Strategic project portfolio selection for national research institutes

a r t i c l e i n f o As global competition intensifies, many national research institutes (NRIs) are investing substantial resources in research and development (R&D) to gain competitive advantage and develop the national economy. However, R&D investment involves a high degree of market and technological uncertainty. The literature on project portfolio selection focuses on either quantitative economic benefits or complex criteria to assess project(s). By emphasizing the features of NRIs, the present study proposes a decision model for evaluating a project portfolio at the early initiation stage. This decision model rests on a strategy for differentiating products and services. The decision model provides a solution to a market need to maximize benefits through differentiation. A systematic hybrid multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method comprising a modified Delphi method (MDM), a decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method, and an analytic network process (ANP) offers a systematic approach to the project portfolio-selection problem. The present empirical study on the selection of alternative R&D projects in NRIs investigates the flexible electronics industry, using the hybrid MCDM method to test the decision model's effectiveness. The present study also discusses cognitive differences between NRIs and for-profit organization in terms of their R&D portfolio selection. National research institutes (NRIs) contribute substantially to a nation's economic development. In Taiwan, the government commissions NRIs to undertake research and development (R&D) projects. By adopting the outcomes of such projects, firms extend such developments to industry. NRIs play a major role in fulfilling a nation's plans for economic development by enhancing national industrial developments toward diversification and sustainability. Consequently, given limits on time and resources, NRI portfolio management is currently a topic of interest among academics. Specifically, selecting which R&D projects to undertake is crucial to technological trends and future industrial developments. Allocating funding to R&D projects does not guarantee their success. The innovation process involves a high degree of technological and market uncertainty, which can result in R&D project failure Company survival relies on continuous investment in developing new products or services. Selecting valuable R&D projects that satisfy future market demands is a challenge for organizations. Previous studies show that R&D project selection involves three major considerations: (1) the association of the project with corporate Despite the numerous project selection criteria appearing in the aforementioned studies, such projects originate to benefit private enterprises. Furthermore, those studies propose methods without considering the interrelationships among criteria or applying …