Title: Transforming industrial R&D into an entrepreneurial organisation: implications of organisational design on enabling innovation

Authors: Jacques W. Brook

Addresses: Maastricht School of Management, P.O. Box 1203, 6201 BE Maastricht, The Netherlands

Abstract: This study has sought to gain insight into the issue of transforming industrial R&D into an entrepreneurial organisation. It focused on how organisation innovation enables a successful transformation. First, our findings show that a strategy of industrial R&D to integrate intrapreneurship as part of its core capabilities led to an organisation wide innovation that required a transformational change. This strategic reorientation could not be executed through a regular reorganisation. Second, a transformation associated with organisation innovation appears to be successful. Innovating the structure, business processes, HR and rewards, consistently appears to be a determinant of success. This approach leads to a better adoption and diffusion of new practices across the organisation. For example, the implemented ambidextrous structure was supported by lateral processes, HR with an ambidextrous mind-set and a rewards system encouraging collaboration across the organisation. Third, the new operating model of industrial R&D reconciles intrapreneurship with science-based research.

Keywords: entrepreneurial organisations; intrapreneurship; R&D strategy; research and development; organisational design; organisational innovation; transformation; commercial exploitation; transformational change; organisational change; organisational structure; business processes; human resources; reward systems; ambidextrous structure; entrepreneurship.

DOI: 10.1504/IJODE.2016.082338

International Journal of Organisational Design and Engineering, 2016 Vol.4 No.3/4, pp.213 - 237

Accepted: 11 Nov 2015
Published online: 20 Feb 2017 *

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