Rationality By Institutional Change and Unexpected Result: A Case of Japanese National Science and Technology Research Institute

In this report, we will describe the institutional change of research institutions based on science and technology policy aimed at streamlining and the case after ten years.This is an observation of the phenomenon caused by the science and technology policy conducted in 2001 to effectively invest research expenses in the "required" research and to achieve results. A number of unexpected results occurred in one of the largest national research institute in Japan, whose organizational structure was greatly changed due to a major institutional change. For example, changing the decision-making autonomously done by each research department to the top-down of centralization. The lack of information among researchers became prominent and the distrust to the organization increased. Senior researchers are also placed in a competitive environment, and research opportunities beyond the rank of researchers had given to young researchers. But researchers placed in competitive environments, and reduced mutual aid. They felt anxiety in an isolated situation. This institutional change had exacerbated the relationship between researchers and engineers and organizations. The intention of streamlining through institutional change brought unintended consequences such as division of researcher's network by reorganization, distrust of the organization due to lack of information, promotion of non-cooperative attitudes towards other teams of organizations under a competitive environment were invited. However, after ten years from that, when we conducted an investigation of the same organization again, the rationalization policy left organizational distrust in the members of the organization, but the researchers have become accustomed to the rules of the organization , They were working in a low stress state like before change.