The “fuzzy front end” of product development:an exploratory studyof German and Japanese innovation projects

In this paper, we report the complete and unabridged results of an exploratory study oftypical front-end activities in 28 innovation projects in German and Japanesecompanies. We further reveal differences in the practice of innovation management inboth countries. Based on these, we develop first evidence for effects of front endmanagement practices on project execution and project outcomes.For this purpose, we interviewed managers of 13 Japanese and 14 German enterprisesconcerning 14 Japanese and 14 German new product development projects. The focusof the interviews was the so-called “fuzzy front end” and activities or deliverableslater in the process which might be affected by front end management practice.Overall, most projects achieved their objectives with varying efficiency, which istherefore the focus of our analysis. Our study reveals similarities as well as distinctivedifferences between the projects studied in Japan and Germany. In sum, the 14Japanese projects relied on a thorough planning and strict controlling to minimizedeviations from front end specifications and enhance efficiency. The majority of the14 German projects did not have a formal planning and controlling process supportedby methods and tools like the Japanese projects. Instead, they integrated all relevantfunctions early in the process, partly already during idea generation...