Risk Management in University–Industry R&D Collaboration Programs: A Stakeholder Perspective

Gabriela Fernandes (), Joana Domingues, Anabela Tereso, Camilo Micán and Madalena Araújo
Additional contact information
Gabriela Fernandes: CEMMPRE, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Coimbra, 3030-788 Coimbra, Portugal
Joana Domingues: ALGORITMI, Department of Production and Systems, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
Anabela Tereso: ALGORITMI, Department of Production and Systems, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal
Camilo Micán: School of Industrial Engineering, Universidad del Valle, Cali 760034, Colombia
Madalena Araújo: ALGORITMI, Department of Production and Systems, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-19

Abstract: Current knowledge of risk management (RM) is mainly limited to single organizations. This paper investigates RM practices from a stakeholders’ perspective applicable to university–industry R&D collaboration (UIC) programs, a particular form of inter-organizational relationship. With a view to reducing the negative impact of risk associated with such UICs, and, as a result, increasing the success rate of the related programs and projects, an RM methodology has been developed from the perspective of the main stakeholders. The results reported here are based on a large-scale UIC between the Bosch Car Multimedia in Portugal and the University of Minho. Three research methods were applied in a complementary way: participant observation over seven years, analysis of various documents supporting the management of the programs and projects, and focus group involving seven key participants from different roles. The proposed RM methodology takes into account the three main stakeholders and their respective RM roles—Program Manager, Program and Project Management Officer, and Project Manager—and helps to manage the risks incurred by a UIC program while, at the same time, emphasizing the importance of taking the stakeholders’ perspective. In inter-organizational contexts, particularly in the case of university and industry, where there is a cultural gap between members, misunderstandings may occur about the role each key stakeholder should play. This paper provides a comprehensive guideline for the application of the methodology by means of a proposed set of specific RM practices. However, the research was conducted using a single case study, therefore limiting the results’ potential for generalization.

Keywords: risk management; stakeholder management; inter-organizational programs; university–industry collaborations (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/1/319/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/1/319/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2022:i:1:p:319-:d:1014488

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().