Title: A study of R&D portfolio management among UK organisations

Authors: Marek Szwejczewski, Rick Mitchell, Fred Lemke

Addresses: Cranfield School of Management, Cranfield MK43 0AL, England, UK. ' Cranfield School of Management, Cranfield MK43 0AL, England, UK. ' Henley Management College, School of Reputation and Relationships, Greenlands, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, RG9 3AU, England, UK

Abstract: Portfolio management is a decision process where a company|s list of active new products is constantly updated and revised. In this process, new products are evaluated, selected and prioritised, with resources being allocated accordingly. Portfolio management is considered to be an important activity, but research suggests that it may be one of the weakest areas in a company|s new product development process. While many methods have been proposed, there have been very few studies of their actual usage, especially by UK-based companies. This paper presents research into how seven UK manufacturing companies (from several industrial sectors) managed their portfolios of Research and Development (R&D) projects.

Keywords: innovation; portfolio management; risk; new product development; NPD; manufacturing firms; research and development; R&D; UK; United Kingdom.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMDM.2006.011071

International Journal of Management and Decision Making, 2006 Vol.7 No.6, pp.604 - 616

Published online: 07 Oct 2006 *

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