The effect of experienced R&D teams on producing unique products: analysis of 140 small and medium-sized high-Tech start-ups in China

ABSTRACT The effect of R&D teams on new product development has been recognised, but debates remain regarding the influence of experienced R&D teams on product uniqueness. This study identifies the type of experience attribute in R&D teams and how it can influence product uniqueness using a sample of 140 Chinese small and medium-sized high-tech start-ups. Results indicate that a U-shaped relationship occurs between R&D team experience depth, breadth, and product uniqueness, and the curvilinear relationship between R&D team experience depth and product uniqueness can be weakened by the degree of executive embeddedness. It suggests that the embeddedness of top managers and the organic composition of team members’ experience attributes should be emphasised to develop unique products.

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