مکانیسم ادغام و عملکرد پروژه "تحقیق و توسعه"

Information processing theory suggests the need for different types of integration mechanisms in R&D project management depending on levels of uncertainty and equivocality. This paper examines the use of these mechanisms and their links to project performance in a sample of 121 R&D projects in a large research laboratory. Overall, it is found that formal leadership, planning and process specification, and to a lesser extent information technology use are related to project performance while the positive effects of horizontal structures are apparently balanced out by their costs. The integration mechanisms studied act on performance partly through their effect on horizontal communications. Modest support was found for the contingency hypotheses derived from information processing theory. It appears that managers adjusted their use of horizontal structures, planning and process specification, and informal leadership to project uncertainty but not to project equivocality. The positive effects of horizontal communications on performance were found to be greatest under high project equivocality as would be predicted by information processing arguments. Moreover, with the exception of formal leadership, the use of integration mechanisms did not enhance performance in contexts of low uncertainty and low equivocality.

In an innovative process, distinct sets of specialized skills rarely found within one individual are often necessary to accomplish the complex tasks required for the development, manufacturing and marketing of a product Allen, 1986, Roberts, 1988 and Von Hippel, 1990. At the same time, communication, collaboration and integration between specialists and functions are required to maximize the synergy between the various interdependent parts of a project Brownlie, 1987, Moenaert and Souder, 1990, Ettlie and Reza, 1992 and Hitt et al., 1993. As Dougherty (1992) shows, integration tends to be hampered by the development of distinct “thought worlds” associated with individual specialization. This tension between the need for differentiation and for integration lies at the heart of the study of organizations and seems particularly salient to the problem of innovation Thompson, 1967, Lawrence and Lorsch, 1969 and Daft and Lengel, 1986.

5.1. Integration mechanisms, horizontal communication, and project performance Hypothesis 1a, Hypothesis 2a, Hypothesis 3a, Hypothesis 4a, Hypothesis 5a, Hypothesis 6a and Hypothesis 6b The data suggest that several of the integration mechanisms studied contribute to greater project performance. The regression equations presented in Table 4 summarize these results. Model 1 shows the direct effects of the integration mechanisms on performance, Model 2 adds horizontal communication, while Model 3 regresses the integration mechanisms onto horizontal communication as the dependent variable. The results for Models 1 and 2 indicate that formal leadership, planning and process specification and the use of information technologies are significantly associated with performance, supporting hypotheses Hypothesis 2a, Hypothesis 3a and Hypothesis 4a, while the presence of a champion has a positive but insignificant effect, leading us to reject hypothesis H5a. As hypothesized, horizontal communication is also very strongly associated with project performance supporting hypothesis H6a.