New Product Development Performance Research Articles

Cloud platform to improve performance outcomes: role of customer relationship management and innovation capabilities

Conceptualising implementation of cloud platform in the new product development (NPD) context is still rudimentary. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the relationships among implementation of cloud platform, customer relationship management (CRM), innovation capabilities, and NPD performance. This study empirically investigated a sample of NPD projects in the Taiwanese high-tech industry. The structural equation modelling (SEM) approach was used to validate the research model. The findings indicate that implementation of cloud platform is associated with level of customer relationship management. In addition, these analyses suggest that customer relationship management has a positive effect on innovation capabilities. Finally, innovation capabilities contribute significantly to NPD performance.

Cloud platform to improve performance outcomes: role of customer relationship management and innovation capabilities

Conceptualising implementation of cloud platform in the new product development (NPD) context is still rudimentary. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the relationships among implementation of cloud platform, customer relationship management (CRM), innovation capabilities, and NPD performance. This study empirically investigated a sample of NPD projects in the Taiwanese high-tech industry. The structural equation modelling (SEM) approach was used to validate the research model. The findings indicate that implementation of cloud platform is associated with level of customer relationship management. In addition, these analyses suggest that customer relationship management has a positive effect on innovation capabilities. Finally, innovation capabilities contribute significantly to NPD performance.

Examining market orientation, new product development and performance

This study examines the empirical links between the dimensions of market orientation and the stages of new product development (NPD) with new product performance in Thai export ventures. Data were gathered via a self-administered mail survey directed to the Managing Director of 201 Thai export ventures based in Thailand. The sample came from the electronics and electrical industries. The findings indicate that all independent variables, namely, market intelligence generation, dissemination and responsiveness, new product idea development, opportunity analysis, technical development, pretest and commercialisation were able to significantly discriminate between high and low new product performance. There is limited empirical evidence in the literature on the relationship between the different dimensions of market orientation and new product performance together with limited empirical evidence on the relationship between the different stages of NPD and new product performance. This study's finding overcomes this void in the literature.

Product development team formation: effects of organizational- and product-related factors

Although the performance of new product development (PD) is dependent on the structure and formation of design teams, effective configuration of the PD teams remains largely unexplored. According to social network research, teams are often organized in either closely connected or sparse structure. We conceptualize PD projects as collective problem-solving endeavors and develop a computational model of these projects where a number of designers conduct search over an NK(C) performance landscape. We group the designers in teams with closely connected or sparse structure. We also consider various organizational integration capabilities (i.e., coordinated operations, and common principles) as well as interaction networks among the teams (i.e., acyclical, cyclical, and modular). We use simulation and compare the design performance of teams with different configurations. Our results indicate that the extent by which organizations can effectively integrate design solutions determines the team structure and is likely to result in higher development performance. In addition, the design performance of strategies that employ both closely connected and sparse teams is contrasted with the strategies that use either of these structures. Regardless of the integration capabilities of the PD projects, strategies that simultaneously utilize both closely connected and sparse teams are likely to achieve higher development performance than strategies that only use teams with one particular structure.

The impact of collaboration network on new product development

PurposeResearchers agree that collaboration networks can be an important implement in a firm’s innovation process, but there is limited empirical evidence on actually how they facilitate the new product development (NPD). The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approachUsing longitudinal and multisource data on a sample of firms engaged in the Chinese automobile industry, the authors examine the structural properties of collaboration networks and their possible influences on firms’ NPD performance.FindingsThe results indicate that the structural features of the technology-based collaboration networks in the automobile industry have a low degree of collaborative integration and they influence firms’ NPD performance in diverse ways. The authors find that the direct ties, indirect ties and structural holes of the collaboration networks are all positively associated with firms’ number of new products. However, the authors have not found the evidence that the number of direct ties can moderate the relationship between the indirect ties and the NPD performance.Originality/valueFirst, previous researches concerning the network mainly focused on their influence on technology innovation, few scholars studied the relationship between collaboration network and NPD. Second, the data used in this paper are true and valid, they are all from relevant departments of the Chinese government. Third, the empirical research of new products in China’s manufacturing industry is relatively new.

DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN THE NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS: THE ROLE OF IT-ENABLED PLM SYSTEMS FOR RELATIONAL, STRUCTURAL, AND NPD PERFORMANCE

Companies increasingly use digital product lifecycle management (PLM) systems with information technology (IT)-based workflow and product data management functions to assist new product development (NPD). However, empirical evidence on whether and how such digital transformation in PLM contributes to NPD performance is scarce. The objective of this paper is to fill this void. We use Assemblage Theory to develop a theoretical model that links the digital transformation in PLM to performance and focus on the extent to which IT-based data gathering and exchange occur in NPD. We carry out a quantitative survey among 216 key informants of manufacturing companies and use structural equation modelling on the resultant data to provide empirical evidence for our hypothesis. We find that the level of digital transformation in PLM positively influences structural and relational performance and, in effect, also enhances NPD performance. Our findings also show that organisational complexity positively moderates these relationships. For managers, our findings demonstrate the value of digital transformation for managing the NPD process, notably in larger, more complex organisations.

Unraveling the underlying mechanisms of new product development in high-technology emerging-market multinationals

PurposeAlthough extant research has provided vast knowledge on the determinants of new product development (NPD) success, prior work is generally bounded to the framework of developed economies. Thus, research dealing with NPD, specifically in the emerging-market context, is still in its infancy. The purpose of this paper is to advance our current understanding on the determinants of NPD performance of emerging-market multinationals (EMMs) by exploring how international knowledge exploration plays a part in the international NPD performance of these firms. Furthermore, it examines how such contribution is contingent on EMMs’ international networking effectiveness and environmental dynamism that draws on the “fit” concept.Design/methodology/approachTo empirically test the theoretical model, the authors draw on a sample of 179 high-technology firms from China, which is the world’s largest emerging market.FindingsResults strongly support the hypothesis that international knowledge exploration positively affects international NPD performance. The analyses of moderating effects indicate that EMMs that are more effective in networking with global network partners and experience a low level of environmental dynamism are likely to achieve better financial performance in NPD.Originality/valueThis study advances our understanding on how and under what conditions EMMs can overcome their knowledge-disadvantaged position and achieve NPD success in global markets by highlighting the important role of international knowledge exploration and possible contingencies. Thus, it contributes to the literature on EMM and innovation.

Job design, Human Capital Resources and NPD performance: Evidence from High-Technology MNCs

The competitiveness of high-technology firms ultimately depends on the success of new product development (NPD). Job design is one of the key human resource strategies to enhance self-managed proje...

NPD TOOLS, THOROUGHNESS AND PERFORMANCE IN SMALL FIRMS

This paper draws on survey data to clarify whether small high-technology firms benefit most from adopting greater numbers of new product development (NPD) tools to support NPD projects, or from using tools more thoroughly. This is an important issue given that small firms adopt NPD tools despite facing acute resource limitations and using informal processes. Prior studies of the performance impact of NPD tools have focused on large firms, and very few have assessed the performance impact of using NPD tools to higher levels of thoroughness.The paper covers tools across functional/technical and management/marketing aspects of NPD, and measures performance in process, product and market. We found that increasing the number of tools adopted did not measurably improve performance, in contrast to prior findings in larger firms. Instead, we found that firms obtained meaningfully improved NPD performance from using tools at higher average levels of thoroughness. Higher average thoroughness produced statistically significant performance benefits across seven of our nine performance measures. Our findings imply that small firms should emphasize selective but thorough and well-designed implementation of NPD tools.

EMPOWERING LEADERSHIP IN R&D — MODERATING EFFECTS OF THE STRATEGIC AND CULTURAL CONTEXT

Successful new product development is of crucial importance for the survival of enterprises and for creating and securing competitive positions. In R&D performance in new product development is generally affected by interpersonal leadership. Empowering leadership, specifically, is suitable for this context, as the need for autonomy and achievement, as well as the cooperation of the followers, are taken into account through the support of the leader. However, so far no moderating effects of the context have been examined. Therefore, the present study examined the influence of the contextual factors of strategic, structural, and cultural orientation on the relations between empowering leadership and new product development performance in R&D. Additionally, a wide range of leadership behaviors with transformational and transactional leadership is taken into account in this study. Empowering leadership is assumed to have the highest impact on the R&D context. The moderating effects of the context were investigated in a quantitative design with 116 leaders and 371 respective followers from 32 R&D departments of various branches of industrial enterprises. The results confirmed a main effect of empowering leadership on new product development performance. Additionally, moderation analyses showed moderating effects on strategic and cultural orientation, while structural orientation had no moderating effect. It can be concluded that empowering leadership has a positive effect on new product development performance; nevertheless, the context in which leadership is practiced has to be considered.

INVESTIGATING THE IMPACT OF RADICAL TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION INTO THE NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

Product developers are increasingly often faced with the decision of whether or not to adopt new technologies into their own new product development (NPD) processes. Adopting a resource-based perspective, we posit that the adoption of radical technologies into the NPD process, such as remote collaborative design, virtual reality, and simulation systems, can help improve NPD performance. At the same time, these adoptions are likely to slow down product launch. Just as consumers struggle to integrate radical technologies during the short-term, we propose that new product developers will face a similar learning curve. Therefore, we investigate potential moderators that could help product developers quickly integrate radical technologies and lessen their negative influence on product launch timeliness. A wide-ranging survey of 249 product managers sponsored by an international product development organisation is used in this study. The results reveal that while the adoption of radical technologies benefits NPD performance, the adoption tends to slow down the product launch process. However, cross-functional leadership within the organisation helps to lessen this negative influence on launch timeliness. The results from this study offer product managers practical guidelines for successfully adopting radical technologies into the NPD process and mitigating risks.

When less is more: the downside of customer knowledge sharing in new product development teams

Despite the common belief that knowledge sharing in new product development (NPD) teams is beneficial, empirical findings are mixed. We adopt a microfoundations perspective and draw from the socio-cognitive theory to propose a model that theorizes a nonlinear effect of customer knowledge sharing behaviors on NPD performance. In particular, we identify the underlying mechanism through which shared common customer knowledge and perceived diagnostic value shape the nonlinear returns to customer knowledge sharing behaviors. In Study 1, data from the biotechnology industry provide support for the hypothesis that customer knowledge sharing behaviors in NPD teams have an inverted U-shaped relationship with NPD performance. In Study 2, data from business-to-business (B2B) industries demonstrate that customer knowledge sharing behaviors are positively related to shared common customer knowledge in NPD teams, and the latter has an inverted U-shaped effect on NPD performance. Finally, this nonlinear effect is moderated by the team’s perceived diagnostic value of customer knowledge, such that the inflection point of the inverted U-shaped curve is shifted upward in teams with high levels of perceived diagnostic value of customer knowledge, strengthening the impact of shared common knowledge on NPD performance.

Fairness of the NPD partnership’s financial distribution pie

PurposeIndustry practice shows that buyer-supplier partnerships are negatively influenced by zero-sum pie-sharing competition. Interfirm rivalry vis-à-vis a fair financial distribution of the mutually generated partnership pie is a growing source of concern for firms because fairness has a direct effect on the competitiveness of a partnership. This study aims to examine the consequences of fairness in pie-sharing within buyer-supplier new product development (NPD) partnerships on product-innovation, product-quality and product-cost, as well as the mediating role of opportunism.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical analyses are grounded on data from 147 NPD partnerships between Tier-1 suppliers and automotive manufacturers, using structural equation modeling with SPSS AMOS.FindingsFindings indicate that pie-sharing fairness significantly influences the partnership’s ability to increase NPD effectiveness and efficiency. Moreover, unfairness in sharing the mutual pie showed to promote harmful opportunism, which negatively mediates the relationship between pie-sharing fairness and NPD performance. To control partners’ fairness perception in the first place, the analysis revealed three factors that affect pie-sharing fairness significantly, i.e. relationship induced financial performance, behavioral tension and interfirm dependency.Originality/valueExchange relationships are built on economic and social components, both of which can be combined within the construct of pie-sharing fairness. Firms must take an interest in their exchange partner’s equitable share of the mutually generated partnership pie, as pie-sharing fairness can be used to promote determinants of effectiveness and efficiency of their mutual NPD project. In a two-sided mutually contingent exchange behavior, the firm’s own welfare must be regarded as an interorganizational overlap with the partner’s, which can be optimized only by mutual efforts.

Creative process engagement and new product performance: The role of new product development speed and leadership encouragement of creativity

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the processes underlying the relationship between creativity processes and new product performance. Drawing on the literature of new product development (NPD) and organizational creativity, we hypothesize that NPD speed mediates the relationship between creativity processes and new product performance and that encouragement by leadership moderates this mediating model. Using a sample of 245 companies in China, we found that (1) not all components of creativity processes related positively to new product performance. Specifically, information search and encoding (ISE) and idea and alternative generation (IG) are respectively and positively related to new product performance, but problem identification (PI) is not. (2) NPD speed fully mediates the influence of PI and ISE on new product performance, but it only partially mediates the relationship between IG and new product performance. (3) Encouragement by leadership positively moderates the relationship of PI and NPD speed, as well as the relationship of ISE and NPD speed; however, it does not significantly moderate the relationship between IG and NPD speed. The implications of these findings and directions for future research in NPD performance are discussed.

The negative consequences of knowledge hiding in NPD project teams: The roles of project work attributes

Knowledge hiding, a unique concept distinct from knowledge sharing, occurs frequently in NPD project teams. Although knowledge hiding has been proven to cause distrust and reduce individual creative performance, little is known about the negative influences of knowledge hiding on team performance in new product development (NPD) projects. Drawing on organizational learning theory and job characteristic theory, this study investigates how knowledge hiding influences project team performance through team learning and the contingent roles of project-based work attributes (i.e. cross-functionality and team stability). Data were collected from a sample of 92 NPD project teams in China. The results revealed that knowledge hiding was negatively associated with project team performance. This linkage was partially mediated by team learning. Team stability played a moderating role in the relationship between knowledge hiding and team learning. Moreover, as team stability increased, the negative indirect impact of knowledge hiding on project team performance was weakened. Finally, theoretical implications, practical guidelines and limitations were discussed.

Influence of market orientation on performance: the moderating roles of customer participation breadth and depth in new product development

ABSTRACTWith a greater number of B2B firms integrating customers into the new product development (NPD) process, how to utilize customer involvement in NPD is an important decision because it may be a double-edged sword carrying both bright and dark sides. Utilizing a sample of 193 B2B firms across various industries, we validate previous research that suggests market orientation positively influences NPD performance and subsequently examine how this relationship may either be enhanced or diminished contingent upon how customers are utilized in the NPD process. The results show that the market orientation–NPD performance relationship is enhanced by having customers participate in a greater number of activities throughout NPD (customer participation breadth) and diminished when customers are involved at deeper levels (customer participation depth). This research suggests that the exact involvement of customers is a critical decision and has clear implications for the dialogues about customer involvement and management of customer relationships.

Goal orientations, absorptive capacity, and NPD team performance: evidence from China

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between different types of team goal orientations (team learning orientation, team prove orientation and team avoid orientation) and team performance in new product development (NPD) and how these relationships are mediated by team absorptive capacity.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through two surveys from 71 NPD teams and analyzed by the confirmatory factor analysis, correlation and hierarchical regression analysis methods.FindingsThe authors find that both teams’ learning and prove orientations are positively related to their absorptive capacity, which leads to increasing team performance in NPD. Further, the authors find support for the mediating role of team absorptive capacity in connecting team learning orientation and team prove orientation with team performance in NPD.Practical implicationsFor practitioners, this paper suggests that to benefit from their NPD team efforts, firms with innovative aspirations should consider their existing and desired access to external knowledge sources and particularly the extent to which they can successfully integrate external knowledge with their internal knowledge structure.Originality/valueThe explication of team absorptive capacity is as a key mechanism through which different goal orientations of NPD teams inform the ability to successfully develop new products. By integrating the concepts of team goal orientations, team absorptive capacity and team performance in NPD, the authors seek to gain a better understanding of why some firms are more likely to do better than others in NPD. Findings of this paper extend concept of the nomological network on how absorptive capacity may serve as a direct outcome of different goal orientations. This paper responds to how Chinese firms can increase their innovative performance by infusing their current knowledge bases with external knowledge and extends the literature on knowledge management and managerial ties on innovation.

The impact of R&D strategies on the performance of new product development with emphasis on the role of R&D team performance (case study: Hooshmand Sazeh Arvin Ara Corporation)

The main goal of the paper is to study the effect of research and development strategies on performance of new product development with emphasis on the role of research and development team in Hooshmand Sazeh Arvin Ara Company. This is an applied research and has done as a survey, cause-effect research. In this research, confirmatory factor analysis, correlation test, and path analysis were used. In this survey, a questionnaire included 37 items has been distributed among 160 technicians, research and development, production and marketing experts of Houshmand Sazeh Arvin Ara Company. The innovation of this research is to examine the impact of these three variables in a single, general conceptual model. Findings of correlation show meaningful and positive relationship between model variables and indicate that research and development strategies contribute to performance of new product development that this influence is more when there is research and development team.

The impact of R&D strategies on the performance of new product development with emphasis on the role of R&D team performance (case study: Hooshmand Sazeh Arvin Ara Corporation)

The main goal of the paper is to study the effect of research and development strategies on performance of new product development with emphasis on the role of research and development team in Hooshmand Sazeh Arvin Ara Company. This is an applied research and has done as a survey, cause-effect research. In this research, confirmatory factor analysis, correlation test, and path analysis were used. In this survey, a questionnaire included 37 items has been distributed among 160 technicians, research and development, production and marketing experts of Houshmand Sazeh Arvin Ara Company. The innovation of this research is to examine the impact of these three variables in a single, general conceptual model. Findings of correlation show meaningful and positive relationship between model variables and indicate that research and development strategies contribute to performance of new product development that this influence is more when there is research and development team.

The impact of ICT tools on new product development performance and collaboration

New product development (NPD) practitioners increasingly rely on information and communication technology (ICT), aiming to achieve lower costs, higher quality and greater speed to market. Only a little is known about the effect of various ICT tools on NPD performance, and exploring this would ease effective deployment of technological resources in innovation programmes. This study uses data collected in the Product Development Management Association's 2012 Comparative Performance Assessment Study, from 450 firms across different countries and industries. The direct and indirect effects of thirteen ICT tools on overall NPD performance are examined using hierarchical regression analysis. Results suggest that six ICT tools indirectly improve NPD performance by increasing collaboration, while the direct effects of PDM systems and project management systems are significant. The study implies that extensive use of ICT significantly contributes to improve collaboration, which is vital for achieving the NPD programmes' objectives, increasing competitiveness, and improving overall NPD performance.