R & D commercialization capability criteria: implications for project selection

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the criteria of R & D commercialization capability by using the successful cases from government research institutes. Design/methodology/approach – The data were collected from 272 entrepreneurs and researchers with a structured questionnaire. The data analysis was carried out by the structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings – The research results revealed that there are six criteria for R & D project commercialization capability, these are arranged according to the significance; marketing, technology, finance, non-financial impact, intellectual property, and human resource. Moreover, the evaluator’s roles, both researchers and entrepreneurs, effect the level of criteria for consideration. Research limitations/implications – This research is derived from samples form voluntary participants from the disclosed lists in the governmental research institutes. Although SEM results provide weight for each R & D commercialization capability that would be the first step for developing the R & D evaluation instrument and the longitudinal will need to investigate. Practical implications – This study provides the holistic R & D commercialization capability criteria to assist entrepreneurs and researchers when faced with R & D commercialization decision. The criteria was developed from successful innovation cases; hence they enhance decision-making potential, provide a guideline of R & D commercialization evaluation process, speed up the decision-making process, and prevent risk of a resource meltdown and increase innovation exploitation. Social implications – The roles of the evaluators are important when considering R & D, hence, to use the same criteria for evaluating the researchers and entrepreneurs seems inappropriate since naturally, the researchers usually lack marketing and financial skills while the entrepreneurs usually lack technological skills and human resources. The answer may be in the form of providing specifics about project requirement, establishment of marketing and financial consultants in research institutes, enhancement of research and development division, or doing the business matching before doing the agreement in order to encourage co-research and increase the technology transfer level. Originality/value – This paper proposes the holistic criteria in order to decrease the ambiguous subjectivity of fuzzy-expert system and to help with effectively funding R & D and to prevent a resource meltdown.