Evaluating research: ROI is not enough. [Return on investment]
Abstract
Some of the decline in innovation in American industry is the result of a mismatch between what the research provides and how the sponsors measure its value in terms of the return on their investment (ROI). Declines in research and development (R and D) and basic research in relation to gross national product, in scientists and engineers actually engaged in research relative to their numbers, and industrial investment in basic research relative to net sales explain the drop in innovation and patents. Although the new managerial approach emphasizes ROI, it is a limited evaluation tool that doesn't account for the long time span to move an innovation from the laboratory to the marketplace, the unpredictable nature of industrial research, the imprecisions inherent in measuring the value of research efforts to a company, and how to evaluate the exchange of information when a central research laboratory serves several facilities of a diversified company. There are techniques for calculating ROI which can also be supplemented by subjective judgements. (DCK)
- Authors:
- Publication Date:
- OSTI Identifier:
- 6382485
- Resource Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal Name:
- Harvard Bus. Rev.; (United States)
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 58:5
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY AND ECONOMY; INDUSTRY; RESEARCH PROGRAMS; EVALUATION; INVESTMENT; PROGRAM MANAGEMENT; TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER; MANAGEMENT; 290500* - Energy Planning & Policy- Research, Development, Demonstration, & Commercialization
Citation Formats
Mechlin, G F, and Berg, D. Evaluating research: ROI is not enough. [Return on investment]. United States: N. p., 1980.
Web.
Mechlin, G F, & Berg, D. Evaluating research: ROI is not enough. [Return on investment]. United States.
Mechlin, G F, and Berg, D. 1980.
"Evaluating research: ROI is not enough. [Return on investment]". United States.
@article{osti_6382485,
title = {Evaluating research: ROI is not enough. [Return on investment]},
author = {Mechlin, G F and Berg, D},
abstractNote = {Some of the decline in innovation in American industry is the result of a mismatch between what the research provides and how the sponsors measure its value in terms of the return on their investment (ROI). Declines in research and development (R and D) and basic research in relation to gross national product, in scientists and engineers actually engaged in research relative to their numbers, and industrial investment in basic research relative to net sales explain the drop in innovation and patents. Although the new managerial approach emphasizes ROI, it is a limited evaluation tool that doesn't account for the long time span to move an innovation from the laboratory to the marketplace, the unpredictable nature of industrial research, the imprecisions inherent in measuring the value of research efforts to a company, and how to evaluate the exchange of information when a central research laboratory serves several facilities of a diversified company. There are techniques for calculating ROI which can also be supplemented by subjective judgements. (DCK)},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/6382485},
journal = {Harvard Bus. Rev.; (United States)},
number = ,
volume = 58:5,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1980},
month = {Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1980}
}