Explicit Knowledge Transfers in New Product Development

Abstract

The literature on learning in new product development (NPD) documents the processes globally but is short on specifics. Knowledge levels are not clearly conceptualized, nor are there clear devices for documenting knowledge transfers in terms of knowledge levels. This paper presents the methods of a qualitative research approach for measuring knowledge transfer directly in terms of knowledge. The paper specifically addresses the commonly avoided dimension of knowledge, depth. The methods are derived from a real-life comparative case study exploring knowledge sharing in product development. Our focused interview approach has been refined to avoid unproductive digressions by the subjects and certain forms of bias, yet still obtain rich accounts of project events. Evidence of transfer obtained by the interviews is analysed in terms of three knowledge dimensions: scope, depth and action. Methods for aggregating and interpreting data are discussed and an operational flowchart for knowledge transfer coding is proposed.