Nonlinear influence on R&D project performance

Yu Shan Chen*, Ke Chiun Chang, Ching Hsun Chang

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study applies artificial neural network (ANN) to explore the relationships between the performance of R&D projects and its determinants. The results indicate that the quality of project environment has an inverse U-shaped effect on the performance of R&D projects, and both project managers' skills and the effectiveness of teamwork have monotonic positive influences on it. Besides, this study utilizes self-organizing map (SOM) to classify the Taiwanese information and electronics companies into three groups and further provides some suggestions. In addition, this paper uses an in-depth interview of qualitative research to explore why the quality of project environment has an inverse U-shaped effect on the R&D project performance, and finds out the main reason. There are two managerial implications in this study. First, the relationships between the performance of R&D projects and its determinants are not always linear in the complex and uncertain environment nowadays. Second, companies must care about the inverse U-shaped effect of the quality of project environment on the performance of R&D projects, although they can enhance the extent of project managers' skills and the effectiveness of their teamwork as much as possible.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1537-1547
Number of pages11
JournalTechnological Forecasting and Social Change
Volume79
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2012 Oct
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Effectiveness of teamwork
  • Nonlinear nature of management
  • Project managers' skills
  • Project performance
  • Quality of project environment

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Business and International Management
  • Applied Psychology
  • Management of Technology and Innovation

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