R&D as a business - what are the implications for performance measurement?

There have been considerable changes in the way that Research and Developme nt (R&D) has been managed over recent years, many of which have been influe nced by the external environment. These have been discussed in a number of publications with much of the debate centring around the movement from the so-called first generation to fifth generation models of R&D management. What has not been debated to the same extent are the implications of recent and likely future trends in R&D management for the way performance is, and should be, measured. In this paper we focus on these implications, drawing upon both the existing literature on performance measurement (PM) in R&D a nd our own research into organisations which have chosen to move towards a more profit-centred approach to the management of their technical resources . Finally, we present and discuss the findings of our review, which indicate that although there are common features, some differences, requiring carefu l consideration by management, can be identified when movement from a cost- to a profit-centred approach occurs.