Underpinning Strategic Behaviours and Posture of Principal Investigators In Transition/Uncertain Environments

• Published in: Long range planning 2015-06, Vol.48 (3), p.200-214
• Main Authors: O'Kane, Conor, Cunningham, James, Mangematin, Vincent, O'Reilly, Paul
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Humanities and Social Sciences; Organizational behavior; Research funding; Researchers; Strategic management; Studies
• ISSN: 0024-6301; 1873-1872
• DOI: 10.1016/j.lrp.2013.08.008

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.