Quality in research: an empirical study

Abstract

The quality movement has found successive applications in manufacturing, marketing and new product engineering. Recently, the requirement by many clients that suppliers be certified by third parties and the need to improve the performance of R&D firmly raise the question: are quality approaches applicable to R&D?Our argument is that the quality movement is applicable to R&D but, most of all, it brings a new cognitive mindset to the concern of managing R&D effectively. Firms stand to gain enormously from R&D organizations that function with high levels of diligence and awareness.This paper is divided into four sections. The first section reviews partial approaches to quality in R&D and proposes a conceptual framework. Research questions and the study methodology are described in the second section. Findings about the meanings and practices of quality in R&D form the core of the third section. A discussion of the maturity model of R&D management is contained in the fourth section, and is followed by a conclusion.