Authors: Nina Veflen Olsen
The level of proficiency in conducting new product development (NPD) activities variesamong organizations, and how different NPD activities are performed is perceived to beimportant for the outcome of the NPD process (Cooper 1993, 1998, 1999). Contrary toNPD activities, differences among NPD actors are not frequently studied. Actors areassumed to be equal and comparable. In this study we have investigated how actors affectactivities and outcome in NPD, and thereby extended the traditional focus on activities.Two distinct actors, manufacturers and distributors, that both develop new products werestudied. While most NPD studies have been conducted among manufacturers, few studieshave looked at how distributors develop new products. Consequently, we wanted toinvestigate if manufacturers and distributors conducted different NPD activities, and ifthe outcome of a NPD process controlled by a manufacturer differed from the outcome ofa process controlled by a distributor.In-depth interviews with manufacturers and distributors within the grocery industry inNorway were conducted, and sales numbers from an AC Nielsen Scan Track databasewere analyzed. We observed that different actors had different goals, conducted differentactivities, and reached different outcome.
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