How to orchestrate R&D networks? The role of orchestration subprocesses and collaborative practices over time

Abstract

Although R&D networks have been increasingly used by companies to foster innovation through collaboration, there are still challenges regarding how to successfully orchestrate such projects. The goal of this study is to analyse how a hub firm orchestrates an R&D network through collaborative practices. We based our study on the three orchestration subprocesses proposed by Dhanaraj and Parkhe, namely, to foster knowledge mobility, guarantee innovation appropriability, and maintain network stability. To achieve our goal, we analysed the collaborative practices in an R&D network in the semiconductor industry in France. The case consists of an R&D network among 26 companies to create a new transistor. The data include 65 interviews and 192 documents. The study contributes to the literature on network orchestration by showing that specific collaborative practices performed by a hub firm enable a fourth orchestration subprocess—network reconfiguration—which is necessary in long‐lasting and complex R&D networks and also affects the other three subprocesses. Network reconfiguration consists in disassociating and attracting new members to the R&D network to cover knowledge demands, and is performed by the hub‐firm through specific collaborative practices. The results can benefit practitioners by showing which collaborative practices may be useful for a hub firm throughout the development of an R&D network.