The occupational interests of R&D managers and technical specialists: Some preliminary findings

The occupational interest patterns of technical specialists and R&D managers are compared. The hypothesis was that R&D managers would be similar to technical specialists in the scientific/engineering domain, but exhibit comparatively higher levels in the managerial/organizational interest domain. The findings supported the hypothesis and indicated R&D managers reflect a psychological functioning which simultaneously incorporates the conflict between managerial and scientific motives. This was discussed in terms of increasing the effective utilization of technical personnel, and also in terms of specialized career development applications.