COMPLEXITY AND THE MULTIPLE IMPACTS ON NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT: RESULTS FROM A FIELD STUDY

Most technology-based product development programs are becoming more complex and difficult to manage. New technologies, increasingly knowledgeable customers, partnered development projects, differentiated global markets, and more sophisticated product development practices make corporate innovation initiatives especially challenging. The factors that make new product development (NPD) projects complex can impact both NPD processes and performance. Unfortunately, the relationships between complexity and NPD processes and performance are not well-understood. Our study is based on 32 in-depth field interviews with NPD project participants regarding their experiences dealing with complexity. Our interviews were specifically aimed at understanding the consequences to NPD projects when complexity issues arise; whether complexity affects interpersonal relationships within development teams; and what complexity issues, if any, are created when development teams work with alliances and partners. Our research also seeks to understand if significant competitive advantages can be attained by firms from their ability to effectively manage complex new products. After presenting our findings, we construct a comprehensive model to help explain complexity and its potential impacts on NPD. We then develop several implications for product development managers and their teams regarding how to manage complexity. We posit that for technology-based organizations, "managing development complexity", is a critical core competency. We conclude our work with suggestions for future research.