An exploratory study on contingency factors affecting R&D performance measurement

Purpose – To explore the effects of contingency and the position of R&D professionals on R&D performance measurement. Design/methodology/approach – Adopting a bottom‐up approach that reflects R&D professionals' opinion, this study investigated the relationship between preferred performance measures and contingency factors (project phase, structure, technology, and the position of R&D professionals). Fifty two senior researchers at a Korean telecommunications laboratory were surveyed. Findings – The results suggest that the goal achievement dimension and technology factors are more important in earlier phases of an R&D project while production, economy/market, and external evaluation factors become more significant in later stages. Practical implications – The findings suggest that the weights of R&D performance measures should be aligned with the contingency factors and the position of R&D professionals. Originality/value – While most studies have adopted a macro‐level approach, this study examined R&D performance measurement at the micro‐level. While most previous works are conceptual, this study made an empirical investigation that enables statistical tests. And the findings provide useful recommendations for human resource managers who are interested in measuring the performance of technology innovation.