Document Type
Article
Keywords
New product introduction; product development; supply chain; sub-process connections
Identifier Data
https://doi.org/10.1080/16258312.2018.1427411
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Publication Source
Supply Chain Forum: An International Journal
Abstract
This study examines the intersections between Product Development (PD) and the Supply Chain (SC) and their impact on the performance of New Product Introductions (NPI). We employ a PD/SC interface that consists of multiple viable sub-process connections and explore conjectures from past research that (a) only a selected number of such connections may be necessary and (b) that some may be more valuable than others. We use survey data of new product introduction projects from a wide range of industries to test the conjectures. Based on a comparative analysis of PD/SC sub-process connection intensities, we detect five dyads and two polyads (multiway connections) with high connection intensity. We empirically test the performance impact of the high-intensity connections and find that increases in the intensity of the polyads, coupled with the right timing does improve NPI effectiveness. To provide the theoretical foundation that explains why selected sub-process connections should be implemented with high intensity, we map our findings onto the tenets of resource dependency theory (RDT) and information processing theory (IPT). We capture our findings in three propositions and discuss implications for future research and practice
