New Product Development Strategy Research Articles

Impact of contextual factors on new product development process: evidence from a large company in Thailand

This research investigates the impacts of contextual factors, including organization-, project-, product-, and market-related factors, on New Product Development (NPD) process and explores how these factors shape the NPD process of the company within a specific context—a large-sized company in Thailand. By interviewing 11 managers from a large-sized company in Thailand, the findings reveal different impact of the contextual factors on the company’s NPD process. Based on these findings, we develop a practical NPD model to overcome company-specific challenges and, consequently, offer valuable insights to enhance the NPD process in similar contexts. Importantly, our findings suggest that innovative companies should strategically integrate the route-to-market for radical innovation into their NPD process because it enhances the customer perception of the innovation’s value before commercialization, leading to the success of NPD. Our empirical evidence fills the gaps in the literature regarding the practical configuration of NPD processes in developing countries as well as large-sized companies, acknowledging the variation in the NPD process that depends on contextual factors where innovation occurs. It also provides detailed insights beyond most existing studies that investigate correlation of factors with the NPD process and offers practical implications for management involved in the NPD process, emphasizing the need for contextual awareness in formulating effective NPD strategies.

Overview of new product development strategies and models

Motivation: The motivation for the overview presented in this article is to provide a starting point for considering whether existing new product development methodology and its level of detail allows product teams to develop high-quality and business-effective product concepts. Aim: The aim of this article is recognise the current state of research into new product development methodology and to present the strategies and models for New Product Development (NPD). Materials and methods: The systematic review of the literature was applied in the article. Results: The first section outlines the main strategies for new product development and how they are divided by methodological stance, degree of planning, search pattern, focus and response. The second part discusses the known models of new product development including: the craft model and the 5 generations based on the innovation models described by Rothwell and the stages of the manufacturing process defined in the literature. Part four looks at new trends in new product development, including: Open Innovation, Rapid Product Development (RPD), Agile New Product Development (ANPD), Sustainable New Product development (SNPD), the Design Thinking method and the new technologies of Industry 4.0.

Imitation or innovation? New ventures’ NPD strategies in emerging markets

ABSTRACT New product development (NPD) plays a pivotal role in the survival, growth, and performance of new ventures; existing studies, however, have paid scant attention to new ventures’ trade-offs between imitative and innovative NPD strategies, particularly in emerging markets. This study explores the relative impact of innovative and imitative NPD on new venture performance and their contingency across different entrepreneurial motivations and institutional environments in China. The findings based on a multilevel dataset from China indicate that innovative NPD has a stronger positive effect on new venture performance than imitative NPD. In addition, opportunity-motivated entrepreneurship and privatisation enhance the effect of innovative NPD whereas attenuate the efficacy of imitative NPD.

Opening up early or late? The effect of open innovation before and after product launch on new product market performance

Despite a growing literature on open innovation in new product development (NPD), little is known about when openness is most beneficial during the innovation process. This study investigates the effectiveness of opening up NPD projects early or late, or before or after product launch, leading to four intertemporal NPD strategies: closed-closed, closed-open, open-closed, and open-open. Utilizing novel data of product innovation and market performance of 536 digital games, the authors study the effects of intertemporal NPD strategies on new product market performance under moderating effects of technological capability, marketing capability, and project complexity. The results indicate that the early open (open-closed) NPD strategy outperforms the late open (closed-open) strategy. Furthermore, the positive effect of open NPD strategies is stronger when technological capability is high, but weaker when marketing capability is high and when projects are complex. This study contributes to the literature by proposing a typology of NPD strategies that conceptualizes open innovation before and after product launch, and by demonstrating that NPD benefits from early openness, although firms decide to close the NPD project after launch. Managerially, this study offers empirical evidence that open NPD strategies with a consideration of project contingencies are important predictors of new product success.

Interrelationship between strategic factors, technology and organizational learning: a systematic literature review

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the relationship between organizational learning (OL) and technology through the lens of strategic factors and to ascertain future research directions.Design/methodology/approachThe systematic literature review method was applied in three stages to the 76 articles obtained from Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar and EBSCO databases.FindingsThis research revealed the evolution of the role of OL in innovation, performance, knowledge management and technological adoption and showcases a detailed conceptual model relating technology outcomes (technological innovation and capabilities) to OL outcomes (technology absorptive capacity, technological proactivity, as well as information technology [IT] and organization process alignment).Research limitations/implicationsThis review includes articles mainly in English and excludes conference proceedings.Practical implicationsThis research attempts to guide managers and policymakers to foster an organizational culture conducive to technological adoption and OL. It helps organizations develop strategies for new product development, including strategic alliances and strategic leadership.Originality/valueThis review formalizes the linkages between technological absorptive capacity, technological proactivity and IT with technological innovation and capabilities. It identifies research gaps and elucidates future research directions.

Measuring market-sensing capabilities for new product development success

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to conceptualize and operationalize the concept of market-sensing capabilities and analyze its relationship with new product development (NPD) success and organic organizational structures. To the authors' knowledge, past measures of market-sensing capabilities have never included opportunity interpretation, through business experience and organizational articulation, as part of the concept.Design/methodology/approachBased on a sample of over 180 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), market-sensing capabilities constructs and their relationships were tested through academics' and managers' perceptions. The measure was tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).FindingsFindings reveal theoretically sound constructs based on four underlying market-sensing capabilities components: analytical processes, customer relationship, business experience and organizational articulation. Results demonstrate reliability, convergent, discriminant and nomological validity. All four dimensions are positively associated with NPD success and are more likely to appear in organic organizational structures.Practical implicationsThe resulting instrument provides managers with a valuable tool to measure firms' abilities to address environmental uncertainty. By using this instrument, managers can assess internal organizational structures and resources allocated to sensing capabilities. By developing sensing capabilities, managers might ultimately influence their NPD strategy. Findings also reveal that sensing capabilities are positively and significantly associated with organic organizational structures.Originality/valueExisting sensing capabilities measures are focused on environmental scanning, and the essence of the concept is not fully expressed by the traditional measures of analytical processes and customer relationship. The authors' new measure includes opportunity interpretation through business experience and organizational articulation.

Cross-cutting best practices for new product development (NPD) in turbulent environments: the effects of integration and co-creation

PurposeContinuous understanding of the best practices associated with new product development is a constant research opportunity to advance knowledge in the field, as far as changes in the business environment and the increasing turbulence level in different market segments create and reposition the importance of practices over time.Design/methodology/approachBased on a systematic review, the study aimed to analyze the 100 most relevant articles published in international journals on new product development (NDP), identifying new patterns on the best practices for new product development and the types of relationship involved in NPD.FindingsAmong the several practices observed in the literature, the analysis point to a larger group of studies that converge on the identification of a positive and significant relationship in integration – simultaneously – between supplier, company, customers and strategic alliances and the performance of NPD.Research limitations/implicationsThese results support integration as a cross-cutting and structural best practice for NPD, as long as it is constituted as a capacity, mainly applied in highly turbulent environments. This approach supported the proposition of a new framework.Practical implicationsOrganizations will be able to implement the proposed framework to NPD strategy in order to prioritize resources in best practices, aiming to increase the performance of new product development.Social implicationsThe adoption of integration and co-creation practices for the development of new products expands the possibilities of economic and social development, based on the involvement of the actors in this network.Originality/valueThis model had not yet been proposed in the literature, filling a gap in the agenda for future studies.

Building trust in multi-stakeholder collaborations for new product development in the digital transformation era

PurposeThe study aims to explore the critical approaches adopted by innovative organizations and to build an environment of trust between the multiple stakeholders collaborating for new product development (NPD).Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research approach is adopted in this study. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts from the wood product industry in Quebec, Canada. These organizations have successfully adopted the latest technological developments and have developed a strong collaboration with their stakeholders.FindingsThe study identified eleven strategies for the innovative organizations that included early involvement of the stakeholders in the design process, developing long-term relationships and fostering a transparent environment using Industry 4.0 technologies. A novel framework for using this strategy is presented with three stages of application, namely, planning, enactment and review.Practical implicationsInter-organizational collaborations in NPD are more successful when imbued with trust. The NPD strategies must allow innovative organizations to achieve a balanced ecosystem in which value created through the adaption of new technology can be thoroughly captured through commercialization on time with no field failure.Originality/valueThe study adds to the body of knowledge in stakeholder theory and NPD research and practice.

Antecedents of Strategic Ambidexterity in Firms’ Product Innovation

Previous literature highlights how the potential conflict between “faster, better and cheaper” and the high uncertainty of the business environment force a firm choose among a number of different strategies for new product development. This study contends that companies can develop strategic ambidexterity in product innovation and rely on a wide range of different product innovation strategies, as long as effectively exploiting internal and external resources. This work explores the relationship between external knowledge sources and internal organizational capabilities and the strategic ambidexterity in product innovation. We draw on a dataset of 600 Chinese manufacturing firms and show the breadth and depth of knowledge source and three types of organizational capability (information sharing, lean management, and training and learning practices) are positively associated with strategic ambidexterity in product innovation. We also find, when external knowledge depth is associated with internal information sharing, strategic ambidexterity in product innovation tends to increase.

New Product Development During the Last Ten Years: The Ongoing Debate and Future Avenues

Research on new product development (NPD) has grown considerably over the last 30 years interweaving with serval fields of study such as strategy, marketing, supply chain management, and project management. This article offers an overview of the development of the NPD management literature published over the last ten years (2008 to 2018) in 1226 peer-reviewed articles. By applying bibliometric analysis, we have discovered the existence of five research clusters focused on the following main thematic areas: the NPD process, the integration of diverse knowledge sources for NPD optimization, the relationship between NPD and corporate strategy, the role of users and consumers in the NPD process, and the supplier involvement in the NPD activities. In respect of each area, we selected and reviewed the most relevant contributions and presented the emerging theoretical approaches and best practices. Also, the analysis has helped us to uncover the existence of promising research areas that have been scarcely explored. As a result, we formulated some suggestions for further research to fill in the existing gaps.

Interpersonal Boundary Spanning for Supplier Integration in Complex NPD

Managers often express a desire for better new-product development (NPD) through supplier integration but are just as often unsure how to bring this about and so underutilize a buy strategy or even forgo it altogether. This article argues that integrating suppliers’ design teams in complex NPD requires addressing the fundamental need in these relations for mutual transparency amongst the actors such that they may adaptively substitute knowledge exchanges for their inability to specify otherwise the finished product and subsystem designs. Reporting on a case study of a jet-aircraft development project, lower level boundary spanners are shown to enable this adaptive coordination by selectively deploying from amongst three different boundary-spanning modes to coordinate for the kind of knowledge flow necessary to the situation at hand. Formalization, colocation, and buyer cross-functionality are found to be contingencies important to one or other of these modes. This article offers implications for how better to coordinate a buy strategy for complex NPD, taking also into account the scope of supplier involvement and the level of innovation in the project.

How to improve new product performance through customer relationship management and product development management: evidence from China

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate how to improve new product performance in turbulent circumstances of emerging economies.Design/methodology/approachThis paper used regression analysis to examine the performance impact of customer relationship management (CRM) and product development management (PDM) concentration strategy in new product development (NPD). A detailed contingent analysis of the market and institutional environments in emerging economies is also conducted based on a survey of 114 Chinese high-tech manufacturers.FindingsThe research findings show that PDM has a stronger positive effect on new product performance than CRM in emerging economies and that the contingent effects of the market and institutional environment vary. More specifically, technological turbulence and enforcement inefficiency can positively moderate the relationship between CRM and new product performance, whereas the moderating effect of market turbulence on CRM is negative. Meanwhile, enforcement inefficiency negatively moderates the effect of PDM on new product performance, while the moderating effect of market turbulence on PDM is positive.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper is limited to a survey of high-tech manufacturing enterprises in China. Further research should continues to explore and document the strategic issue about NPD in emerging economies by longitudinal study.Originality/valueThis paper contributed to theoretical and practical initiatives on the strategic issue of NPD and provided firms a further understanding of how to select the right NPD strategy in emerging economies to improve new product performance.

Strategies for New Product Development in an Emerging Market

In competitive environment, selection of right strategy for new product development is considered as essential component for any business’s survival. In all available strategies, innovation and competitive strategies are the most important. Many organizations have to face failure while implementing this strategy because of having lack and integration among Research Development., Marketing, Customer and Competitor. This integration is considered the driver for new product development. Accordingly, this study is focusing the importance of right selection within Pakistani context by interviewing key informants working in different organizations. Implications will be beneficial for strategy makers working on new product development

A Study on the Impact on Management Performance of Hidden Champions Using Blue Ocean Strategy to Develop a New Product

This study is an empirical research to find out the effect on the management performance of hidden champions of food manufacturing companies when using blue ocean strategy for new product development. In order to achieve the purpose of this study, we conducted a questionnaire survey on hidden champions in the domestic food manufacturing industry and proceeded empirical analysis. When small and medium-sized enterprises in food manufacturing industries develop a new product, searching for non-customer, rebuilding the market boundary, and linking the external networks have a significant impact on their management performance. However, the fair procedure did not have a significant effect on the management performance. In terms of relative influence, rebuilding the market boundary was most affecting, followed by searching for non-customer and linking the external networks. On the other hand, this study implicated the management performance of hidden champions of food manufacturing industries when new products is developed by using the blue ocean strategy. Obtained results are as follows. If small and medium-sized enterprises of food manufacturing industries develop new products, it will be able to improve the management performance by utilizing strategies such as searching for non-customer, rebuilding the market boundary, and linking the external networks. In particular, the rebuilding the market boundary among the blue ocean strategies has a relatively high impact on management performance.

Making the right business decision: Forecasting the binary NPD strategy in Chinese automotive industry with machine learning methods

The new product development (NPD) is crucial to firms’ survival and success. Tough decisions must be made between the binary NPD strategy (i.e. incremental NPD strategy and radical NPD strategy) to ensure that scarce resources are allocated efficiently. The inappropriate NPD strategy that does not meet the internal and external conditions may lead to resources waste and performance decline. The binary NPD strategy forecasting is helpful to guide the firms when to improve existing products and when to develop ‘really new’ products. Therefore, the primary purposes of this study are to construct an evaluating indicator system and to find the appropriate method for the binary NPD strategy forecasting. Here we obtain 1088 valid sample datasets from Chinese automotive industry, covering the period 2001–2014. The empirical results indicate that RS-MultiBoosting as a kind of hybrid ensemble machine learning (HEML) method demonstrate an outstanding forecasting performance in dealing with the small datasets by comparison with the other four ensemble machine learning (EML) methods and three individual machine learning (IML) methods. The findings can help firms to make the right business decision between incremental and radical NPD strategies so that they can avoid resources waste and improve the overall NPD performance.

Navigating the purchasing power gap in new product development in multinational corporations

Multinational corporations (MNCs) face a significant purchasing power gap of customers between developed and emerging economies. In R&D intensive industries making physical products, MNCs can benefit from economies of scale. Therefore, managers strive to achieve a product standardization–adaptation (S‐A) balance when navigating the purchasing power gap. Through focusing on five MNCs headquartered in developed countries, I examined how MNCs can achieve such a balance through new product development (NPD). I found that (1) an S‐A balance can be achieved through three NPD strategies (product simplification, product retaining, and reverse innovation); (2) managers need to take into account five key factors when choosing NPD strategies (product complexity, product modularity, brand strategy, position in local competition, and internal technical standards); and (3) the NPD strategies can be implemented through structural separation, temporal separation, and a shared value. This research reveals the complexity of achieving an S‐A balance when managers navigate the purchasing power gap in NPD. Different NPD strategies have certain advantages and shortcomings. High product complexity and product modularity can serve as favorable conditions for a product simplification strategy. A brand strategy of leading‐edge technologies can serve as an adverse condition for a product retaining strategy. Strong local competitors in emerging markets can be a motivation for a reverse innovation strategy, while stringent internal standards for safety can be an adverse condition. This research also reveals the nuances of implementation of NPD strategies in terms of managing innovation and refinement activities. MNCs may need temporal separation when adopting both downhill and uphill NPD strategies.

ANALYZING THE STRATEGIC ALIGNMENT BETWEEN INFORMATION SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY AND BUSINESS PROCESS IN SMALL MEDIUM ENTERPRISE (SME) USING FRAMEWORK COBIT 4.1– A CASE STUDY IN UNIVERSAL TRADING, SURABAYA

This research was conducted in Universal Trading as one of SME that applies Information Technology as daily business process in order to analyze whether the use of Information Technology is alligned with the strategy formulation. Type of research is Descriptive Research with Qualitative technique by using direct observation and depth interview with all user of TI from leader to staff. In depicting a further detail description, Internal and External Matrixas well as COBIT Verse 4.1 were utilized in supporting so. From the position of Average as a result of IFE-EFE Matrix and the Score of COBIT 4.1 in primary process of Strategic Allingment is 2,95 could be concluded that only strategy of new market penetration could be alligned by the use of Information Technology as the company basic business process is limiting the strategy of new product development using only company’s internal source. Keyword: strategic allignment, information technology, COBIT 4.1

Enablers of NPD financial performance

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine new product development (NPD) financial performance enablers through examining the roles of NPD capabilities improvement, NPD knowledge sharing and NPD internal learning in manufacturing organisations in Jordan.Design/methodology/approachBased on relevant literature review on NPD performance, a structured questionnaire was developed to collect data related to NPD performance measures. Questionnaires were distributed to a sample of 558 manufacturing organisations in Jordan, out of which 355 were returned and valid for the analysis. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were applied to reveal NPD performance success dimensions that manufacturing organisations use to assess NPD performance success. Then, path analysis was employed to examine the research model and test its hypotheses.FindingsThe study’s findings reveal that manufacturing organisations use a multidimensional construct for assessing NPD performance success, which consists of NPD financial performance, NPD internal learning, NPD capabilities improvement, NPD knowledge sharing, and NPD marketing performance. NPD capabilities improvement exerted a positive and significant effect on each of NPD internal learning, NPD knowledge sharing, and NPD marketing performance, respectively. NPD knowledge sharing exerted a positive and significant effect on each of NPD internal learning NPD marketing performance. Each of NPD internal learning and NPD marketing performance exerted a positive and significant effect on NPD financial performance. The structural findings also indicate that 38.1 per cent (R2 is 0.381) of NPD financial performance is explained by the path of NPD capabilities improvement, NPD knowledge sharing and NPD marketing performance, which is the strongest path in the empirical model.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper’s focus on manufacturing organisations limits its contribution to the manufacturing sector only. The services sector is a rich field for understanding NPD financial performance enablers in various service industries. Further, the paper focusses on only five dimensions of NPD performance success, other dimensions of NPD performance success might add more insights to their effect on NPD performance success measures especially their effect on organisational performance.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study provide managers of manufacturing organisations with empirical insights related to the multidimensionality of NPD and their complex relationships to enhance NPD financial performance. The empirical findings assist managers to assess their NPD strategies, processes and implementation based on a results-oriented approach. The major contribution of the study is identifying the strongest paths of NPD financial performance enablers which reveals the complexity and criticality of NPD capabilities improvement, NPD knowledge sharing and NPD marketing performance on NPD financial performance. The rationale is NPD financial performance is still the most important NPD performance success dimension amongst manufacturing organisations.Originality/valueThe originality of this paper stems from developing and testing a multidimensional model of NPD financial performance enablers for the first time in emerging markets, Jordan. NPD financial performance is a function of other areas of NPD performance dimensions, namely; NPD capabilities improvement, NPD knowledge sharing and NPD marketing performance. This empirical evidence is provided to managers for the first time by this study.

Alcatel-Lucent falls, Huawei ascends: new product development makes the difference

PurposeThis study aims to use the new product development (NPD) perspective to understand why traditional leading telecom equipment companies, such as Alcatel-Lucent (ALu), have stagnated but the newcomer Huawei has achieved steady growth.Design/methodology/approachThis paper takes the form of a comparative case study.FindingsThree significant differences in NPD process between the companies were discovered: first, although both companies claim that they are market-oriented, Huawei’s NPD projects are customer-driven, and ALu projects are joint considerations of customer demand and technology leadership; second, Huawei uses a design-to-value strategy, and ALu applies a design-for-quality-premium strategy; third, resources are allocated and shared at the corporate level in Huawei and at the business division level in ALu.Practical implicationsThis study offers several implications for NPD managers. First, holding a market leader position is more important than being a technology leader. Companies must fundamentally change their mind-sets, restructure NPD models and prioritize and empower marketing and sales departments in the decision-making and management of NPD projects. Second, to maximize customer value, managers must balance cost and quality and avoid overengineering. A quality premium no longer necessarily leads to product competitiveness. Third, to improve the efficiency of NPD performance, companies must build up a mechanism to enable across-boundary resources.Originality/valueThis study highlights a number of key NPD strategy issues. It was conducted in the telecom equipment industry, but NPD managers of other industries will also gain useful insights from the discussion.

Exploring barriers and opportunities in adopting crowdsourcing based new product development in manufacturing SMEs

Crowdsourcing is an innovative business practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content or even funds by soliciting contributions from a large group of people (the ‘Crowd’). The potential benefits of utilizing crowdsourcing in product design are well-documented, but little research exists on what are the barriers and opportunities in adopting crowdsourcing in new product development (NPD) of manufacturing SMEs. In order to answer the above questions, a Proof of Market study is carried out on crowdsourcing-based product design under an Innovate UK funded Smart project, which aims at identifying the needs, challenges and future development opportunities associated with adopting crowdsourcing strategies for NPD. The research findings from this study are reported here and can be used to guide future development of crowdsourcing-based collaborative design methods and tools and provide some practical references for industry to adopt this new and emerging collaborative design method in their business.