“My research provides a Growth Investment Matrix to support business growth through Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) assessing where the linkages are deliberate or to align emergent strategy,” says Dayo Abinusawa of the AWA Business School. He also works with a variety of industry clients on product development, particularly in the areas of experience and service design. Dayo’s research has been supported by RADMA. 

What support did you get from RADMA and how did it help you?

Awarded the Doctoral Studies Award 2015/16.

Please can you outline the topic of your research and details of any outputs (presentations, papers)?

Research topic – Growth Investment Matrix: A Framework Linking Corporate Venture Capital Investment with Business Growth Strategy

Outputs –

• Abinusawa, A. and Minshall, T. (2016) Corporate investors and their venture capital strategies. R&D Management Conference, Cambridge, July 3-6.
• Abinusawa, A., Mortara, L., and Minshall, T. (2016) Development of corporate venture capital strategy to support firm ambidexterity, Druid Academy Conference, Bordeaux, January 13-16.
• Abinusawa, A. (2015) Venturing metamorphosis. Global Corporate Venturing. May, page 29.

What was the most interesting thing that you learnt while working in research (some findings or observations)?

My research provides a framework (i.e. Growth Investment Matrix) to support business growth through Corporate Venture Capital (CVC). The Growth Investment Matrix provides the basis for configuring the linkages between CVC and business growth strategy, where they are deliberate or to align emergent strategy. Understanding the linkages between CVC and business growth can:

• Enable firms understand how to set-up and/or refine a CVC program.
• Enable firms access expertise of co-investment partners across industry boundaries.
• Accelerate time to market, revenue generation, and reduce barriers to entry to new markets.
• Present options that firms could consider in defining their growth strategy.
• Support firms in R&D, Innovation / Commercialisation Management, Market Penetration, Market Development, Product Development, and Diversification.

If someone wanted to learn more about this subject what would you recommend they read?

I would recommend they read the publications outlined in the outputs above.

What are you doing now and does this build on your knowledge of R&D Management?

After completing my PhD at University of Cambridge, I established Awa Business School (www.awabusiness.school), an English higher education provider of quality and practice focused education through online distance learning programmes worldwide and in the UK. As of 2019, students can choose to study either for the Foundation Degree in Business or BA (Hons) Business (Top-up). Both of which are designed with the underlying principles of R&D, Innovation, and Commercialisation Management.

What do you think RADMA offers the research community?

I think RADMA supports the sharing of good practice, ideas and innovation in R&D Management.