The domain of New Product Development (NPD) is subject to considerable uncertainties.However, companies are required to manage the innovation process as efficiently as possible.The resulting conflicting demands often leave companies struggling to achieve both,efficiency as well as flexibility...

In this paper, we report on the results of a large-scale study about typical front-end-related innovation practices in 553 Japanese mechanical and electrical engineering companies. We explore typical activities concerning the generation and assessment of new product ideas, the reduction of...

Analogies can trigger breakthrough ideas in new product development. Numerous examples demonstratethat substantial innovations often result from transferring problem solutions from one industry ordomain to another. For instance, the designers of the new running shoe generation of Nike,...

In a study of New Product Development (NPD) projects, the fuzzy front end ofinnovation is explored. The New Product Development process is a multistageprocess. Therefore, the study examines two sorts of impact that the fuzzy front endhas on the success of New Product Development: a direct impact...

Our study focuses on the question, whether users should be intensively involved in the innovation process of radical product innovations or better not – from the manufacturer’s perspective. Radical innovations incorporate new technologies, shift market structures, require intensive user...

The aim of this paper is to describe front-end activities in practice and get first hints for effects of the front end on project outcome and the meaning of contextual factors.The results of an exploratory study of fourteen product development projects are contrary to the wide-spread opinion...

Structuring the innovation process and managing multifunctional teams is a basic prerequisite successful innovation. A well-structured process gives the possibility to implement effective multifunctional teamwork. Meanwhile, multifunctional teamwork helps to optimise and accomplish the...

In new product development (NPD) unacceptably high failure rates have often been related to insufficiencies during the early development phases. Nevertheless, only little effort is devoted to the early phases, in theory as well as in practice, and managers often indicate the front end as being...