Overcoming Barriers to Foster Innovation in Collaborative R&D Projects

Purpose – In today’s highly competitive business environment, companies face the challenge of survival in the context of market saturation. Failure to innovate and adapt can lead to stagnation and inability to generate value. Collaborative R&D projects have emerged as a solution to foster innovation by leveraging distinct knowledge and resources. Effective innovation management within collaborative R&D projects requires a deep understanding of collaborative dynamics and a creation of environments conducive to creativity and disruptive solutions. This paper aims to analyze barriers to attain innovation as an outcome of collaborative R&D projects and identify strategies to overcome them.
Design/methodology/approach – A case study method was employed. A qualitative multi-method approach was adopted, which included interviews, document analysis, and participatory observation of key stakeholders.
Findings – The research uncovered several significant barriers and corresponding strategies for overcoming them within collaborative project consortia. Among the major barriers identified were the lack of confidence, financial and lack of trust. The main strategies identified to overcome them were related to alignment workshops, the need for demonstration, the lack of qualified personnel and bringing teams together. Strategies for overcoming these barriers involved actions such as ensuring alignment workshops among partners, by conducting demonstrations, providing training, hiring qualified personnel, fostering team cohesion, appointing a moderator during meetings; and raising project awareness among individuals and partners.
Originality/value – The main value of this paper lies in the proposal of strategies to overcome the barriers to foster innovation in collaborative R&D projects.

Barriers, Strategies, Innovation Management, Project Management, Collaborative R&D
Projects