TY - JOUR
T1 - Underpinning Strategic Behaviours and Posture of Principal Investigators In Transition/Uncertain Environments
AU - O'Kane, Conor
AU - Cunningham, James
AU - Mangematin, Vincent
AU - O'Reilly, Paul
PY - 2015/6/1
Y1 - 2015/6/1
N2 - Although principal investigators (PIs) are becoming key strategic actors in shaping new scientific trajectories, little is known about how they strategise in an evolving publicly-funded research environment. Drawing on thirty interviews and extensive documentation from Ireland's science, engineering and technology (SET) sector, we take a closer look at the heretofore neglected strategic behaviours underlying the research activities of PIs. Our findings suggest that their strategic behaviours fall into four categories – research designer, research adapter, research supporter, and research pursuer. We find that the mechanisms for selecting research strategies are interwoven with the posture (reactive/proactive) of PIs as well as their degree of conformance. We argue that more proactive PIs utilising non-conformance strategies shape new research trajectories, while conformative and/or more reactive PIs predominantly pursue and deepen existing trajectories. We discuss the wider implications of these findings for policy makers, funding bodies and the practicing PI and strategist.
AB - Although principal investigators (PIs) are becoming key strategic actors in shaping new scientific trajectories, little is known about how they strategise in an evolving publicly-funded research environment. Drawing on thirty interviews and extensive documentation from Ireland's science, engineering and technology (SET) sector, we take a closer look at the heretofore neglected strategic behaviours underlying the research activities of PIs. Our findings suggest that their strategic behaviours fall into four categories – research designer, research adapter, research supporter, and research pursuer. We find that the mechanisms for selecting research strategies are interwoven with the posture (reactive/proactive) of PIs as well as their degree of conformance. We argue that more proactive PIs utilising non-conformance strategies shape new research trajectories, while conformative and/or more reactive PIs predominantly pursue and deepen existing trajectories. We discuss the wider implications of these findings for policy makers, funding bodies and the practicing PI and strategist.
U2 - 10.1016/j.lrp.2013.08.008
DO - 10.1016/j.lrp.2013.08.008
M3 - Article
SN - 0024-6301
VL - 48
SP - 200
EP - 214
JO - Long Range Planning
JF - Long Range Planning
IS - 3
ER -