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The New Task of R&D Management: Creating Goal-Directed Communities for Innovation
Judge, William Q., Gerald E. Fryxell, and Robert S. Dooley
39/3  (Spring 1997): 72-85

How do firms manage research and development units to optimize their innovation capabilities? First, the most innovative R&D units function more like a goal-directed community than as a typical bureaucratic department. One of the major benefits of a goal-directed community is that it preserves individual creativity within the context of collective action. Second, there are several management practices that facilitate the creation of a goal-directed community. These are: creating balanced autonomy between the management and the researchers; relying much more heavily on intrinsic rewards than extrinsic rewards; building cohesive teams that preserve individuality; and assuring a continuous supply of slack resources.

 

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