Moderating roles of organizational inertia and project duration in the NPD process: an empirical investigation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to empirically validate the moderating roles of organizational inertia and project duration in the new high‐tech product development process.Design/methodology/approach – The study methodology involved two phases, viz. exploratory and descriptive. The exploratory phase, with the support of a focused literature survey, has resulted in a theoretical framework, which got later validated through the survey based empirical phase.Findings – The study results suggest that organizational learning and absorptive capacity could trigger a firm's technology acquisition intent, which in turn could increase the firm's propensity to new product commercialization. Contrary to the authors' hypothesis, the study results did not support firm size as an antecedent to the firm's technology acquisition intent. Further, while the project duration is found to negatively moderate the technology acquisition intent to new product commercialization relationship, the study results did not suppor...

[1]  Saeed Samiee,et al.  Influence of firm size on export planning and performance , 1990 .

[2]  James F. Fairbank,et al.  Internalizing external technology: A model of governance mode choice and an empirical assessment , 1999 .

[3]  Gabriel Szulanski Exploring internal stickiness: Impediments to the transfer of best practice within the firm , 1996 .

[4]  Daniel A. Levinthal,et al.  ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY: A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON LEARNING AND INNOVATION , 1990 .

[5]  D. Dillman Mail and internet surveys: The tailored design method, 2nd ed. , 2007 .

[6]  J. Owens AN EVALUATION OF ORGANISATIONAL GROUNDWORK AND LEARNING OBJECTIVES FOR NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT , 2004 .

[7]  M. Tushman,et al.  Organizational Evolution: A Metamorphosis Model of Convergence and Reorientation , 1985 .

[8]  John E. Ettlie,et al.  Firm size and product innovation , 1987 .

[9]  S. Gopalakrishnan,et al.  The Dynamics of the Adoption of Product and Process Innovations in Organizations , 2001 .

[10]  Gerald I. Susman Product life cycle management , 1994 .

[11]  Lee G. Cooper Strategic Marketing Planning for Radically New Products , 2000 .

[12]  Marco Iansiti,et al.  Technology integration: turning great research into great products , 1997 .

[13]  Daniel H. Kim The Link between individual and organizational learning , 1997 .

[14]  M. Dodgson Organizational Learning: A Review of Some Literatures , 1993 .

[15]  Mike Gregory,et al.  Industrial concerns in technology selection , 1997, Innovation in Technology Management. The Key to Global Leadership. PICMET '97.

[16]  Hock-Hai Teo,et al.  Organizational learning capacity and attitude toward complex technological innovations: An empirical study , 2006, J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol..

[17]  James M. Utterback,et al.  Mastering the Dynamics of Innovation , 1996 .

[18]  Ashish Sood,et al.  Technological Evolution and Radical Innovation , 2005 .

[19]  Noel P. Greis,et al.  Absorptive capacity and new product development , 2001 .

[20]  Jakki J. Mohr,et al.  Marketing of High-Technology Products and Innovations , 2001 .

[21]  Chinho Lin,et al.  The critical factors for technology absorptive capacity , 2002, Ind. Manag. Data Syst..

[22]  J. Pennings,et al.  Internal capabilities, external networks, and performance: a study on technology‐based ventures , 2001 .

[23]  Chris F. Kemerer,et al.  The assimilation of software process innovations: an organizational learning perspective , 1997 .

[24]  G. Slowinski,et al.  Harnessing External Technology for Innovation , 2006 .

[25]  V. Shaw,et al.  Effective Organization and Management of Technology Assimilation: The Case of Taiwanese Information Technology Firms , 1998 .

[26]  C. Prahalad,et al.  The Core Competence of the Corporation , 1990 .

[27]  Robert Phaal,et al.  From theory to practice: challenges in operationalising a technology selection framework , 2006 .

[28]  Daniel A. Levinthal,et al.  Demand Heterogeneity and Technology Evolution: Implications for Product and Process Innovation , 2001, Manag. Sci..

[29]  R. Chandy,et al.  The Incumbent's Curse? Incumbency, Size, and Radical Product Innovation , 2000 .

[30]  R. Cooper,et al.  New Product Portfolio Management: Practices and Performance , 1999 .

[31]  C. Easingwood,et al.  New product launch: Marketing action and launch tactics for high-technology products , 1996 .

[32]  C. Gilbert Unbundling the Structure of Inertia: Resource Versus Routine Rigidity , 2005 .

[33]  S. Hunt,et al.  The Comparative Advantage Theory of Competition , 1995 .

[34]  Kwaku Atuahene-Gima,et al.  Inward Technology Licensing as an Alternative to Internal R&D in New Product Development: A Conceptual Framework , 1992 .

[35]  S. Sarin,et al.  From Market Driven to Market Driving: An Alternate Paradigm for Marketing in High Technology Industries , 2003 .

[36]  Abbie Griffin,et al.  Voices from the field: How exceptional electronic industrial innovators innovate , 2009 .

[37]  Ken G. Smith,et al.  Existing Knowledge, Knowledge Creation Capability, and the Rate of New Product Introduction in High-Technology Firms , 2005 .

[38]  V. Mahajan,et al.  Managing New Product Definition in Highly Dynamic Environments , 1998 .

[39]  C. Prahalad,et al.  The core competence of the corporation’, Harvard Business Review, Vol. pp. . , 1990 .

[40]  William Johnson,et al.  Technological substitution in mobile communications , 1997 .

[41]  T. M. Nevens,et al.  Commercializing technology: What the best companies do , 1990 .

[42]  James C. Anderson,et al.  STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING IN PRACTICE: A REVIEW AND RECOMMENDED TWO-STEP APPROACH , 1988 .

[43]  Harry Nyström,et al.  Product Development Strategy: An Integration of Technology and Marketing , 1985 .

[44]  M. Nieto,et al.  Absorptive capacity, technological opportunity, knowledge spillovers, and innovative effort , 2005 .

[45]  Rajdeep Grewal,et al.  Strategic Responses to New Technologies and Their Impact on Firm Performance , 2004, Journal of Marketing.

[46]  P. Attewell Technology Diffusion and Organizational Learning: The Case of Business Computing , 1992 .

[47]  F. Damanpour Organizational Innovation: A Meta-Analysis Of Effects Of Determinants and Moderators , 1991 .

[48]  Tariq S. Durrani,et al.  Managing the technology acquisition process , 1998 .

[49]  D. Naranjo-Gil The influence of environmental and organizational factors on innovation adoptions: Consequences for performance in public sector organizations , 2009 .

[50]  A. V. D. Ven,et al.  Competing with New Product Technologies: A Process Model of Strategy , 2000 .

[51]  A. Griffin PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT CYCLE TIME FOR BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS PRODUCTS , 2002 .

[52]  Abbie Griffin,et al.  Industrial New Product Launch Strategies and Product Development Performance , 1997 .

[53]  A. Griffin,et al.  Balancing development costs and sales to optimize the development time of product line additions , 2010 .

[54]  L. Cáñez,et al.  Linking Technology Acquisition to a Gated NPD Process , 2007 .

[55]  D. Wilemon,et al.  Accelerating the Development of Technology-Based New Products , 1990 .

[56]  Paul R. Carlile,et al.  Transferring, Translating, and Transforming: An Integrative Framework for Managing Knowledge Across Boundaries , 2004, Organ. Sci..

[57]  R. Chenhall Management control systems design within its organizational context: findings from contingency-based research and directions for the future , 2003 .

[58]  Farok J. Contractor Technology acquisition choices for newly industrializing countries: The case of Taiwan , 1993 .

[59]  Vivek Tandon,et al.  1 Moving Beyond Schumpeter: Management Research on the Determinants of Technological Innovation , 2008 .

[60]  D. Mowery,et al.  Strategic alliances and interfirm knowledge transfer , 1996 .

[61]  Karuna Jain,et al.  Modelling the technology transfer process in IJVs: a relationship based approach , 2006 .

[62]  E. Mansfield The speed and cost of industrial innovation in Japan and the United States: external vs. internal technology , 1988 .

[63]  Malte Brettel,et al.  A Measure of Absorptive Capacity: Development and Validation. , 2009 .

[64]  Haiyang Li,et al.  The contingent value of marketing strategy innovativeness for product development performance in Chinese new technology ventures , 2006 .

[65]  Karuna Jain,et al.  Technology transfer through IJVs: determinants of transferor transferee relationship , 2005 .

[66]  Clayton M. Christensen,et al.  CUSTOMER POWER, STRATEGIC INVESTMENT, AND THE FAILURE OF LEADING FIRMS , 1996 .

[67]  G. Pisano The R&D Boundaries of the Firm: An Empirical Analysis , 1990 .

[68]  D. Larcker,et al.  Product Development Cycle Time and Organizational Performance , 1997 .

[69]  Jennifer K. Lehr,et al.  Organizational measures as a form of knowledge management: A multitheoretic, communication-based exploration , 2002, J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol..

[70]  R. Sitgreaves Psychometric theory (2nd ed.). , 1979 .

[71]  D. Dougherty,et al.  Sustained product innovation in large, mature organizations: Overcoming innovation-to-organization problems. , 1996 .

[72]  John C. Narver,et al.  Market Orientation and the Learning Organization , 1995 .

[73]  Kathleen M. Eisenhardt,et al.  DYNAMIC CAPABILITIES, WHAT ARE THEY? , 2000 .

[74]  D. Garvin Building a learning organization. , 1993, Harvard business review.

[75]  Peter F. Merenda,et al.  A Guide to the Proper Use of Factor Analysis in the Conduct and Reporting of Research: Pitfalls to Avoid , 1997 .

[76]  A. Benedetto,et al.  Strategic orientations and new product commercialization : mediator, moderator, and interplay , 2011 .

[77]  P. Ghemawat Market Incumbency and Technological Inertia , 1991 .

[78]  Nikhilesh Dholakia,et al.  Decision-making time in organizational buying behavior: An investigation of its antecedents , 1993 .

[79]  Ashish Sood,et al.  Demystifying Disruption: A New Model for Understanding and Predicting Disruptive Technologies , 2010, Mark. Sci..

[80]  Ryuhei Wakasugi,et al.  R&D, Firm Size and Innovation Outputs: Are Japanese Firms Efficient in Product Development? , 1997 .

[81]  Gary L. Lilien,et al.  New industrial product performance: The effects of market characteristics and strategy☆ , 1985 .

[82]  S. West,et al.  Multiple Regression: Testing and Interpreting Interactions. , 1994 .

[83]  K. Zhou,et al.  Technological capability, strategic flexibility, and product innovation , 2009 .

[84]  J. L. Bower,et al.  Strategy making as iterated processes of resource allocation , 2007 .

[85]  L. Vincent,et al.  Marketing Strategy Formulation in the Commercialization of New Technologies , 2005 .

[86]  Danny Miller,et al.  Momentum and Revolution in Organizational Adaptation , 1980 .

[87]  Amrit Tiwana,et al.  Knowledge integration in virtual teams: The potential role of KMS , 2002, J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol..

[88]  V. Krishnan,et al.  Technology Selection and Commitment in New Product Development: The Role of Uncertainty and Design Flexibility , 2002, Manag. Sci..

[89]  David B. Audretsch,et al.  Innovation in Large and Small Firms: An Empirical Analysis , 1988 .

[90]  Sean R McDade,et al.  The organizational adoption of high-technology products “for use” , 2002 .

[91]  George C. Hartmann,et al.  Assessing Technology Risk–A Case Study , 1998 .

[92]  Bela Gold,et al.  Approaches to accelerating product and process development , 1987 .

[93]  Christopher A. Voss,et al.  Significant Issues for the Future of Product Innovation , 1994 .

[94]  Bella Ya-Hui Lien,et al.  Organizational Learning as an Organization Development Intervention in Six High- Technology Firms in Taiwan: An Exploratory Case Study , 2007 .

[95]  Jeongwen Chiang,et al.  Product development strategies for established market pioneers, early followers, and late entrants , 2002 .

[96]  Martin Hemmert,et al.  The influence of institutional factors on the technology acquisition performance of high-tech firms: survey results from Germany and Japan , 2004 .

[97]  T. Allen Managing the flow of technology , 1977 .