以資訊處理觀點探討研究發展專案的協調活動對績效之影響

Abstract

為了因應複雜多變的環境及競爭壓力，企業組織必須不斷在產品、製程或勞務提供上進行創新及變革，以提高品質、吸引顧客、開拓市場。專案團隊此種以任務導向而非功能性編制、並能有效的整合組織內不同專業人員的工作單位，因此應運而生，且被企業組織普遍引用。本研究著眼於專案團隊為了要加強不同功能單位間的橫向整合，所需從事的協調活動為核心，來探討其對專案績效的影響。本研究並將協調活動分為正式化與人際互動兩類，做深入的分析討論。 依據資訊處理觀點，本研究推導出正式化協調活動和專案人員在不同溝通對象上的人際互動協調活動，須與專案的工作不確定性相配合，方可提昇專案績效。此外，本研究還提出，專案的協調活動對績效的正向影響，會隨著專案人員與使用者連結活動的增加而增強。 本研究以研究發展專案為實證對象。樣本包括國內某一財團法人研發機構及半導體高科技公司。本研究採問卷調查，共取得135個專案的資料，以Schoonhoven所發展的方法來進行分析，並驗證所提出的假說。 本研究實證結果顯示：1）專案的「正式化」協調活動，對專案的效率之提昇較有幫助，而專案的「人際互動」協調活動，對專案的技術創新及使用者的效益較有幫助。2）專案的工作不確定性與正式化對績效的影響效果，會受正式化的不同衡量方式及專案人員的認知而改變。3）在「專案內其他人員」、「高階主管」、「供應商」等溝通對象上，工作不確定性與溝通量對專案績效的影響效果，與原假說所推導者不同，本研究提出「資訊內涵」及「資訊有用性」兩因素，來說明實證結果與原假說不同的原因。4）專案的協調活動要能真正發揮其對專案績效的助益，必須要有取得市場或顧客需求資訊的活動。本研究除了討論造成上述結果的原因外，並根據這些結果，提出理論與實務意涵的說明。

In response to the fast-changing business environment and the pressures of competition, modern organizations need to continually innovate and improve their products and production processes in order to upgrade service quality, attract customers, and expand their market shares. Therefore, the resulting task-oriented project teams rather than the functional ones have been originated and widely used at enterprise. The design of the project teams is to efficiently integrate various professionals within different functional units in an organization. In order to enhance the lateral integration of various functional units in organization, this research has been focused specifically on the coordination activities of the project teams and investigated their effects on project performance. This coordination work can be further classified into formalization and interpersonal communication and discussed in depth respectively. Based on the information processing perspective, the research deduced that the coordination work, of both formalization and interpersonal communication, has to be fitted with the task uncertainty of the project work in order to enhance the project performance. We also theoretically hypothesized that the more the linkage between the project people and users, the more positive effects of the coordination activities on project performance. The subjects of the study are the various R&D projects. The sample was drawn from a large government-sponsored research institute and the high-tech companies in semiconductor industry. Questionnaires were used to collect data. In addition, the analytical method developed by Schoonhoven was used to test the research hypotheses. Findings of this study reveal that 1). The formalization can be beneficial for the efficiency in project execution. On the other hand, the interpersonal communication will be helpful for the technical innovation and the effectiveness to users. 2). The different measures in formalization and the perceptions of R&D personnel have influence on the effects of formalization and task uncertainty on project performance. 3). For various communication members such as other members within project, top management, and suppliers, the effects of the interpersonal communication and task uncertainty on project performance are not the same as predicted ones in hypotheses. Contents and usefulness of the information have been proposed in this study to elucidate the possible causes. 4). Without the information about market and customer requirements, project coordination work alone may not be effective in improving performance. Hence, the linkage to customers is a must for coordination activities to fully exert their effects on project performance. In addition to the discussions about the causes of these findings, their theoretical and managerial implications are also provided.