2026-09-19T16:18:56Zhttps://dspace.mit.edu/server/oai/requestoai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/1076012022-01-13T07:55:19Zcom_1721.1_7582com_1721.1_7581col_1721.1_131023
David Niño.
Rodriguez Hefferan, Javier
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering and Management Program
System Design and Management Program.
2017-03-20T19:42:00Z
2017-03-20T19:42:00Z
2016
2016
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/107601
974910575
Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Engineering, System Design and Management Program, Engineering and Management Program, 2016.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 136-143).
The Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry faces challenges that are making it increasingly harder for CPG multinational companies to compete. The lack of differentiation in CPG, evolving consumer preferences, and the need to offer the consumer a unique and valuable experience is requiring CPG multinational companies to continuously innovate. The Research and Development (R&D) function helps to overcome the pressing challenges that the CPG industry faces by contributing to the overall innovation that a firm can deliver. The underlying question is how R&D creates innovation in the context of a CPG multinational. Such innovation, in the form of new products and processes, would seemingly require a central R&D executive, defined in this thesis as the Chief R&D Officer, the person who is accountable for creating innovation for the firm in the R&D context. To contribute to innovation, the Chief R&D Officer must not only set the direction for R&D, but also execute this direction in terms of formulating the R&D strategy, and then managing the R&D organizational structure and leading the R&D organizational culture. The proposition is that the evolving role of the Chief R&D Officer is demanding that these senior executives think systematically about these elements to guarantee the short-term and long-term competitiveness of the R&D organization. If the Chief R&D Officer formulates the right strategy but has an inefficient organizational structure or lacks an innovative organizational culture, then the R&D organization will fail in creating innovation for the firm. This thesis also explores how Chief R&D Officers in the CPG multinational companies have coped with these key elements to achieve successful innovation.
by Javier Rodriguez Hefferan.
S.M. in Engineering and Management
143 pages
eng
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission.
http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582
Engineering and Management Program.
System Design and Management Program.
Engineering Systems Division.
The Chief Research and Development (R&D) Officer's contribution to innovation : a study in Consumer Packaged Goods multinationals
Chief R&D Officer's contribution to innovation : a study in Consumer Packaged Goods multinationals
Chief Research and Development Officer's contribution to innovation : a study in Consumer Packaged Goods multinationals
Study in CPG multinationals
Thesis
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Publication
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<Abstract>The Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry faces challenges that are making it increasingly harder for CPG multinational companies to compete. The lack of differentiation in CPG, evolving consumer preferences, and the need to offer the consumer a unique and valuable experience is requiring CPG multinational companies to continuously innovate. The Research and Development (R&D) function helps to overcome the pressing challenges that the CPG industry faces by contributing to the overall innovation that a firm can deliver. The underlying question is how R&D creates innovation in the context of a CPG multinational. Such innovation, in the form of new products and processes, would seemingly require a central R&D executive, defined in this thesis as the Chief R&D Officer, the person who is accountable for creating innovation for the firm in the R&D context. To contribute to innovation, the Chief R&D Officer must not only set the direction for R&D, but also execute this direction in terms of formulating the R&D strategy, and then managing the R&D organizational structure and leading the R&D organizational culture. The proposition is that the evolving role of the Chief R&D Officer is demanding that these senior executives think systematically about these elements to guarantee the short-term and long-term competitiveness of the R&D organization. If the Chief R&D Officer formulates the right strategy but has an inefficient organizational structure or lacks an innovative organizational culture, then the R&D organization will fail in creating innovation for the firm. This thesis also explores how Chief R&D Officers in the CPG multinational companies have coped with these key elements to achieve successful innovation.</Abstract>
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