Cutting through the Tension and Perception Barriers in Cross-Functional NPD Teams

Abstract

Although cross-functional new product development (NPD) teams are central to innovation processes in companies, they are often burdened with tensions between colleagues from disparate functions. These tensions can slow down projects, affect the integrity of the team and eventually reduce the likelihood of a positive innovation outcome. Through interviews with 33 cross-functional NPD team members across five different roles (design, engineering, marketing, manufacturing, and project management) within consumer goods/electronics companies in four global innovation hubs (Silicon Valley, New York, Greater Boston area and London), this paper explores the characteristics, interactions and, significantly, the sources of tensions. We focus on professional identities being a precursor to tension and teams. These identities lead to deep divides connected to the strength of the team member’s allegiance to their functional perspective as well as their alignment to team and organizational identities. The findings highlight the interactions of two categories of team members, each with distinctively different professional identities, behaviour, and influences on tensions within teams: (1) those who are strongly aligned with a single functional domain and (2) those that connect across multiple knowledge domains. Highlighting root causes for functional perceptions of colleagues, the paper identifies potential avenues for improving communication and collaboration in cross-functional NPD teams to address ingrained sources of tension.