Portfolio Management of Innovation Projects: High-Tech Projects at Philips Research

Abstract

Project Portfolio Management (PPM) has emerged as a central tool of governing multi-project environments in modern organisations. Management of innovation projects is a distinctive research area within the discipline of project management. Innovation projects by their nature differ from conventional (engineering and construction) projects, characterising by a higher degree of uncertainty in the first instance. This paper aims to critically examine implementation and applications of PPM in Philips Research, a research division of the global electronics company Royal Philips Electronics. Philips Research possesses a well-established, mature PPM; all projects covered by PPM are of innovative nature. The empirical evidence collected in the case study is broadly consistent with literature and supports its main tenets, specifically the issue of strategic alignment, PPM processes and organisation, and common challenges of PPM. This study provides further empirical support to it and contributes to the extant body of literature.