پابرجایی شرکت: اقدامات کارآفرینی و تأثیر آن بر عملکرد پروژه "تحقیق و توسعه"

Innovative products are widely recognized as an important source of competitive advantage. However, many companies have difficulties finding efficient and successful approaches to different types of R&D projects, particularly those that involve a high level of innovativeness. Therefore, the present study moves effectuation theory from the entrepreneurial context to R&D research. First, the characteristics of an effectual approach in the context of R&D projects are developed and differentiated from those of conventional prediction-based strategies (causation). Second, using a thorough qualitative and quantitative scale-development process to capture particularities of effectual and causal dimensions in the R&D context, expert interviews and a pilot study (123 R&D projects), the study develops a multi-factor measurement model of effectuation and causation. These measures are validated in a follow-up study with a larger sample of 400 projects. Third, the new measures are applied to test two central hypotheses: (a) effectuation is positively related to success in highly innovative contexts, (b) causation approaches are beneficial in projects with low levels of innovativeness. Overall, this study moves the effectuation logic from the entrepreneurial to the corporate R&D context, captures its particularities, and investigates its performance outcomes.

R&D literature provides contradictory findings on planning as a success factor in more innovative R&D projects and is characterized by a dearth on broader R&D project success factors beyond planning for these projects. Therefore, the present study adopts the lens of effectuation and causation and applies it to the corporate R&D context in order to provide meaningful contributions to the burgeoning literature on R&D projects. The effectuation logic is particularly suitable for forming a conceptual basis in the R&D context since both entrepreneurs and decision-makers in innovative R&D projects face high levels of uncertainty (Sarasvathy, 2001). The study also contributes to the discourse on effectuation in three ways: First, it applies the theoretical lens of effectuation to the empirical setting of the R&D context. Second, it develops measurement instruments for effectual dimensions in the corporate R&D context and links these dimensions to performance measures. Third, this study addresses weaknesses of some recent studies by sticking closer to the original conceptualization of the effectuation concept and by integrating four key dimensions: means, affordable loss, partnerships, and acknowledging the unexpected (Sarasvathy, 2001).