UPSTREAM AND DIRECT INFLUENCES ON NEW PRODUCT PERFORMANCE IN EUROPEAN HIGH-TECH INDUSTRIAL FIRMS

Abstract

This paper examines three issues. First, do multiple possible paths to high versus low new product performance (NPP) occur among European, high-tech, industrial manufacturing firms? Second, what are the upstream influences on high NPP? For example, what background factors affect the levels of the KSFs? Third, do consistent country-level differences occur among Austrian, German, and Swedish executives in their evaluations of antecedents and high-tech NPP? To probe these issues, a total of 771 chief operating officers and project managers participated in face-to-face long interviews (McCracken, 1988) covering 241 less and 264 more successful than average industrial NPD projects. The empirical findings support the propositions that: (1) multiple paths lead to high versus low NPP; (2) unique antecedent variables affect the KSFs for high NPP; and (3) for several upstream and direct influences, consistent national differences occur among executives’ assessments of NPP. A key implication of the study for NPD executives is to recognize the possibility of alternative paths leading to successful NPD.

Citation

Woodside, A.G., Specht, G., Mühlbacher, H. and Wahlbin, C. (2005), "UPSTREAM AND DIRECT INFLUENCES ON NEW PRODUCT PERFORMANCE IN EUROPEAN HIGH-TECH INDUSTRIAL FIRMS", Woodside, A.G. (Ed.) Managing Product Innovation (Advances in Business Marketing and Purchasing, Vol. 13), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 725-780. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1069-0964(04)13006-8