Understanding and managing international growth of new products

Abstract

Growth is one of the most compelling goals of managers today. This paper addresses the following questions about the international growth of new products in Europe: Does the pattern of growth differ across countries? If so, does culture or economics explain the differences? What are the implications of these results for new product strategy? The results show that the pattern of growth differs substantially across European countries. These differences are explained mostly by economic wealth and not by culture. The study addresses the implications of these results for: (a) the choice of a waterfall versus sprinkler strategy for the introduction of a new product; (b) the global versus local marketing of a new product; and (c) managing a firm's expectations about new product growth.