Configurations of project management practices to enhance the performance of open innovation R&D projects

Abstract This study contributes to the current discussion related to the execution challenges of open innovation projects in R&D with the lens of project management, especially considering the type of external partner as a contingent factor. It fosters the discussion of the configuration of practices in a contingent project management approach in comparison to the traditional best practice approach. For that, we conducted a qualitative fuzzy-set comparative analysis of 50 open innovation projects in R&D. By looking at configurations, we found combinations of practices related to high performance, when treated as a non-independent variable. In this configuration view, practices negatively associated with high performance in previous studies, are part of a combination of practices to achieve high performance in R&D projects. This study contributes to fostering the configurational perspective to project management associated with the idea that one size does not fit all.

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