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Conference Report
Sally Davenport
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
Article Text
The R&D Management Conference 2003
Implementing the Theories of R&D Management - Advancing the State of the Art
7-9 July, 2003, Manchester, UK
The R&D Management Conference was first held in Manchester in 1980 and has, in recent times, returned to its home base for every third conference. The conference brings together about 150 academics and practitioners to present and discuss a range of topics based upon a particular theme. As the papers are only accepted if they address the theme, the conference generates some very interesting discussion particularly when speakers from very different parts of the globe are investigating a similar issue from their particular perspective. A selection of the papers are reviewed and then usually published in a special issue of the R&D Management journal.
The question that underpinned 2003's conference was whether "the community of researchers who study R&D management, are making the field intellectually more or less accessible for practitioners", emphasising the ongoing quest for the conference to connect with practitioners as well as academics. Having said that, the papers were a mix of advancing the state of the art of R&D management theory as well as implementation of the theories. Many papers addressed new product development, R&D collaboration in various forms and the sharing of knowledge. Biotechnology and bio-pharmaceuticals were the industries of choice. More unusual workshop topics included the application of the metaphor of horse training and racing to managing innovative teams and another involved a discussion led by partners in a Manchester-based architecture firm which specialises in the design of creative spaces for R&D laboratories.
The connection between academics and practitioners was reinforced by the contribution of several practitioner-oriented keynote presenters. Jack Smith and colleagues from the National Research Council Canada discussed their experiences in developing foresight and creating networks. Aaron Shenhar from the Stevens Institute presented his Strategic Project Leadership framework developed during his immense consulting experience. Eddie Morland from AEA Rail Technology Centre, the reincarnated technology division of British Rail, gave a fascinating presentation of how his organisation provides innovative technologies to Europe's different rail networks. Adrian Bull from BNFL described life as a technology entrepreneur with great honesty and humour. Other practitioners participated in the parallel streams.
The R&D Management conference is to be held in Portugal this year, and rumour has it that it might be held in Canada in 2005. Keep an eye on www.radma.org if you are interested in participating in the future.
The Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM) Conference
Surfing the Waves: Management Challenges, Management Solutions
2-5 December, 2003, Fremantle, Australia
Fremantle hosted the 17th annual ANZAM Conference with the opening function held in the stunning new Maritime Museum situated at the mouth of the Swan River. More than 300 people usually attend this Australasian-based meeting, with twenty-one other countries represented in the speaker line-up in 2003. Following efforts in the last decade to improve the standing of the conference, the majority of the submissions were full papers that went through a double-blind refereeing process. The workshops at the conference reflected the role that ANZAM plays in supporting academic management research in Australasia with topics including an AACSB (US-based) and EQIS (EU-based) accreditation symposium and a discussion of NZ Management Research in the Era of the Performance Based Research Fund, which some see as a university research funding model that may be implemented in future in Australia.
Three excellent keynote speakers inspired those attending sessions first thing in the morning. Of particular interest to this journals' audience was Andrew Pettigrew of Bath University speaking on 'Organizing for Innovation'. The talk outlined some of the key results from a large multi-method, multi-country study of innovative forms of organising and performance in Europe, Japan and the USA. The full story of the study can be found in his recently published Innovative Forms of Organising: International Perspectives (A.M. Pettigrew et al. (Eds.), Sage, London, 2003).
The second keynote presentation was a hugely informative and entertaining romp through the history of leadership using waves as a theme, by Keith Grint of Templeton College, Oxford, entitled 'Leadership and Change: Wading Through the Waves'. The increasing connection between ANZAM and the American Academy of Management (AoM), provided the third keynote speaker, Jone Pearce from University of California, Irvine and past-president of AoM 2003-2004. Professor Pearce drew on her wealth of experience researching how political structures influence interpersonal processes in many different countries to talk about 'The Effectiveness of Personal Relationships as Substitutes for the Rule of Law'.
Technology and innovation management do not feature strongly as a stream topic at ANZAM conferences (only one session was specifically dedicated to the theme) but many papers of interest to journal readers can be found in streams such as Knowledge Management, Quality and Operations Management, Business Policy & Strategy, Small Business & Entrepreneurship and Information Systems and IT. The ANZAM conference is always a good opportunity to catch up with the Australasian management research community and would also be of particular interest to PhD students as there is a very popular and highly praised doctoral workshop prior to the conference. The 2004 conference will be held in Dunedin from December 8-11 with submissions due on July 9, 2004. One of the keynote speakers will be Paul Goodman from Carnegie Mellon University whose work will be known to many readers. More details can be found at www.business.otago.ac.nz/mgmt/anzam2004.htm.
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