Are Methods the Key to Product Development Success? An Empirical Analysis of Method Application in New Product Development

This article analyzes method application in the context of new product development. Based on a study of 410 new product development projects, it is shown that applying methods in new product development leads directly to superior financial performance of the developed product (by reducing product costs, for example) and also leads indirectly to a greater degree of innovativeness, better cross-functional collaboration, and shorter time to market. The optimal combination of different method categories is examined and two key determinants of the successful adoption of new product development methods are analyzed, showing how firms can actively improve on what in some cases are very high failure rates of new products.

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