IT enabled R&D for business value in a global framework

Abstract

Historically innovation research and development (R&D) has been investigated in terms of product and more recently service applications. The central argument of this paper is that information technology can support R&D in the important but relatively underdeveloped area of business process development. The methodology used in this study is design science research (DSR). The approach of the work is to outline the case of the Innovation Value Institute (IVI) which was co-founded in 2006 by Maynooth University and Intel with the objective of transforming of IT management. Through the application of IT to the R&D process, the institute has developed the information technology capability maturity framework (IT-CMF) for managing IT for business value. Consequently, the framework is a unique example of IT enabled R&D, developed in the context of academic-practitioner cooperation, which has a global reach. The IVI case demonstrates that innovation in IT business processes is increasingly important as a source of competitive advantage and in doing so it addresses key limitations in current research.