Models of R&D account for technical, technological and administrative factors of R&D implementation but underestimate the influence of behavioural and political factors such as power and conflict. They assume that R&D organisation is “well-insulated” from partisan, emotions, political reactions and contextual factors and that decision makers are rational and decisions are taken to best fit the content of R&D programme. The present study explores the effects of rational and irrational factors in the R&D implementation process on the performance of publicly funded research projects in universities. It uses realist and qualitative exploratory semi-structured interviews with 22 active researchers in Sultan Qaboos University provides “depth and detail” of the complexities of R&D implementation effects on its performance. The study discovers 18 measures of success of academic research and 30 effects of R&D implementation of the performance of publicly funded research.The study concludes that the iterative, non-linear and processual nature of R&D implementation is a continuous dynamic system. R&D success builds up the capacity for future success whilst failures decrease the chances of future successes. The integrated effects of implementation (IEI) influence R&D performance through technical and administrative capability of the R&D organisation as well as through behaviours of organisation members. These include leaders’ behaviours, conflict and political skills within individuals. Both success dynamism and IEI suggest contextualism implementation of R&D.

A pesar de la gran importancia que se le han atribuido a las innovaciones tecnológicas como la principal fuente de ventaja competitiva y como un motor del buen desempeño económico, aún no ha surgido en la literatura un marco analítico sobre las técnicas o enfoques que permitan entender el comportamiento de las actividades de investigación y desarrollo (I+D) y varios temas demandan una investigación más profunda. En este contexto surge esta tesis cuyo principal objetivo es analizar las actividades de innovaciones tecnológicas siguiendo una perspectiva analítica de proceso. Caracterizando a la innovación como un proceso que consta de las fases de buscar, seleccionar, implementar y capturar, esta tesis desarrolla cuatro investigaciones empíricas para entender cada una de las etapas del proceso de innovación. El Capítulo II se enfoca en las fases de búsqueda y selección y tiene como objetivo incrementar nuestro conocimiento en el comportamiento de las empresas que determina la selección de la estrategia de I+D. Las estrategias de innovación son definidas en esta tesis como la estrategia de hacer, que representa el desarrollo interno de actividades de I+D; la estrategia de comprar que constituye la externalización de las actividades de I+D y; la estrategia de hacer-comprar que combina el desarrollo interno y externo de I+D. Contrariamente a la literatura previa, este Capítulo considera que los recursos internos de la empresa y las condiciones de la industria determinan la selección de la estrategia de I+D. El Capítulo III también explica la selección de la estrategia de I+D pero con un especial énfasis en el papel que desempeñan las ayudas públicas. El Capítulo IV, analiza las fases de seleccionar e implementar, busca analizar cuál es el efecto que tienen las diferentes estrategias de I+D en el desempeño innovador de las empresas. Finalmente el Capítulo V se enfoca en las últimas dos fases del proceso innovador, implementar y capturar. El propósito de este Capítulo es el de proponer un nuevo enfoque para analizar la relación, entre innovación y desempeño económico de la empresa. En esta investigación se sugiere que el uso indistinto de los inputs u outputs de la innovación para medir el grado de innovación de una empresa no está libre de problemas y que más bien éstos deberían de considerarse simultáneamente siguiendo una perspectiva productiva. Todos los análisis econométricos realizados en esta tesis se han realizado utilizando una muestra tomada de la Encuesta Sobre Estrategias Empresariales. Esta encuesta es de tipo panel (1992-2005) y recoge información sobre empresas manufactureras españolas. Los resultados muestran que la estrategia de comprar es principalmente seleccionada por empresas con bajos recursos organizativos y es evitada por empresas que compiten en mercados con altos niveles de incertidumbre. Sus efectos en el desempeño innovar de la empresa son los menores y tienen un efecto a corto plazo. Por el contrario, la estrategia de hacer-comprar suele ser seleccionada por empresas con altos recursos tecnológicos y con operaciones en mercados con un alto grado de incertidumbre tecnológica. Respecto a sus efectos en el desempeño innovador, los resultados muestran que ésta produce el mayor efecto y genera un impacto a largo plazo. Adicionalmente, los resultados muestran que los efectos de las estrategias en el desempeño innovador está moderado por la intensidad tecnológica en la cual las empresas se desempeñan. Finalmente, los resultados obtenidos brindan soporte a nuestro argumento de que la mejor manera de medir el impacto de las actividades de I+D en el desempeño de la empresa es a través de la eficiencia del proceso de innovación tecnológica. / Despite the great importance attributed to technological innovations as the main source of competitive advantages and as the driver of firm performance, a comprehensive picture of the techniques and approaches for understanding firms’ R&D behavior has not yet emerged and several issues require further investigation. In this context, the aim of this dissertation is to analyze, in a broader sense, the technological innovation activities following a process-based perspective. Categorizing innovation as a process which embraces the phases of searching, selecting, implementing and capturing, this dissertation develops four empirical studies in order to capture and understand each of the innovation process phases. The first empirical Chapter accounts for the searching and selecting phases of the innovation process and aims at increasing our knowledge of firm innovative behavior by analyzing the factors that determine firm R&D strategy selection. Three R&D strategies are defined and represent the internal development of R&D (make), the externalization of R&D (buy) and the combination of internal and external R&D (makebuy). Contrary to previous studies, we consider the joint effect of firm internal resources, industry characteristics and appropriability conditions as determinants of R&D strategy selection. The second empirical Chapter also explains the determinants of the R&D strategy selection but with an emphasis on public R&D funding. The third empirical Chapter aims at ascertaining the effects of the different R&D strategies on firm innovative performance, which accounts for the selecting and implementing phases. In order to evaluate RDSs effects in a broader sense and looking for robust results, we consider different measures of product and/or process innovations as indicators of firm innovative performance. Finally, the fifth chapter accounts for the implementing and capturing phases of the innovation process. It proposes a new approach to tackle the innovation-performance relationship; its objective is to cope with the, so far, mixed and inconclusive results of studies analyzing this relationship. We argue that the indistinctly use of the innovation inputs or outputs in order to measure firm innovativeness is not trouble-free; they should be, rather, jointly considered from a productive perspective. All empirical studies are carried out using the Survey of Business Strategies of Spanish manufacturing firms which is a panel dataset from 1992 to 2005. Results show that the buy strategy is mainly selected by young firms lacking organizational resources and it is avoided by firms competing in uncertain markets and characterized by major technology shifts. Its effects on firm innovativeness are weaker and last less than that of any other R&D strategy. On the opposite side, the make-buy strategy is selected by firms possessing high technological resources and acting in highly uncertain markets. Regarding its effects on firm innovativeness, we observe that they are stronger and last longer. In addition, we find empirical support for our proposed argument that the effects of the R&D strategies on firm innovativeness are moderated by the technological intensity level. Finally, results of the last empirical Chapter support our arguments that the better measurement of outcomes of the technological innovations is through the efficiency whereby they are developed. Moreover, we test the moderating effect of the technological intensity level and firm size on the efficiency-performance relationship.

This thesis amends some existing theoretical gaps and an overall lack of empirical studies regarding the ways R&D managers can use Open Innovation during the management of the radical innovation processes’ early development phase.Using existing theories, an interview guide and an analytical model was created. These were later used during the gathering and analysis of empirical data. Our sampling involves three of Sweden’s largest companies, representing three distinct industry fields. Interviews took place during April 2010, and all the interviewees were R&D managers with previous experience with Open Innovation and radical innovation.The results reveal that the managers do use Open Innovation when managing radical innovation, and point to both benefits and issues brought about by using Open Innovation during this process. The use of Open Innovation during the management of radical innovation can be divided into two main aspects; the actual extent to which it is used, and the ways the managers use it. Our results reveal that the extent varies from an early peak, an in between Open Innovation chasm and a final increase. Furthermore, our studies also show that the main ways the managers use OI are; exploitation and creation of revenue streams, knowledge leveraging and integration, and finally to create superior products using broad knowledge networks.

Background and problem: There are a number of benefits that can be gained from an inter-firm R&D collaboration, however it is at the same time a challenging task. An important factor to achieve a sucessful R&D collaboration is the knowledge integration between the companies. Handling the two problems of cooperation and coordination are key to this success and can be done by using different mechanisms. These mechanisms suggest that the increasing degree of problems with cooperation and coordination requires increased control. As a result, an interesting aspect is how to manage the contradiction between control of knowledge integration and the need for flexibility which are both necessary for the explorative phase of an innovation process. Objective: The purpose of this thesis is to explore how an inter-firm R&D collaboration in the explortive phase of innovation can manage the knowledge integration contradiction of flexibility and control. Method: To fulfill our purpose we have made a ethnographically inspired case study on an inter-firm R&D collaboration in the explorative phase of innovation. Definitions: Knowledge integration: Taking advantage of specialists’ knowledge that exists in collaboration. Inter-firm R&D collaboration: A partnership between external companies undertaking research and developing something together. The explorative phase of innovation: The early phase before the architecture of the innovation has been set. Conclusion: Our results indicate that a loose structure, high trust, bigness as a source of power, vertical collaboration, close collaboration and limited size of the collaboration are mechanisms that the collaborators use to manage the contradiction between flexibility and control in the explorative phase of innovation.

Bakgrund och problem: Det som fokuseras är bedömningen av vad som är utgifter för utveckling, om dessa ska aktiveras som en tillgång i balansräkningen eller kostnadsföras löpande, och vad som påverkar redovisningen. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att öka kunskapen om och förståelsen för hur företag redovisar utgifter för FoU. Ett delsyfte är att också förklara varför de redovisar som de gör. Ett annat delsyfte med studien är att undersöka om redovisningen och bedömningen av vad som är FoU påverkas av subjektivitet. Metod: För att uppfylla studiens syfte har en kvalitativ metod med fallstudier som huvudsaklig undersökningsdesign använts.  Fyra intervjuer har genomförts, varav tre med för studien intressanta företag som har möjlighet att aktivera utgifter för utveckling i balansräkningen. För att få en kompletterande bild och ett annat perspektiv genomfördes även en intervju med en revisor. Empiri och slutsats: Den främsta orsaken till hur företagen i studien redovisar är vad standarden, IFRS, säger. Med en tillräcklig och övertygande argumentation, så är det ändå möjligt att göra företagsspecifika tolkningar och tillämpningar av principerna i IFRS. Detta genom att exempelvis tillämpa försiktighetsprincipen och väsentlighetsprincipen vid bedömningar av om FoU uppfyller kriterierna för aktivering i IAS 38. Endel företag som redovisar enligt IFRS tillämpar företagsspecifika väsentlighetskriterier för materialitetsgränser som anger ett lägsta belopp för utvecklingskostnader som kan aktiveras. Dessa undre gränser lämnar trots allt ett relativt stort utrymme att inte ta upp utvecklingsprojekt i balansräkningen utan istället kostnadsföra utgifter för utveckling om det är något som företaget önskar. Ingen av de intervjuade personerna i studien anser att språkliga hinder och bristande kommunikation mellan tekniker och ekonomer, har någon inverkan på bedömningen av vad som är utvecklingskostnader eller inte och för värderingen av FoU. / Background and problem: The focus lies on the decision and judgment of how to account for R & D in the entities, if it is an intangible asset or not. Aim: The aim with the study is to increase the knowledge of how entities account for R&D. One part of the aim is to also explain why they are doing it in that way. Another aim of the study is to explore if the accounting of the R&D is influenced by subjectivity. Method: A qualitative research method where case studies as the main design has been used. The empirical material has been collected through four interviews. Three of these interviews were made with persons in for the study interesting companies which had the possibility to capitalize development cost in the balance sheet. To have another picture and perspective on the situation one interview was made with an authorized public accountant. Result and conclusion: The foremost reason to how the entities in the study account for R&D is what the standard, IFRS, tells. It is possible to convince with argument to do company specific interpretations and applications of the principles in IFRS. For example this could be done thrue application of the principle of carefulness or of the principle of essential in the judgment and decision if the R&D fulfills the criteria for capitalizing, especially IAS 38, point 57 d. Some entities who account according to IFRS use company specific criterion of essential for materiality which state a lowest amount for development cost to be activated. These lower boundaries for materiality leave a relative big space to the entities not to activate development cost in the balance sheet if that is what the company wish. None of the interviewed persons in the study think that scarce communication between economist and engineers affect the judgment and decision of R&D and if the development cost is an intangible asset.

Over the last few decades, the industrialized world in general and the automobile industry in particular was hit by immense changes which strongly influence the management of R&D. Trends such as globalization and sharp competition on worldwide open markets, increasing product complexity in order to meet the customers’ desires for more variety and individualization, technology fusion and cross industry innovations, high level of technological and competitive uncertainty, increasing pressure to reduce R&D budgets, and shorter time to market and reduced innovation cycles in consequence of rising competition, force companies to source external knowledge and to bring in and exploit outside-in innovations instead of reinventing them their selves. In the same way, the Open Innovation concept highlights the need for organizations to open up their innovation processes. As a consequence, many R&D organizations are being transformed in order to meet the upcoming challenges and established technological listening posts to source external knowledge in centers of technological excellence and innovation. This study focus on the knowledge acquisition, transformation and transfer from innovation cluster to central R&D, and examines the roles and typologies of technological gatekeepers. Based on a sound literature review and in-depth qualitative study of the case company BMW, this thesis explores how technological listening posts can take the mediating role of technology gatekeepers and how different mechanisms and typologies for gatekeeping can be deployed for optimal transformation and transfer of external knowledge into internal innovation.

This study examines 1) whether the different expenditure mechanisms used by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) invite different sources of influences on the budget process and thus on the expenditure outcomes and 2) whether the frequent use of omnibus appropriations bills since 1996 has changed budget levels of the institutes under the NIH. The NIH uses two major expenditure mechanisms with very different beneficiary groups: the principal investigator-initiated Research Project Grants and Intramural Research. Drawing on theories of motivations of public officials and of political clout of agency heads and considering empirical studies of the effect of omnibus legislation, this study reveals the following: 1) directors with more public service experience are more successful in securing a higher budget for their institutes; 2) while the directors are found to be driven by public service motivation, when it comes to expenditure allocation between two different mechanisms, they behave in a self-interested manner, representing the interests of the institutional sectors where they have developed close relationships; 3) with ever-increasing budgets between 1983 and 2005, the institute directors have chosen to seek higher budgets rather than merely avoid the risk of budget cuts; 4) although the advisory boards are purportedly used to seek private input for the priority setting, they tend to increase intramural more than external research project grant expenditures; 5) the practice of omnibus appropriations bills significantly benefits the institutes under the NIH such that with omnibus legislation the institutes¡¯ total expenditures have more than doubled controlling the other factors; and 6) there are significant differences in the effects of the director¡¯s public experience and the number of advisory boards and their membership both (i) between disease-focused institutes and nondisease institutes and (ii) with and without omnibus legislation. The effects of the director¡¯s public service experience and the advisory boards have more budgetary impact in the general science-focused institutes than in their disease-focused counterparts. The influence of the advisory board and of the institute director¡¯s public service experience on the individual institute¡¯s expenditure level is significantly diminished by the frequent use of omnibus appropriations bills.

Research and develop (R&D) can expand scope and depth of the products for enterprises, and extend the life of products, in order to keep the growing up continuously forever of enterprises. Which factors does R&D performance come from? Through References find the research structure whose are ' Internal Service Quality ', ' Working Satisfaction ' and ' Knowledge Management '. And then design the questionnaire, investigate, analyze, and get the real example result. This research regards R&D department of M company of the vehicle curtain industry of Taiwan as the target of check, collect interviewee to above-mentioned four dimensions approval degree, use SPSS software to analyzing, the conclusion is as follows: 1) Knowledge Management is positive influence to R&D performance, but explain that strength is on the low side. It shows it is on although Knowledge Management it is real reason, it have not probing into otherly importantly really (such as patents, R&D ability). 2) Working Satisfaction is positive influence to R&D performance, but explain that strength is on the low side. Shows Working Satisfaction although real reason, have other probing into really important factor (such as marketing ability). 3) Internal Service Quality is positive influence to Working Satisfaction, it is very good to explain strength. Shows that Internal Service Quality is an important real reason, the company should improve Internal Service Quality of R&D department, could improve better Working Satisfaction. 4) Knowledge Management is positive influence to Working Satisfaction, it is good to explain strength. Shows that Knowledge Management is an important real reason, the company should improve Knowledge Management of the R&D department, could improve better Working Satisfaction. 5) Knowledge Management is positive influence to Internal Service Quality, it is good to explain strength. Shows that Knowledge Management is an important real reason, the company should improve Knowledge Management of the R&D department, could improve better Internal Service Quality. This precise inference Internal Service Quality and Knowledge Management of research, in order to influence the important factor of Working Satisfaction, and then offer a administrator to improve and propose. And R&D performance Important factor, not merely two which this research institute mentions constructs the surface (Working Satisfaction and Knowledge Management ), but case Company can is it improve Working Satisfaction and Knowledge Management because of it really to influence R&D performance to have priority, other factors can be improving via the research later on , can promote apparent R&D performance even more.

This study focuses on whether the mispricing of investor has relevance for firm¡¦s investment decision. In other words, it tries to test the relation between mispricing of investor and managers¡¦ catering behavior. In addition, this study divides Taiwan¡¦s companies into three cases: Listed and following listed companies, OTC companies and companies under the counter. The period of this study from 1986 to 2009, it excludes firms with negative book value of assets, and only uses the positive capital expenditure data. This paper divides the sample into various subsamples discussed separately. For example, it uses the R&D ratio as the proxy for information transparency and explores that information transparency may affect manager¡¦s catering behavior in the different subsamples. Besides, this study also separates the companies from different stock turnover rate to discuss whether the impact of mispricing to the rate of investment will be different. The results showed that indeed mispricing change the rate of investment of companies. After that, this paper controls the independent variables which may affect the company¡¦s profitability to figure out the abnormal rate of investment. Finally, this study finds that abnormal rate of investment result in a poor return of companies. That is to say, when a manager caters the mispricing of investor in stock market, afterwards, may lead to a poor return of companies. In the view of investors, when the market¡¦s sentiment that is too warm, many companies begin to invest in plant. At this time, investors shall examine whether the investment of companies is efficient.

To improve Taiwan's competitiveness, Taiwan's government actively encourages businesses to commit to innovative R&D activities by implementing R&D subsidies and incentives. They hope to accumulate intellectual capitals and nurture enough technical professionals to promote industrial upgrades and stimulate economic development. When applying for R&D subsidy, the application must go through the proper approval process. Approved applications will be awarded with substantial financial assistance to fuel further innovations such that R&D subsidy has become critical to many companies. This study used the "Conventional Industry Technology Development"(CITD) as an example and classifies the R&D subsidy applications for analysis based on the 5 variables: company's basic information, program type, commitment to R&D, past experience in applying for R&D subsidy, and strategic alliance with other institutions. Logistic regression is expected to sum up factors that are significant in obtaining R&D subsidies and formulate a predictive model. This enables the government to re-examine its policies and understand the conventional manufacturers' commitment to R&D. Furthermore, the study may assist the companies to assess their chances in obtaining R&D subsidies and serve as a reference for future endeavors. The study suggests that the factors most critical for companies to obtain R&D subsidies are the number of employees, capital size, number of government subsidies already obtained, number of companies non-R&D outsourced to, whether R&D intensity has increased for the past 2 years, and whether R&D funding has increased for the past 2 years. Although plan's duration and non-R&D outsourced dollar amount may have some influence, their impact was not obvious in the model.