Portfolio Management of R&D Projects: Implications for Innovation Management

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Abstract

Globalization of markets and new business practices are prompting high-tech firms to reconsider their competitive strategy. The increasing complexity of technologies in addition to shorter product life cycles are also forcing firms to rely on R&D as a source of strategy. More importantly, firms are inclined to evaluate their technologies from a portfolio’s perspective in which a set or a sub-set of R&D projects is evaluated together, in relation to each other. Portfolio techniques can help strategic managers in evaluating whether a portfolio of products is adequate from the perspective of long-term corporate growth and profitability. Obviously, when R&D projects are evaluated relative to one another, technical capability management of such projects must be carried out concurrently. In this paper, R&D Project Portfolio Matrix is used as a tool for analyzing a portfolio of R&D projects by linking competitive advantages of a firm to benefits these projects may provide to customers. Examples of batteries for electric vehicles (EV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) are provided to illustrate how such matrix is used, and what are some of the implications for innovation management of such projects.
Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationFrederiksberg
PublisherThe Link Program
Number of pages36
Publication statusPublished - 2000
SeriesLINK Working Paper
Number2000-16

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