Knowledge networks in new product development projects: A transactive memory perspective

Even though an individual's knowledge network is known to contribute to the effectiveness and efficiency of his or her work in groups, the way that network building occurs has not been carefully investigated. In our study, activities of new product development teams were analyzed to determine the antecedents and consequences on the transactive memory systems, the moderating affect of task complexity was also considered. We examined 69 new product development projects and found that team stability, team member familiarity, and interpersonal trust had a positive impact on the transactive memory system and also had a positive influence on team learning, speed-to-market, and new product success. Further, we found that the impact of the transactive memory system on team learning, speed-to-market, and new product success was higher when there was a higher task complexity. Theoretical and managerial implications of the study findings are discussed.     

New product development team intelligence: Antecedents and consequences

Our study investigated the effect of team knowledge on new product development (NPD). By investigating 207 NPD projects, we found that the declarative and procedural knowledge of the team and their use of IT had a positive influence on the team's knowledge base; and that the higher the functional diversity of the project team, the greater their overall knowledge. We also found that team knowledge positively impacted new product creativity and success in the market place.     

Impact of absorptive capability on software process improvement and firm performance

Software process improvement (SPI) is a continual organizational learning process with the goal of obtaining and sustaining competitive advantage in rapidly developing business and software environments. However, no research has focused on a firm’s capability to increase effective external SPI knowledge acquisition and utilization. Thus, this study uses dynamic capability theory in order to investigate empirically the capability of a firm to absorb external knowledge and achieve SPI. Specifically, we propose a research model and examine the relationships among a firm’s potential absorptive capability (PAC), realized absorptive capability (RAC), SPI success, and firm performance. In this regard, we surveyed 108 respondents in 56 SPI-certificated Taiwanese firms. We then tested our model using a partial least squares structural equation modeling technique. The results indicate that SPI success is significantly influenced by PAC through RAC. The results also suggest that absorptive capability is critical to SPI success and that the latter ultimately influences firm performance.     

Exploring ideation and implementation openness in open innovation projects: IT-enabled absorptive capacity perspective

Advancements in information technology (IT) have made organizational boundaries so porous, thereby resulting in a trend toward leveraging external knowledge for innovation. However, firms experience significant obstacles in drawing external knowledge. This study aims to disentangle the role of IT-enabled absorptive capacity in new product development performance. The research model was tested with survey data of open innovation projects from 152 firms. Our findings indicate that IT-enabled absorptive capability improves open innovation project performance in terms of new product innovativeness and product speed to market, but we do not detect a significant direct influence of openness on performance. Our findings also show that the interaction of IT-enabled absorptive capacity and ideation openness significantly amplifies new product innovativeness while the interaction of IT-enabled absorptive capacity and implementation openness accelerates the product speed to market. This study theoretically contributes by building an IT-enabled absorptive capacity theory in the open innovation context and uncovering the effects of two dimensions of openness. In practice, it offers managers strategies to successfully conduct open innovation projects in deploying effective ITs and leveraging various types of openness during the two phases.     

Antecedents and consequences of team potency in software development projects

Developing new software quickly, successfully, and at low cost is critical in organizations. Ways of assessing the effectiveness of development teams has highlighted measures of factors, such as teamwork, group cohesiveness, and team integration, but the use of group potency theory (the collective belief of a group that it can be effective) is rare. In our study, we investigated antecedents of and consequences to group potency in software development project teams. By examining 53 software development project teams collected from small and medium-sized software firms in Turkey, we found, that team potency positively affected speed-to-market, development cost, and market success of the product. We also found that trust among project team members, past experiences of the members, and team empowerment had a positive impact on the team potency during the project. Managerial and theoretical implications are discussed.     

Modeling and analysis of project team formation factors in a project-oriented virtual organization (ProVO)

In this era of rapid changes in the project-oriented R&D organization’s environment, some are actively pursuing joint research to gain a leading edge over other R&D organizations. The condition for joint research is the knowledge that an organization needs from other organizations and the capability of collaboration. This study presents a ProVO model using the concept of virtual organization and project team formation based on knowledge and collaboration. In this model, VO is represented by the capability of carrying out a project and the cost of employment. Capability consists of knowledge competence (KC) and collaboration competence (CC). KC, in turn, consists of individual knowledge and collective knowledge from social network, while CC consists of density, degree centrality, and closeness centrality. To verify the presented model, we conducted a case study on a research institute. The analysis results show that all five project team formation factors of KC and CC are statistically significant. A prototype was also developed for selecting project team members using the binary logistics regression model. The proposed ProVO model can assist quantitative decision making on the selection of project team members by a project-oriented R&D organization from the aspects of knowledge and collaboration.     

Model for Selecting Project Members to Minimize Project Uncertainties

Project risks come mainly from the future uncertainties, and new product and service development projects possess the most uncertainty and therefore the highest risk. However, if the project team has gained experiences from previous similar projects, the risk to the project drastically declines. In other words, an inverse correlation exists between member experiences and project risk. Therefore, the guiding principle would be to assign an experienced member to execute familiar work for that member. This study aims to establish a mathematical model that uses member experience to minimize project uncertainty. The nonlinear model assigns members with different experiences to the most suitable tasks to minimize project risk, and thus maximize project success rates under constraints of project costs and communication complexities. An experimental case is used to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed model, and results indicated that under cost and communication complexity constraints, project uncertainty can truly be minimized by allocating an adequate member to the suitable task.     

Effects of task complexity on individual creativity through knowledge interaction: A comparison of temporary and permanent teams

Using the interactionist’s perspective of creativity, this paper proposes a new research model of creativity manifestation to explore how factors affecting individual creativity depend on team characteristics. We investigated the antecedents of creativity in the literature—task complexity, team member exchange, and knowledge sharing—and then examined the relationships and differences between temporary and permanent teams. To maximize practical implications, we studied two team types like project task force (PTF) and research and development (R&D) teams in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry in Korea, where strong creativity is required for team performance. PTF teams operate with a clear mission to be completed on a deadline, while R&D teams create scientific enhancements for existing products. The proposed structural model was tested empirically with cross-sectional data from 289 professionals from the two team types. Results indicated that, in the case of PTF teams, task complexity had an indirect relationship with individual complexity through knowledge interaction among team members, while for R&D teams, task complexity was directly associated with individual creativity, and indirectly associated with the creativity through team member exchange. Thus, team characteristics must be considered together with task complexity and knowledge interactions in order to achieve team goals more effectively by maximizing each member’s creativity.     

Project teaming: Knowledge-intensive design for composing team members

Enterprises frequently use project teams to perform various tasks. In a human-centered, highly collaborative environment, the importance of teamwork exceeds that of individual skill. Appropriate team composition is crucial to the success of ad-hoc teamwork, yet optimizing team composition is challenging. This study utilizes knowledge-intensive approaches to build project teaming models into ontologies. Furthermore, it helps develop a set of logic rules for identifying semantic relationships between individuals. By following a knowledge-base creation process, the factual data of project, workers, and teaming factors can be inserted into ontologies. Based on knowledge inference, reliable knowledge bases are established for selecting project team members in runtime. A case study is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed design. Experimental lessons demonstrate that combining rules with ontological knowledge bases not only serves team composition needs, but also achieves knowledge base durability and system reliability.     

The effect of process tailoring on software project performance: The role of team absorptive capacity and its knowledge‐based enablers

Software process tailoring (SPT) is a team‐based and learning‐intensive activity that addresses the particular dynamic characteristics of a development project. Because SPT critically influences how projects are conducted, its performance should be investigated. However, the extant literature lacks empirical evidence on how the underlying effects of SPT performance and its team‐supportive factors operate and influence software project performance. From the knowledge perspective, this study adopts dynamic capabilities theory and considers the learning ability and absorptive capacity of software project teams to develop a theoretical model to address this gap. The results of an empirical examination of the model with 135 software project teams advance our understanding of how team‐level learning antecedents—experience, communication quality and trust—dynamically facilitate teams' absorptive capacity (AC) when they conduct SPT, which in turn reinforces project performance. The mediating effects of the proposed model are unveiled and discussed, and theoretical implications as well as practical guidance for how AC and these factors promote SPT and project performance are suggested.     

Coproduction in successful software development projects

ContextCoproduction of new products has been deemed successful in organizational partnerships by adding to the quality and scope of the product. Techniques that involve users during the development of software tend to mimic this environment, but differ in the type of product and internal client roles. The question is thus, whether coproduction improves the outcomes of a software development project as it has in other disciplines.ObjectiveThis paper evaluates how the coproduction relationship between software developers and users improves the outcomes of a development project. Coproduction is believed to improve outcomes when available knowledge is accessible and applicable to the objective of the development project. Should the relationships hold, coproduction approaches to development can be approached with confidence and improvements made by attention to the development and deployment of expertise.MethodA quantitative questionnaire related to the coproduction environment was developed for four variables to include coproduction, applying expertise, locating expertise, and project success. 128 users from development teams responded to the survey and represent a variety of industries, individual characteristics, and project sizes.ResultsExpertise is crucial to the success of a software development project and coproduction improves the ability to access and apply the needed expertise. In addition, coproduction directly improves outcomes.ConclusionCoproduction can be an effective approach to the development of systems in terms of meeting project goals. Additionally, the assembly of expertise on the team is an important contributor to successful outcomes that may be enhanced through effective selection of team members. The ability to locate the available expertise is crucial, indicating the value of team building functions to promote awareness of expertise location.     

Dimensionality of Social Capital and Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Information Systems Project Teams

Knowledge sharing and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) among project team members are crucial for project success due to the particularities of information systems (IS) projects. Bonding social capital is known to increase knowledge sharing and collaboration. However, the influence of bridging social capital on knowledge sharing is unclear. The interplay between bridging and bonding social capital is especially interesting in a collectivistic society such as South Korea where in-group ties are particularly strong. In this study, we examine the effect of the sub-dimensions of the above constructs (i.e., bonding, bridging, OCB) on knowledge sharing. The results suggest that bonding and citizenry behavior improves knowledge sharing. Bridging improves knowledge sharing by increasing organizational citizenry behavior. Unexpectedly, the effect of citizenship behavior on knowledge sharing differs from the effect of its sub-dimensions. Only helping others is positively related to knowledge sharing. Similarly, the sub-dimensions of bridging and bonding influence knowledge sharing and citizenship behavior differently than the first-order constructs. For example, shared team mental model positively affects OCB, but has no direct influence on knowledge sharing. Conversely, shared vision is the only sub-dimension of bridging that positively affects OCB. Thus, the results suggest that project managers should facilitate shared project vision and team mental model to encourage team members’ citizenship behavior and control the potential adverse influence of bridging social capital.     

The Top Management Team,Reflexivity, Knowledge Sharing and New Product Performance: A Study of the Irish Software Industry

In the present study, we develop a model to predict new product performance incorporating the literature on top management team (TMT) composition, trustworthiness, knowledge sharing and task reflexivity in organizations. We hypothesize that diversity and trustworthiness in the TMT should influence knowledge sharing and reflexivity and reflexivity and knowledge sharing would be positively associated with new product performance. We test the model using data collected from 39 indigenous software firms in Ireland. Results indicate that age diversity was positively related to knowledge sharing ability while educational level, tenure and functional diversity of the TMT did not have any direct effect on reflexivity or knowledge sharing ability or motivation. However, educational level of TMT, tenure and age diversity had indirect effects on reflexivity and knowledge sharing through the intervening variable of TMT trustworthiness. Further, knowledge sharing and task reflexivity had direct effects on market new product performance. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Action Planning for New Product Development Projects

Two empirical studies are presented to show how experienced project leaders execute New Product Development (NPD) projects. In the first study we interviewed project leaders from four different design firms. We discovered that inside realistic NPD projects the NPD activities seldom occur in the same order as they are described in the NPD literature. Some activities are omitted, some activities are run in parallel and some even have a seemingly illogical timing. The reasons for these ‘strange’ patterns are usually project‐specific. The NPD project leaders distinguish four types of NPD projects. On the one hand, familiar (client well known and/or standard technology and/or re‐design) or non‐familiar projects (new client and/or new technology and/or innovative design), and on the other hand, the complexity of the product (simple versus complex), and they plan their NPD projects differently according to those four types. For instance, within simple and familiar projects they omit more NPD activities than in projects with a more complex and new nature. In the second empirical study we did a matched pairing study (finding NPD projects which would match each of the four types). This time we interviewed experienced project leaders from different companies, because they are probably more familiar with only one type of NPD project. We found a minimal and a ‘regular’ NPD process. Projects on new products (the non‐familiar type) contain the most activities in the total project. Complex projects execute more activities in the first stages, and also different activities than in non‐complex projects. We also found that NPD project leaders adapt an opportunistic attitude towards carrying out activities in parallel in order to gain time.     

Temporal Context of Organizational Learning in New Product Development Projects

Faced with the evolution of the competitive environment, firms have to find the delicate balance between two goals that are sometimes contradictory: accelerate the time spent on product development and leave time to the personnel implicated in these projects to develop collective learning. This research shows that the project ‘time’ has an important influence on the realization of collective learning during new product development projects. The commitment of the project team in activities like experimentation, detection and correction of errors, and research of new combinations which constitute organizational learning depends on the two conceptions of the project ‘time’. If the duration of the project and the time spent by the functional personnel on the project constitute the objective time of the project (first conception of time), the project ‘time’ is also a subjective time which corresponds to the project team’s shared vision of the project’s deadlines (second conception of time).     

The impact of legitimacy-based motives on IS adoption success: An institutional theory perspective

Firms frequently adopt new information systems (IS). To better understand IS adoption, research has been focused on motives for an IS adoption. In this study, three legitimacy-based motives (coercive, mimetic, and normative pressure) are examined for their impact on two success determinants (i.e., project management approach and team competence) and the subsequent impact of the success determinants on IS adoption success. In a quantitative study of Australian firms, we found that coercive pressure and normative pressure influence the project management approach, whereas mimetic pressure influences team competence. Both the project management approach and team competence in turn influence IS adoption success.     

Types and Timing of Inter–organizational Communication in New Product Development

Managing the communication between the participants involved in inter–organizational product development is complex. The traditional models of new product development are not sufficient to gain insight in effective management practices in this respect. Our study explored the inter–organizational communication in a research and development project. Our results confirm Gersick’s model that looks upon new product development as being punctuated by periods of rapid change. In these periods, including the start–up, explorative prototype stage, and completion of the project, inter–organizational communication is essential about design objectives and project planning, contextual factors and the required resources, skills and knowledge.     

Action research in user-centred product development

Technological development and increased international competition have imposed a significant burden on the product development function of many companies. The growing complexity of products demands a larger product development team with people having various competencies. Simultaneously the importance of good quality, usability and customisation of products is growing, and many companies want to involve customers and users directly in the development work. Both the complexity and quality demand new ways of working that support collaboration between people with various competencies, interests and responsibilities both inside and outside the company. This paper reports experiences from using action research to introduce new user-centred work practices in two commercial product development projects. The interventions varied. In the first project it was found rewarding to engage customers and users in workshops based on participatory inquiry and collaborative design. The design process was iterative and the workshops took place several times involving concept through detailed design. In the second project, new design representations are introduced. The experiences highlight the importance of creating and reifying insights in design representations and using these to both support collaboration, and create continuity in the project. The paper ends with a discussion of scientific rigor in action research and what the new work practices imply for the development team.     

How social-media-enabled co-creation between customers and the firm drives business value? The perspective of organizational learning and social Capital

Contemporary business organizations are increasingly turning their attention to value co-creation using social media between individual customers and business organizations in the process of new product development (NPD). However, little is known about the mechanisms underlying social-media-based customer-firm co-creation and their implications for business value in NPD. To address this knowledge gap, this study develops a model from the perspective of organizational learning and social capital to examine how the social-media-based customer-firm co-creation mechanism conceptualized as the structural, cognitive, and relational dimension of social capital influences the first-order knowledge outcome (knowledge transfer effectiveness) and second-order dynamic capability outcome (absorptive capacity), and how these co-creation outcomes ultimately influence organizational performance. The model is tested using survey data from 149 Chinese mobile application developers. The results indicate that social-media-based structural, cognitive, and relational linkage, in particular the structural linkage, is an important co-creation mechanism to improve organizational performance. Knowledge transfer effectiveness and absorptive capacity have significant mediating effects in this co-creation mechanism-outcomes-performance framework. Further, the moderating effects of social media use level on the relationships between co-creation mechanism and outcomes are largely supported. The study contributes to theory and practice by shedding light on the social-media-based customer-firm co-creation in NPD at a process level.     

Teaching Innovation through Interdisciplinary Courses and Programmes in Product Design and Development: An Analysis at 16 US Schools

If innovation is understood as a process of inventing and commercializing new products and services, as a process that incorporates activities from multiple disciplines, and as a process that follows more heuristic than algorithmic rules, then perhaps this process can be taught in an interdisciplinary setting with a strong experiential emphasis, such as product design and development. In this paper, I compare and contrast 14 courses and three programmes in interdisciplinary product development at 16 leading US schools. The overall finding is that while the courses appear similar on a high level, there exists substantial variation in the details. In particular, the way in which multiple disciplines are involved in these courses and programmes varies substantially. Similarly, while a team‐based term project tends to be the common element across the courses and programmes, the degree of fidelity to which the products and services are developed varies considerably. Overall, although these courses and programmes tend to be very labour and co‐ordination intensive, their success has established the legitimacy of interdisciplinary, experiential product design and development education at leading schools in the US.