Investigating the Not Invented Here (NIH) syndrome: A look at the performance, tenure, and communication patterns of 50 R & D Project Groups
Abstract
The study, carried out in a large laboratory, shows that performance increases up to 1. 5 years tenure, stays steady for a time but by five years has declined noticeably. This tendency is best accounted for by the marked decline in communication rate among group members and between them and critical external sources of information. The authors analyse the significance of this finding and suggest means of maintaining the vitality of long‐standing project teams. The study, carried out in a large laboratory, shows that performance increases up to 1. 5 years tenure, stays steady for a time but by five years has declined noticeably. This tendency is best accounted for by the marked decline in communication rate among group members and between them and critical external sources of information. The authors analyse the significance of this finding and suggest means of maintaining the vitality of long‐standing project teams.
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The NIH syndrome creates a trade-off between relying on outside sources and conducting internal R&D.
“Accordingly, the NIH syndrome is a behavioral response that will induce a substitution relationship between the use of external sources and internal R&D activities.”
From Open for innovation: the role of openness in explaining innovation performance among U.K. manufacturing firms (2006) · cites this paper as Katz and Allen, 1982
Direct involvement can encourage professionals to support innovations because these innovations will reflect their own knowledge and opinions.
“Direct involvement can encourage professionals to support innovations because these innovations will reflect their own knowledge and opinions (Katz and Allen, 1982).”
From Anticipatory innovation of professional services: The case of auditing and artificial intelligence (2023) · cites this paper as Katz and Allen, 1982
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“This might lead to a preference for self-generated ideas over those produced by GenAI, partly explained by the "not invented here" syndrome [49], which denotes a reluctance to embrace ideas or products developed outside one’s immediate familiar context.”
Background
- Authors
- Katz, R., & Allen, T. J.
- Affiliations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
- ORCID
- Allen, Thomas J.
- Venue
- R&D Management
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 1982-01
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 7-20
- ISSN
- 0033-6807 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-9310
- OpenAlex
- W2097363245
- Cited by
- 1,410
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 18 · 2025: 34 · 2024: 32 · 2023: 32 · 2022: 69 · 2021: 54 · 2020: 57 · 2019: 62 · 2018: 64 · 2017: 79 · 2016: 56 · 2015: 74 · 2014: 97 · 2013: 77 · 2012: 86
- FWCI
- 4.65
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- R and D Management (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Team Dynamics and Performance
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Innovation and Knowledge Management
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Information Systems and Management › Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration
- Keywords
- not-invented-here syndrome, project team performance, team tenure, communication patterns, external information sources
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