New Product Development Performance Research Articles

Do Social Media Tools Impact the Development Phase? An Exploratory Study

Over the past two decades, firms have increasingly adopted information technology (IT) tools and services to improve the new product development (NPD) process. Recently, social media tools and/or tools that include social networking features are being utilized to allow users both inside and outside the organization to easily communicate and collaboratively design, manage, and launch new products and services. Unfortunately, there is little empirical evidence to suggest what influence these newITtools have onNPDperformance. Through a project‐level, exploratory, empirical study, the impact of these newITtools on the development phase of theNPDprocess is investigated. We find that the use of these new tools is significantly lower than the adoption of traditionalITtools such as e‐mail and computer‐aided‐design. Traditional tools have a significant, positive impact onNPDoutcomes, including team collaboration, the concepts/prototypes generated, and management evaluation. Interestingly, new media tools such as project wikis and shared collaboration spaces also have a significant, positive impact on concepts/prototypes generated, and management evaluation. Surprisingly, social networking tools like weblogs andTwitter negatively impact management evaluation while having no impact onNPDteam collaboration and concepts/prototypes generated. These results suggest that social networking tools in their current guise are not helpful to theNPDteam and may in fact be distracting to innovation management during the development phase.

The relationship between NPD innovation and NPD performance: the moderating role of NPD best practices in Indian manufacturing industry

Purpose – The purpose of the study is to study the relation between new product development (NPD) innovation and NPD best practices in an organization with respect to NPD performance in the backdrop of Indian manufacturing industry. Design/methodology/approach – Performance indices are developed based on NPD innovation and NPD best practices in an organization. Based on the developed performance indices, a cluster typology or classification of surveyed organizations is conducted. Different hypotheses are generated and tested to chet1ck the relation between NPD best practices and NPD innovation in an organization with respect to NPD performance in the Indian manufacturing industry. Findings – The following results were obtained: there is a positive effect on NPD performance for those organizations that strongly implement NPD best practices; the stronger the NPD innovation, the higher the NPD performance; and stronger organizations' ability for NPD innovation has positive relationship with NPD best practices. Hence, it is proven that, “the stronger the NPD innovation in an organization, with defined NPD best practices, the better the NPD performance”. Originality/value – According to the author’s knowledge, no study is reported in literature which addresses the effect of NPD best practices and NPD innovation in an organization with respect to performance in the Indian manufacturing industry.

New Product Development in Malaysia: Does Organizational Background Really Matter?

New Product Development (NPD) is vital in assisting Research and Development (R&D) based organizations to adapt to the changes in markets and technology for competitive advantage. Ensuring the success of new products and optimization of new product performance is critical and essential for Research and Development based organizations. Hence, this study is carried out to explore does organizational background in term of company’s ownership (i.e. local or multinational companies) and operational scales (i.e. number of Research and Development staffs) affect NPD performance of Research and Development companies in Malaysia. In line with this, 8 New Product Development performance attributes were identified from literature review. These attributes were subsequently formulated into a survey questionnaire and responded by 186 respondents. Thereafter, the effect of organizational ownership and operational scale toward NPD performance are examined separately via Independent Sample t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Finding from the study revealed that the level of NPD performance in multinational R&D companies is higher than local R&D companies. Findings from this research also implied that NPD performance can be further improved by increasing number of R&D staffs.

Assessing the effect of requirement definition and management on performance outcomes: Role of interpersonal conflict, product advantage and project type

Early planning in many cases is not performed well in new product development (NPD). Most NPD literature has focused more on the product rather than on the development process (Funk, 1992). Thus, the primary purpose of this research was to investigate the relationships among requirement definition and management (RDM) practice, interpersonal conflict, product advantage, and NPD performance in terms of project and market performance. The structural equation modeling (SEM) approach was used to validate the research model. The results suggest that RDM practice in terms of RDM implementation process and training & improvement is associated with requirement quality and stability. The findings also indicate that the number of groups moderates the relationship between requirement quality & stability and project performance.

Knowledge Management, Learning Behavior from Failure and New Product Development in New Technology Ventures

This research examines how knowledge management influences new product development (NPD) in new technology ventures. Researchers demonstrate that knowledge management is a critical antecedent of NPD. However, few studies have explored the role of knowledge management in NPD from a behavioral perspective. By employing experiential learning theory, this research develops a conceptual model to study the relationships between knowledge management, learning behavior arising from failures, and new ventures' NPD performance. Using a sample of 176 new high‐tech technology ventures, the theoretical model is examined. The findings show that, for new technology ventures, knowledge acquisition facilitates NPD performance positively and that the relationship is partially mediated by learning behavior from failures. In addition, it is demonstrated that knowledge application plays a moderating role between learning behavior from failure and NPD. Both the theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Perceptions of product advantage, NPD and organisational performance

Purpose – This paper aims to extend previous studies on new product development (NPD) performance by identifying the product advantage, new product performance and organisational performance indicators that are considered by small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) to be most relevant to their performance. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative research approach was adopted, using a cross-sectional survey of a sample of 137 firms representing the industry sectors active within the Irish economy. The research instrument was based on existing recognised research measures. Findings – The results suggest that: large firms consider that their products derive advantage through product quality and cost, while SMEs are more concerned with satisfying customer needs; larger firms concentrate on market measures in measuring new product performance, while SMEs focus on customer acceptance measures; and in measuring organisational performance larger firms focus on market share and profitability, while SMEs concentrate on profitability and sales growth. Research limitations/implications – This study identifies the aspects of product advantage, new product performance and organisational performance on which firms concentrate, thereby increasing our ability to redirect their focus from what they consider to be important, to what will have an impact on their firm's performance. Originality/value – This study identifies the aspects of product advantage, new product performance and organisational performance on which firms concentrate, thereby increasing our ability to redirect their focus from what they consider to be important, to what will have an impact on their firm's performance.

The Impact of Structural Capital on New Product Development Performance Effectiveness- The Mediating Role of New Product Vision and Competitive Advantage

For organizations mostly, changes are faster than their speed in responsibility and the ability for adjustment. In this space, organizations face with opportunities and threats. Therefore each invention and innovation causes change that may create opportunity for organization. So having proper structural capital is very important. Organizations should develop their new products and share clear vision in order to improve the effectiveness of their new product development performance. Therefore, this research wants to investigate and model the relationship between structural capital (SC) and new product development performance (NPDP) effectiveness with regard to the mediating role of new product competitive advantage and vision. Automobile industry in Iran is elected as statistical society. In this study, results are obtained by structural equations and path model. Also for better description of results, we use other deducible statistic such as binamial test and one-Sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test. The results of this study bode that structural capital can improve NPDP effectiveness by obtaining competitive advantage and providing clear and comprehensive vision. Also the provided model in this research is supported by data.

Human Capital and New Product Development Performance Efficiency- The Mediating Role of Organizational Learning Capability

Intellectual framework of today's organizations is full of pointing out of the information and participation of expert and innovative workforce instead of operational workforce. In this space, improving performance and sustaining competitive advantage are fundamental concerns for managers. Innovation and organizational learning are the best important bases for improving performance and obtaining competitive advantage. Therefore, this research wants to investigate and model the relationship between human capital (HC) and new product development performance (NPDP) efficiency with regard to the mediating role of organizational learning capability (OLC). Automobile industry in Iran is elected as statistical society. In this study, results are obtained by structural equations and path model. Also for better description of results, we use other deducible statistic such as binamial test and one-Sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test. The results of this study bode that human capital can improve NPDP efficiency by organizational learning capability. Also the provided model in this research is supported by data.

Operation Management: Prediction of New Product Development Performance at Pre-Product Launch Stage

New Product Development (NPD) performance has increasingly been viewed as an essential indicator for organizational competitiveness and success. However, in the current literature of NPD, NPD performance measures are tends to focus on assessment of performance at the ending phase of NPD process (i.e. after product launch). Assessment of NPD performance before product launch is not widely discussed. Hence, this paper aims to address the research gap by developing models to predict NPD performance at the front end stage of NPD process. In line with this, 5 important NPD process constructs and 7 NPD management constructs were identified from literature review. These constructs were subsequently formulated into a survey questionnaire and responded by 186 Research and Development (R&D) staffs from R&D companies in Malaysia. Thereafter, the NPD process and management constructs were regressed with the perceived NPD performance to develop models for NPD performance prediction prior to product launch. Finally, discussion on researchs finding and recommendations are included at the end of this paper.

Critical Success Factors of New Product Development and Impact on Performance of Malaysian Automotive Industry

This research paper shows a framework to conduct an empirical study in Malaysian automotive industry in order to improve their performance. There are factors which are effective factors in improving performance of Malaysian automotive companies namely top management support, cross functional teamwork, new product development (NPD) process, NPD strategies, and market research activities. The critical success factor of NPD is playing a fundamental role in determining the performance in Malaysian automotive companies. In this research study, a framework has been developed that includes critical success factors of NPD and project achievement to study their influence on the performance of Malaysian automotive companies. It is hoped that this paper can provide an academic source for both academicians and managers due to investigate the relationship between critical success factors of total NPD, project achievement and company performance in a systematic manner to increase successful rate of NPD progress.

Influence of Marketing Strategy on NPD Performance: Role of Customer Perceived Value and Product Characteristics

Marketing strategy may be one of the major causes of new product development (NPD) project success. However, many organizations ignore adequate marketing strategy leading to a poor NPD performance. The primary purpose of this research was to investigate the associations among implementation of brand marketing strategy, customer perceived value (CPV), and NPD performance. The second objective was to determine whether the impact of customer perceived value on NPD project performance was moderated by product characteristics.

Entrepreneurial Behavior in Family Business: Do Steward-oriented Managers Matter?

Although the literature on entrepreneurial behavior of family firms has been accumulating, the causes remain inconclusive. While some view family businesses as the breeding ground of innovation and entrepreneurship, others consider family businesses conservative and resistant to change. Drawing on the stewardship perspective, this study aims to argue how managers' stewardship orientation, in terms of decision comprehensiveness, participative governance and long-term orientation, shapes firm innovativeness through altering the company-wide explorative orientation. In a sample of 186 Taiwanese family firms, the empirical results show that stewardship orientation drives managers to initiate explorative activities which in turn enhance the performance of new product development (NPD). Furthermore, the NPD performance effect of stewardship orientation is strengthened in the presence of family social capital. Our study contributes to entrepreneurship literature by highlighting the importance of managers' stewardship orientation to the entrepreneurial orientation and the innovation outcome in the context of family business.

Integration of R&D and new product development: case studies of Brazilian high-tech firms

One of the aspects that influence good performance of new product development (NPD) at high-tech companies is the integration of research and development (RD the valorisation of personal relations, which is stimulated by physical proximity; and project managers’ ample participation in different functions involving NPD.

New product development operational performance and its influential factors: cross-national comparison between Japan and China

This research intends to explore the influential factors which constitute the successful new product development (NPD) in Japan and China. In order to investigate it, the new product development scorecard (NPDSC) has been utilised as a self-evaluation tool for participated companies in these countries. There are 454 data samples from Japan and 99 from China. The scores in each assessment area are compared between Japan and China. The result shows that Japanese NPD performance level is better than Chinese. Subsequently, factor analysis has been conducted by using the result of NPDSC in order to identify the significant factors which establish the operational performance of NPD in each country. The result of factor analysis indicates that the NPD structures in Japan and China are considered differently. Finally, correlation analysis has been conducted between extracted factors and financial bottom, which indicates that improving NPD performances brought a positive impact on financial outcomes.

On Knowledge-based Development: How Documentation Practice Represents a Strategy for Closing Tolerance Engineering Loops

Knowledge from multiple sources is required for defining tolerances in new product development (NPD). Successful outcomes in product development (PD) depend on the collective ability to integrate this knowledge into the product. Assessing variability and tolerance capabilities are essential parts of PD-knowledge as they represent limits of specifications with wide-ranging impact. Reducing the engineers time spend on (re)defining tolerances and searching for the right information can prevent substandard NPD performance in terms of quality, lead time, cost and product innovation. Hence, two topics of significant importance for achieving leanness (i.e., effectiveness and efficiency) in PD are towering tolerance knowledge and associated documentation practices. This paper presents the results of a survey among engineering professionals of two industrial companies made to study documentation and tolerance practices in different industrial environments. The results reveal similarities between the challenges that the companies face, including implementation of effective documentation (e.g. Knowledge-Briefs, A3 reports), visualization of physical relationship between product performance attributes and design parameters (e.g. trade-off curves) and the transfer of knowledge between projects for organizational learning. This paper makes a contribution to the body of knowledge related to (lean) NPD by documenting current industrial challenges and practices in achieving viable internal tolerance engineering routines and processes, along with the needs for documentation tools.

Supplier and customer involvement in NPD performance of Iranian dairy HTBFs

Supply chain management (SCM) and new product development (NPD) collaboration has an important role in creation of sustainable competitive advantage in companies for retaining in competitive market. One of the best strategies to obtain competitive advantage and reduce the failure rate of new product development in food industry is co-operation with suppliers and customers that in this research we have discussed. In this paper, an effect of Supplier and customer involvement in NPDP performance of Iranian dairy HTBFs is investigated. Then questionnaire was distributed among 120 Iranian managers in the dairy companies that 102 questionnaires were suitable. Based on the results, significant impact of supplier collaboration on the cost, innovation and speed of new product development was confirmed and significant impact of customer involvement on innovation and cost of new product development were confirmed serious. However, a significant impact of customer involvement on NPDS was not confirmed.

Searching for a Simple Model of Dynamic Capabilities

A fundamental issue for academics and practitioners is to better understand the nature and role of dynamic capabilities. Since dynamic capabilities have been viewed mostly as a “black box,” we first seek to identify, articulate, and propose a simple and measurable model of dynamic capabilities. Drawing upon the dynamic capabilities literature, we identify a set of capabilities - sensing the environment, learning, coordinating, and integrating - that are proposed to reconfigure existing operational capabilities into new ones that better match the environment. Second, to overcome concerns that dynamic capabilities are tautologically linked to performance and are only valuable in turbulent environments, we propose a structural model where dynamic capabilities indirectly affect performance in New Product Development (NPD) groups through the mediating role of operational NPD capabilities. The proposed indirect effect of dynamic capabilities on performance is also proposed to be moderated by environmental turbulence. Data from 180 NPD business units empirically support both the proposed simple model of the nature of dynamic capabilities and the structural model by which dynamic capabilities influence NPD performance through operational NPD capabilities in different levels of environmental turbulence. We discuss the study’s implications for better understanding the nature and role of dynamic capabilities.

Product-portfolio management: A framework based on Methods, Organization, and Strategy

Product-portfolio management is a decisive element for the good performance of new product development and compliance with business objectives because it not only defines new product projects but also defines revisions, updates, and even decisions regarding the discontinuation of products that are produced and commercialized. Decision-making evaluations related to the portfolio are considered one of the main critical factors for success associated with new product development, and these decisions’ primary characteristics are the high number of project ideas with great uncertainty about results, making the management complex. This article proposes a framework with the specific objective of presenting an approach that could be useful to product-portfolio management. The framework proposed in this article presents a holistic perspective of product-portfolio management, suggesting the use of a set of formal management methods for not only evaluating product projects but also extending to organizational aspects and including them in strategic planning and portfolio reviews.

Does Product Platform Strategy Mediate the Effects of Supply Chain Integration on Performance? A Dynamic Capabilities Perspective

This study depicts supply chain integration (SCI) for new product development (NPD) as a dynamic capability and explores its relationship with a product platform strategy (PPS), NPD performance, and overall firm performance. Supplier, internal, and customer integration are modeled as antecedents to PPS, while product innovation and relative profitability are modeled as direct and/or indirect consequences. The model examines whether a PPS mediates the effects of SCI on performance. An analysis of 214 US manufacturers revealed that supplier integration and internal integration are positively related to PPS, and that their effects on product innovation and profitability are fully mediated by PPS. In contrast, customer integration had no effect on PPS and thus no indirect effect on performance measures. The research showed that PPS both directly and indirectly (though product innovation) affects profitability. The findings suggest the value of aligning the domains of integration and performance and considering the domain strategy when examining the effects of SCI on performance.

Entrepreneurial firms’ network competence, technological capability, and new product development performance

Successfully developing new products is critical to an entrepreneurial firm’s continued success. Based on the resource management model, this study aims to answer the key research question: how entrepreneurial firms leverage network competence and technological capability to enhance their new product development (NPD) performance in a turbulent environment. Using data collected from 134 entrepreneurial firms in China, we investigate the performance effects of network competence and technological capability, and the moderating effects of technological turbulence and market turbulence. Our findings show that network competence has a positive impact on NPD performance and technological capability plays a mediating role between network competence and NPD performance. Technological turbulence enhances the performance effects of network competence and technological capability; market turbulence advances the performance effect of network competence, but fails to exert significant negative impact on that of technological capability. We discuss managerial implications of our findings and offer directions for future research.