Article,
Leveraging e-R&D processes: a knowledge-based view
Technovation, 23 (12): 905-915 (2003/12)
Abstract
There is a growing application of Internet-driven networking tools
to improve organizations and teams’ value-creating activities. This
is particularly true with regard to applying the technology to the
conduct of industrial research and new product development processes,
or e-R&D. Notwithstanding, there is scant scientific research to
assess how R&D teams are leveraging the Internet in their innovation
activities, if their efforts are efficient and effective, and how
they could do better. This paper considers the following interrelated
research questions: (1) How can Internet-leveraged networks contribute
to R&D project management, (2) Where are these networks applied in
the R&D process, and (3) What are the likely manifestations of such
networks? It develops a framework for understanding and testing these
issues, based on a knowledge-based view of the firm, to examine internal,
external, and memory-related knowledge flows. Then, a three-dimensional
template of e-R&D networks is developed that overlays each of these
three flows, based on Internet attributes, R&D process stages, and
major R&D outcomes. Research hypotheses are offered, and directions
for future inquiries are discussed.
