Strategic project portfolio selection for national research institutes

As global competition intensifies, many national research institutes (NRIs) are investing substantial resources in research and development (R&D) to gain competitive advantage and develop the national economy. However, R&D investment involves a high degree of market and technological uncertainty. The literature on project portfolio selection focuses on either quantitative economic benefits or complex criteria to assess project(s). By emphasizing the features of NRIs, the present study proposes a decision model for evaluating a project portfolio at the early initiation stage. This decision model rests on a strategy for differentiating products and services. The decision model provides a solution to a market need to maximize benefits through differentiation. A systematic hybrid multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method comprising a modified Delphi method (MDM), a decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method, and an analytic network process (ANP) offers a systematic approach to the project portfolio-selection problem. The present empirical study on the selection of alternative R&D projects in NRIs investigates the flexible electronics industry, using the hybrid MCDM method to test the decision model's effectiveness. The present study also discusses cognitive differences between NRIs and for-profit organization in terms of their R&D portfolio selection. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.