Abstract:
Models of R&D account for technical, technological and administrative factors of
R&D implementation but underestimate the influence of behavioural and
political factors such as power and conflict. They assume that R&D organisation
is “well-insulated” from partisan, emotions, political reactions and contextual
factors and that decision makers are rational and decisions are taken to best fit
the content of R&D programme. The present study explores the effects of
rational and irrational factors in the R&D implementation process on the
performance of publicly funded research projects in universities. It uses realist
and qualitative exploratory semi-structured interviews with 22 active
researchers in Sultan Qaboos University provides “depth and detail” of the
complexities of R&D implementation effects on its performance. The study
discovers 18 measures of success of academic research and 30 effects of R&D
implementation of the performance of publicly funded research.The study concludes that the iterative, non-linear and processual nature of R&D
implementation is a continuous dynamic system. R&D success builds up the
capacity for future success whilst failures decrease the chances of future
successes. The integrated effects of implementation (IEI) influence R&D
performance through technical and administrative capability of the R&D
organisation as well as through behaviours of organisation members. These
include leaders’ behaviours, conflict and political skills within individuals. Both
success dynamism and IEI suggest contextualism implementation of R&D.
