Narrow Results

There are three distinct functions in the product realization chain — product design, process design, and process execution; thus there are two interfaces (product design — process design; process design — process execution) rather than one (product-manufacturing). Case studies of four organizations manufacturing high-tech products in New Zealand are explored to study the organization of process design functions and success strategies. Similarities in structuring, relationships between functional groups, and the methods for product and process design implementation are investigated. De-coupling of process design functions occurs best with high volume production with stable process technology — an infrequent situation with high-tech NZ manufacturers.

Little has been written about new product and packaging development processes within the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry. While often taking on the status of apocryphical folklore, branded FMCG product development failure rates as high as 90%–95% have appeared in the popular and consultancy press. However, no rigorous study has addressed the commercial success/failure rates of private-label products in this context; an area in which the leading UK supermarket (grocery) retailers are acknowledged to excel. Using a case study-based approach that involved ASDA and six of its leading private-label suppliers, this paper details empirical findings of the operational and commercial performance of the focal ASDA NPD (new product development) process, along with initial insights into the key determinants of this performance. It also produces the first description of the origin, composition and operation of a Supplier Association within the UK FMCG industry and details the new NPD process mapping method and tool that was developed to conduct this study.

This paper contributes to the limited but growing body of literature on the topic of new product development performance within the world-class UK fast moving consumer goods industry. It reports the findings of the second phase of an applied research project called that involved Asda and six of its leading private-label suppliers. Based upon questionnaire responses that characterise the performance of 283 new product lines developed over a twenty-month period, this paper details the baseline operational (technical) and commercial performance of the standard Asda product development process called Bullseye. This data includes its innovation profile, success profile, value adding profile and time-based performance (cycle time and lead time). The paper highlights a number of relationships within this data that contravene some of the key findings in the existing literature. It also provides insight into the resulting interventions necessary to both the Bullseye process itself and its supporting performance measurement system in order to achieve significant performance improvement.

Changes in the duration of product life cycles (PLCs) have been identified as a driving factor for increasing the speed of new product development (NPD). However, the facilitating potential of increasing the speed to market of new products regarding their success has been subject to extensive debate. In this paper, we shed light on the long-run dynamics between PLC and key innovation performance indicators. A large secondary data set allows us to investigate long-run within-company differences. We observe significantly shrinking PLC on the one hand and significantly increasing NPD speed on the other. A change in the length of the PLC is positively linked to changes in time to market (Ttmarket) and time to volume. Also, we confirm a positive empirical relationship between shorter Ttmarket and quicker implementation of targeted quality and productivity. However, we cannot confirm a positive relationship between shorter Ttmarket and shorter time to break-even of investments.

This study explores the relationship between new product development (NPD) process speed, as an independent variable, and the perceived market success of products resulting from these NPD processes, as a dependent variable. This is the first meta-analysis that examines the impact of NPD speed on NPD success/performance. This study extends existing research by analysing NPD speed and NPD success correlations found in papers published between 1980 and 2017. The primary research question examined in this study is “Is there a consistent, linear relationship between NPD speed and NPD success/performance across studies?”. To address this question, correlation coefficients related to the relationship between NPD speed and NPD success/performance were gathered from published journal papers. The meta-analytic data gathered during this study resulted in a total of 2,840 individual, correlational relationships. Based on a meta-analytical examination of this data, it was found that the sample data for this study did not represent a single population of correlational relationships. Research implications, limitations, and research directions are provided in this study.

Decision-makers often struggle to terminate unsuccessful new product development (NPD) projects, so that escalating commitment occurs. Although research shows that rational and intuitive decision-making styles (DMS) as well as a decision-maker’s affective state determines the performance of NPD decisions, little is known about their influences on escalating commitment. By applying the affect infusion model in an experimental study, we investigate how a decision-maker’s affective state influence their escalating commitment by focusing on their use of a rational and an intuitive DMS. Our findings, based on 366 respondents, show that a rational DMS is unable to reduce commitment escalation. Surprisingly, an intuitive DMS is able to reduce a decision-maker’s commitment in the case of a positive affect, whereas a rational DMS increases their commitment in the case of a negative affect. Thus, our interdisciplinary research on affect and decision-making extends and contributes to research into decision-making during the NPD process as well as into escalating commitment.

Changes in the duration of product life cycles (PLCs) have been identified as a driving factor for increasing the speed of new product development (NPD). However, the facilitating potential of increasing the speed to market of new products regarding their success has been subject to extensive debate. In this paper, we shed light on the long-run dynamics between PLC and key innovation performance indicators. A large secondary data set allows us to investigate long-run within-company differences. We observe significantly shrinking PLC on the one hand and significantly increasing NPD speed on the other. A change in the length of the PLC is positively linked to changes in time to market (Ttmarket) and time to volume. Also, we confirm a positive empirical relationship between shorter Ttmarket and quicker implementation of targeted quality and productivity. However, we cannot confirm a positive relationship between shorter Ttmarket and shorter time to break-even of investments.