational basis.
A content analysis of 89 R&D computer-related projects between 1979 and 1983, focussing on R&D, interest areas, funding sources, research emphasis, institutional setting and prototype production, illustrates the organizational influence involved in this type of specialized R&D.
Specifically, a model is created, arguing that public funding mechanisms influence the type and direction that research takes, while factors in the form of institutional division of resources and specialization, lead to specific research concentrations. These findings add support to the argument that the organization of R&D of computer aids is influenced by societal priorities which, through a series of constraints, affects its output.     

Cost benefit and public policy issues

Abstract
The paper reviews the work done and conclusions reached on resource allocation to R&D in the public sector in the last twenty years, and examines what changes have been made in the field of R&D assessment. The paper is based mainly on the author's experience with the UK government's Programmes Analysis Unit (PAU) which was set up in the early 1960s.
The Unit's main remit was to examine and disseminate techniques by the use of which the benefit to the nation from possible R&D strategies, programmes and projects might be calculated. It was also called in to help review policy and carry out long-range forecasting. In the course of its existence — it was wound up in 1977 — it analysed many new techniques of analysis which have now passed into common use and took part in studies to support decisions at all levels from the macro-economic sector down to the individual project.
The author lists the benefits derivable from such analyses — helping to identify objectives, assemble total programmes, evaluate efficiency of technological transfer, carry out technology assessment and so on. But he warns of their limitations.
As for the present day, the author is unhappy about the importance given by the UK Government to the market as a test of value in decision-making about R&D, in so far as it leads to neglect of long-term issues and relies on uncertain causal relationships among critical inputs. Cost-benefit is adequate for dealing with short-term, small-scale projects. For larger projects with controversial long-term implications he advocates broader-based techniques such as multi-attribute analysis, which bring the interests of many parties into the judgment and take into account considerations such as the environment, finite resources and social     

Product design planning with the analytic hierarchy process in inter–organizational networks

In the second half of inter–organizational product development, the new product is likely to face significant design changes. Our study focused on the adequacy of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to support the collaborative partners to steer and align the accompanying design activities. It quantitatively supported discussions between researchers, engineers, manufacturers and future users involved in the development of a voice–producing prosthesis. These discussions focused on the planning of respectively the product design objectives, design changes, and design activities. This product design planning was based on the product requirements relevant to the diverse groups involved, a pro–active view on the market circumstances, the available knowledge, skills and resources, lead–time and costs. The outcomes showed that the AHP is an adequate tool for R&D managers to support inter–organizational product development.     

The effect of U.K. incentives on R&D activities in U.S.-owned electronics companies in Scotland

The British Government provides numerous financial assistance programmes to assist electronics companies in funding investment projects, R&D activities, and applications of new technology. Interviews were conducted at fifteen U.S. electronics subsidiaries in Scotland to determine the effect of these government incentives in promoting technology and innovation. Results indicate that capital investment grants were widely used, but that financial aid schemes to encourage R&D and the adoption of advanced technology have no bearing on technical characteristics and decisions at the affiliates.     

Knowledge centres: A technology & engineering hybrid

A Knowledge Centre is defined as a group of experts in a specific field, with some designated equipment and software.
Such groups were recognized for the first time (in a given matrix organization) as the real carriers of the accumulated knowledge of science and technology disciplines.
To be reckoned as a knowledge centre (K.C.), the group has to be ready to participate in development projects, as well as to lead research for improved technologies and advance knowledge in its field.
It was found that by nurturing knowledge centres, the organization has succeeded in per-forming an interdisciplinary R&D while at the same time maintaining and advancing a strong technology base. The K.C. has some distinctive lifecycle phases. Consequently, the organization applies different considerations and different planning and control methods for each phase. An emerging K.C. needs sensitive care and support. A mature K.C. calls for firm guidance and control, a declining K.C. should be directed to another field, or be dismantled.
This report also describes some of the procedures employed by the organization to maintain and control its K.C.s, and a management attempt to use them as a tool for managing the advancement of technology within the organization. The authors predict that a system of K.C.s may be defined and serve other R&D laboratories in a similar way. This thesis has to be verified by additional studies. Some additional areas for further research are identified, too.     

Technology analysis and R&D management

Technology analysis is a new field of knowledge aimed at creating a fuller understanding of the technological setting within which business operates. It provides a macro-discipline and is specifically aimed at improving the effectiveness of management of technology. As such it is of direct relevance to R&D management.
The essential tools of technology analysis constitute a set of analytical frameworks covering aspects such as: (i) a common approach to describing individual technological artefacts, (ii) a taxonomy of technologies, (iii) a classification of technological trends, (iv) a chart of technological limits, and (v) a socio-technical preference profile.
These frameworks help the R&D manager to dissect and debate typical R&D management problems such as: (i) selecting R&D projects, (ii) setting broad R&D objectives in the case of a given project and (iii) setting specific R&D goals to meet the said objectives. The frameworks also help the R&D manager to portray and present research achievements within a simple and intuitively appealing framework.     

The Immediate Impact of New Product Introductions on Stock Price: The Role of Firm Resources and Size*

New product development and introduction is an ongoing important issue to facilitate a firm's success. To demonstrate the financial impact of new product introductions and the supporting role of firm resources and organizational structure, the authors collected 409 new product announcements from 1990 to 1998 and used event methodology and regression models in this research. Building on resources and capabilities perspectives, the present study argues that firm resources with emphases on research and development (R&D) are imperative to materialize new product concepts. However, the research revealed that R&D resources have dual effects on immediate shareholder value (i.e., abnormal stock returns). On one hand, when the firm commits only lower to moderate levels of R&D, investors would have perceived such R&D as expenditures reducing the firm's profit margin and thereby negatively evaluate R&D resources. Nevertheless, when the firm has dedicated its resources to R&D significant enough to signal investors its potential benefits can outweigh its costs, it generates positive shareholder value. Further, the study found that investors honor positive marketing resources that are critical to promote and launch new products to customers. Apart from resources perspectives, according to the organizational structure literature, firm size reflects the layers of bureaucracy within an organization. The research found a negative effect on shareholder value, indicating that investors evaluate more optimistically smaller firms that are likely to be more innovative and entrepreneurial resulted in more breakthrough products. In conclusion, this study provides value to practitioners in understanding the impact of firm size and, more importantly, to what extent they dedicate their resources in R&D and marketing to generate different performance outcomes.     

Determinants of the Level of Knowledge Application: A Knowledge‐Based and Information‐Processing Perspective*

Knowledge application is of key importance in the development of successful new products. Knowledge application refers to an organization's timely response to technological change by utilizing the knowledge and technology generated into new products and processes. This study uses the knowledge‐based theory of the firm and considers its roots in the information‐processing approach to organization theory to identify and structure potential antecedents of knowledge application. This study develops four hypotheses concerning antecedents of knowledge application. The hypotheses are tested using data collected from 277 high‐technology firms. Empirical results indicate that a long‐term orientation supported by a research and development (R&D) budget, formal rewards, and information technology directly increases the level of knowledge application, while R&D co‐location indirectly increases the level of knowledge application. It is surprising to find that an increase in the level of organizational redundancy reduces the level of knowledge application. The findings also suggest that information technologies, lead‐user, and supplier networks do not appear to significantly influence organizational redundancy.