Beyond Planning and Control. Alternative Approaches to the Management of Industrial Research and Development

Abstract

This paper explores the way in which the management of research and development fluctuates between alternative approaches: a risk management approach and one based on tolerance of uncertainty. The dominant risk management approach is based on external planning of new elements and directly controlling their generation, while tolerance of uncertainty is based on trust and self-organization of the employees working directly within the innovation process. On the basis of empirical findings, it is shown that particular development trends in current innovation practice – such as the increasing capital market orientation of many companies – encourage risk management concepts, but that there are still opportunities for alternative approaches, provided they are linked to the existing vitality of innovation- friendly cooperation cultures and the self-regulation skills of the innovation employees. These findings also demonstrate the – often overlooked – high relevance of social security as a condition for innovation, but also the fact that it is under threat.