Memorable projects and aesthetic experiences in an industrial R&D lab

TLDR: In this article, an exploratory study focusing on memorable projects of 31 researchers who worked on 70 projects during four years was conducted, revealing six key dimensions that describe the dimensions of R&D researchers' aesthetic experiences: perceptive, emotional, intellectual, communicative, collective and organizational.

Abstract: Purpose The purpose of this paper is to show the mechanism of aesthetic experiences of work in a research and innovation context – an R&D laboratory of a multinational communications and information technology company. Analysing memorable projects of this laboratory through the lenses of aesthetics is a useful way to understand organizational and innovation culture and the quality of life of researchers and innovators. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory study focusing on memorable projects of 31 researchers who worked on 70 projects during four years was conducted. The data analysis is based on the grounded theory. Findings The study reveals six key dimensions that describe the dimensions of R&D researchers’ aesthetic experiences: perceptive, emotional, intellectual, communicative, collective and organizational. These dimensions are closely related and support an innovation culture in an R&D environment. Research limitations/implications The aesthetic dimensions have to be correlated to innovation performance indicators to better understand which aspects are the most relevant for innovation. Practical implications The paper proposes first examples of implications for the industry to foster an innovation culture through aesthetic experiences. Originality/value No study has been done on aesthetic experiences in an R&D environment.