Most people mismanage research by trying to pick and choose winners and losers.
From the forbes.com
Oh dear, the Giants again mismanage the clock and have to use up another timeout.
From the guardian.co.uk
I can mismanage my finances, overpay my top people, and heartlessly lay off staff.
From the businessweek.com
The government continues to own and mismanage utilities that would be better off private.
From the economist.com
It's possible, in other words, to mismanage a beloved property into a temporary shambles.
From the variety.com
They provide a form of bankruptcy to unwind large banks that mismanage themselves into peril.
From the economist.com
Companies that mismanage it are operating in the dark and could be vulnerable to intrusions.
From the forbes.com
We had our own Maloofs mismanage the team and sell us down the river.
From the sacbee.com
It reads like a handbook for how to mismanage public resources.
From the guardian.co.uk
More examples
Manage badly or incompetently; "The funds were mismanaged"
(mismanagement) management that is careless or inefficient; "he accomplished little due to the mismanagement of his energies"
To manage an area of responsibility in a way which is inept, incompetent, or dishonest
(Mismanagement) A collective term covering acts of waste and abuse. Extravagant, careless, or needless expenditure of Government funds or the consumption or misuse of Government property or resources, resulting from deficient practices, systems, controls, or decisions. ...
(Mismanagement) Hash officials; sometimes elected, sometimes appointed
(Mismanagement) really really stupid actions, plus quite possibly some obfuscation to save face.