Changing the Culture of R&D

Whether it's open innovation, portfolio management, or customer-centered innovation, implementing any new innovation framework often means changing an organization's culture. This special issue focuses on the underlying issues that frequently lead good initiatives to stumble on how to change culture to support change. The topic has its roots in an earlier special issue from Research-Technology Management (RTM) that addressed innovation portfolio management. A point raised then was that changing to a different kind of portfolio management required a more profound and broader effort of change to support it. RTM readers and members expressed interest in a more sweeping exploration, which ultimately led to this special issue on driving cultural transformation. For change to stick, leaders must commit to instilling a new skillset in their workforce, which in turn changes the group mindset. They see service design as another area ripe for R&D culture change.