Underpinning risk dimensions of sponsored institutional R&D projects through cutting-edge fuzzy TOPSIS and fuzzy DEMATEL approaches

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to enhance the success of Sponsored Institutional R&D Projects (SIRPs) by investigating the influence of risk dimensions over four criteria Cost overrun, Time overrun, Schedule overrun, and Quality of projects. The study identifies risk dimensions and prioritizes and explores causal relationships to guide risk mitigation strategies during project execution.

Design/methodology/approach

This study was conducted with qualitative data obtained through a systematic questionnaire from 10 domain experts associated with SIRPs. Through an extensive literature review, the study identifies the ten risk dimensions, Fuzzy TOPSIS was employed for prioritizing the explored risk dimensions and Fuzzy DEMATEL explored the qualitative causal relationships among these dimensions. The sensitivity analysis was conducted to validate the robustness of findings by adjusting the weightage assigned to experts.

Findings

The findings reveal financial risk as the highest ranked and business risk as the least influential among identified dimensions. The study also highlights management risk as the most significant, followed by business risk and sensitivity analysis concludes that the findings are robust, lacking significant judgment bias.

Research limitations/implications

This study contributes to risk management strategies for SIRPs, to ensure timely completion within the allocated budget. The findings of the study can be implemented in other such SIRPs. The study also informs funding agencies' policies and project monitoring mechanisms and advancing project management practices

Originality/value

Its originality lies in being the first to systematically identify and prioritize risk dimensions, adding significant value to SIRP management and academic discourse on project management and risk analysis.

Citation

Kumar, S. and Singh, V. (2024), "Underpinning risk dimensions of sponsored institutional R&D projects through cutting-edge fuzzy TOPSIS and fuzzy DEMATEL approaches", Kybernetes, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/K-01-2024-0026