R&D Governance in Product Companies in the Era of GenAI

We are currently looking for students who want to write their Master thesis at the Institute of Technology Management (Prof. Dr. Felix Wortmann) on the topic:

Traditional product companies such as Bosch, Siemens, ABB, and Schneider Electric have historically distinguished themselves through pioneering research and development (R&D) efforts. Ever since, these organizations have cultivated strong R&D departments that have been instrumental in ensuring their long-term success. These departments have driven groundbreaking innovations in material sciences, electronics, semiconductors, robotics, and machine learning, which have subsequently been commercialized to maintain competitive advantage in their respective markets.

However, the established role and governance of R&D departments is being challenged more than ever. This is particularly evident in the case of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), where the research and development of substantive technologies no longer reside exclusively within corporate boundaries. Instead, strategic partnerships, collaborations with (academic) institutions, and mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are increasingly being leveraged to complement internal R&D capabilities. For instance, Siemens' strategic partnership with NVIDIA to develop industrial metaverse applications, and Bosch's acquisition of Five AI to strengthen its autonomous driving capabilities, exemplify this shift towards more cooperative and external R&D.

The challenge
This fundamental transformation in the innovation ecosystem poses critical questions for R&D departments within traditional product companies:

1. What is the task of internal R&D organizations in this new paradigm of cooperative and external R&D?
2. How should R&D organizations be governed in this new paradigm?
3. What metrics and frameworks are appropriate for measuring success?

The thesis aims to investigate these questions through a combination of empirical research and theoretical analysis. We seek to identify effective strategies for R&D governance that enable these organizations to maintain their innovative edge in an increasingly distributed and open innovation landscape.

Your profile

• Enrollment in the final stage of a master program in business administration, economics or finance, industrial engineering, or a related field.
• A strong passion for innovation, innovation management, and driving organizational impact.
• Analytical thinking and the ability to translate research into actionable insights.

If you find the topic interesting, please do not hesitate to contact Manuel Wlcek (manuel.wlcek@unisg.ch). Please attach your CV and current grade transcript to your e-mail.