RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION PROJECT RISK MANAGEMENT IN A FURNITURE CLUSTER BASED START-UP COMPANY

The following paper presents a multi-layer risk analysis and the mitigation possibilities for an ongoing research, development and innovation (RDI) project within a regional furniture cluster. The strategy of the cluster is directed towards innovation and research, therefore, a successful completion of the current RDI project is highly desirable. A risk management approach is applied to the RDI project, which is in its early implementation stages, in order to be able to identify and mitigate the failure modes. Through analyzing constraint on multiple levels of complexity, the project risks are identified and evaluated for criticality against needs on multiple levels. Further, by proposing preventive measures for each critical risk, the authors intend to ensure the success of this RDI project. The findings are directly related to the project's specific characteristics and will be further implemented by the managerial team as a measure to ensure project success.