Twenty-one years of research into

the Management of R&D

Text of the keynote speech by

Alan Pearson, Director of the R&D Research Unit, at its
21st Anniversary Conference, July 1988

Was 1967 a special year? From our point of

view the answer must be YES, because this
was the start of the R&D Research Unit at
the Manchester Business School. It was set
up alongside the Programmes Analysis Unit
at Harwell - a group jointly supported by
the Ministry of Technology and the United
Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. Both
Units were dedicated to the promotion of
research and practice in the field of R&D
management.
Looking back we can see ourselves at that
time as a product of the ‘White Heat of
Technology’ era - when expectations were
very high that technology, moving fast in
many directions, could, if harnessed properly,
solve many of the world’s economic, political
and social problems, and open up more
opportunities.
But the 1960s might better be thought of
not as the start of that era, but as the middle.
T h e late 1940s were a very important period
with the first stored programme computer
being developed at Manchester University. ALAN PEARSON
T h e 1950s saw the start of the space age,
with the launch of the first long-range
rockets and the putting of humans into orbit: credit cards, etc. etc. Most of these we now
the Russian sputnik will long be remembered. take for granted. W e no longer marvel at the
In the 60s we watched the development of changes which have been helped along,
the first passenger-carrying supersonic air- indeed stimulated, by science and technology.
liner - still in service now. Between 1969 But the targets are moving. There are still
and 1972 the US alone launched six manned infinitely many opportunities; improved
moon landings, and the ‘dash for Mars’ was a medical care, (both old and new diseases),
major talking point. In the 1980s we hear weather control, and air traffic control in
this cry again, with the encouraging possibil- Europe immediately spring to mind.
ity now of a joint US/USSR venture. In some cases money is a major require
But we must not get carried away on the ment for progress, in others changes in
magic carpet of ‘big’science and technology. attitudes, in some we need scientific break-
Over this period most of us have seen throughs. All this will be facilitated by better
changes on a smaller scale which have had a R&D management. If the past has been
significant impact on both our home and exciting, the present still is, and the future is
working lives. Colour television, home likely to be even more so.
computers, microwave ovens, compact disc Throughout its twenty-one years the R&D
players, lasers in medicine and in engineering, Research Unit here has remained active. Its

RX D Management 19,2, I989 99

100
directions have changed, people have come
and gone, but the overall philosophy has
remained the same - to make an impact on
the theory and practice of management of
research and development. The evidence is
that we have had some success. We continue
to work with other academics in the field -
Professors Arnie Cooper and Tom Allen
were early colleagues in the Unit and are
still very active researchers in the field. They
have come here to give the plenary lectures
to the Conference. Visitors from academic
and from industrial organisations have come
from almost all parts of the world, and have
returned to continue their work in their own
countries. Many others have started their
research careers here - some have remained
in Manchester, others have moved on to
other academic institutions, into industry,
and to other countries.
We have had an influence on fields as
diverse as project selection, creativity, entre-
preneurship, and organisational climate. The
first lectureships in Creativity and in Entre
preneurship in Europe were awarded by the
Manchester Business School to two people
whose research progressed through first
joining the Unit. The journal R&D Manage-
ment was started in 1970 as a vehicle for the
exchange of views and to publish research
results on all of these subjects. A major
concern for us has always been our inter-
action with practice, and our movement to
being self-supporting started in 1971. The
Associate Membership Scheme was started
in 1972 and is still flourishing.
We linked forces with the International
Institute for the Management of Technology
in Milan, and put on the first International
Conference on Technology Assessment in
Manchester. We have worked for many
years with the Center for Creative Leadership
in Greensboro, North Carolina, on program-
mes designed to explore various aspects of
Leadership in R&D Management. In the
mid-1970s we started a series of major
conferences which became annual events in
Manchester. More recently we were instru-
mental in the formation of RADMA (R&D
Management Association) which, along with
the journal, has become a sponsor of a series
of international conferences. The first of
these to be organised overseas was in 1987
at Fontainebleau, and was promoted in
ALAN PEARSON
collaboration with l’lnstitut Europeen
dAdministration des Affaires (INSEAD).
Plans are already underway for the 1989
conference to be held in Belgium, co-
sponsored by the University of Ghent.
We believe that we have come quite a
long way in the first twenty-one years, and
an obvious question to ask today would
appear to be ‘where now?’. Other people
run conferences in related fields. Technology
is a current buzz-word in business schools
and for consultants in strategy. Is there
anything left to do? I believe this question is
easily answered in the affirmative. Because
technology is being emphasised as an import-
ant competitive weapon does not mean that
we should be fooled into believing that
everything in the field of R&D management
is now rosy and that it can be left to flourish
on its own. The evidence is almost directly
opposite to that view. Many of the people
who talk about technology seem to think it
is available for use as and when required.
They pay little attention to the management
of the research and development, work
without which it could not be exploited.
Recent figures in the UK already show that
expenditures on R&D are not in many cases
keeping pace with inflation, and in some
cases are declining significantly. In addition,
anyone who is in close contact with R&D
laboratories - public or private sector,
home or abroad - cannot fail to be
disturbed by the shortage of people with
appropriate skills and knowledge. Almost all
projections of the availability of manpower
fall short of the projections of demand in the
1990s.
One reason for this is the demographic
changes which will lead to a decline in the
number of people leaving schools and
universities in general. Of particular relevance
is the fact that the intake into university
courses in the sciences and engineering are
not increasing, and in some areas the trend
is downward. Added to this is what appears
to be an increasing loss of people from the
field after both first degree and early/mid
career. It is well known that about half the
intake into business schools, worldwide, is
drawn from scientists and technologists who
have more often than not left those fields to
go into consultancy and finance.
We need to ask the question ‘where are
R&D Management 19,2, 1989
 years of' research into [he management of R&D
T\~~entj~-otie
the resources to enable us to continue to
produce the quality and the quantity of
research and development that will be
needed to face the challenges of the next
decade and of the next century'?' Two areas
which are currently attracting much attention
would seem to be worth focussing upon.
The first is the role of women in
management. Those of us who come into
contact with a wide variety of organisations
do not need statistics to tell us that it is rare
to meet women in senior positions - but I
was surprised to find that less than 5% of the
participants in our R&D management
courses, designed for project leaders and
middle managers, have been women. There
may be plausible reasons for this, but I
cannot think of many that would stand up to
examination. Various reports from other
professions - for example, doctors - report
an apparent bias against women moving into
senior positions - t h e reason often g'w e n
being the hours of work and the problems of
coping with two sets of responsibilities. This
argument must surely be of less significance
in R&D, where the hours and even the
location of work may be of less importance,
particularly with the opportunities offered
through new technology. If the will is there,
there must be a real opportunity to encourage
more women to enter our area, to remain in
it, and to return to it i f they have left for
domestic reasons.
The second trend which is highlighted is
that of early retirement. This has become a
feature of the 1980s, and increasingly one
sees people in their fifties as well as early
sixties being encouraged to leave research
and development, presumably because the
organisations do not expect them to make
any further contribution. Again this is
surprising - there is very little evidence
that suggests that creative outputs decline
significantly with age. and much evidence
that shows that experience can be a big
asset, particularly in respect of implementing
technology. It is also not true that people
101
cannot learn new skills - there are many
examples of good research being done by
people who have switched fields at a later
age. Motivation may be an issue, but this is
surely one that needs to be tackled by the
organisation. Many of these same retired
persons certainly show high motivation in
other jobs - some clearly taking on a new
lease of life after moving to a new organ-
isation. I would like to suggest, therefore,
that one of the major challenges we face is
to attract more people, of a high quality and
from all groups in the population, into
research and development, and to make sure
we retain and use their skills over a longer
period of time.
This leads me to my final point. and to
provide my own answer to an earlier
question. We do need more research into
the management of research and develop-
ment. We should be very grateful that other
people have picked up the importance of
technology; that courses in this subject are
now being developed in almost every country
in the world; that economists, politicians,
sociologists, corporate strategists, etc. are
highlighting its importance on a daily basis.
But we should be very careful that we don't
let this new-found euphoria mask the fact
that technology now is R&D yesterday, and
the great danger is that in many areas we are
not putting enough effort into increasing the
quantity and the quality of the basic and
applied research which will open up future
opportunities.
There is still a long way to go before R&D
ceases to be a Cinderella discipline in
universities and a second-class functional
area in industry. Twenty-one years from now
I hope the message may be different, and
that the research and education which
groups like our own are undertaking are
helping to promote a change in thinking and
in attitudes.