New entrepreneurial behaviour of public research organizations: opportunities and threats of technological services supply

Public research labs play a fundamental role in modern economies to increase, through knowledge and technology transfer, the economic growth of countries. The paper analyses new organisation of the biggest public research body in Italy, based on project management, designed with an explicit aim to transform this research institution in entrepreneurial organisation, providing technological services and applied research to external subjects such as firms, public administration, etc. New matrix structure of the public research organisation – technological services-oriented – creates structural deficiencies, coordination problems, as well as problems of defining the extent of the project manager’s authority over staff from other departments. In addition this new structure has been decreasing scientific production of institutes which reduces the efficiency of overall national system of innovation.