New product development performance success measures: an exploratory research

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the NPD performance success measures that manufacturing organisations use to assess the success of their new products. Design/methodology/approach – Based on relevant literature review and in-depth interviews, a structured questionnaire was developed as a primary data collection method. Questionnaires were distributed to a sample of 558 manufacturing organisations in Jordan, out of which 355 were returned and valid for the analysis. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were applied to reveal NPD performance success measures dimensions. Findings – This study empirically showed that manufacturing organisations in Jordan use a multidimensional construct for NPD performance success measures to assess the success of their new products. The multidimensional construct consists of NPD financial performance, NPD internal learning, NPD capabilities improvement, NPD knowledge sharing and NPD marketing performance. The findings indicate that NPD financial performance is still the dominant dimension amongst the manufacturing organisations while measuring NDP performance. Also, the study has developed an inductive model of NPD performance success measures which shows the construct’s dimensions complexity. Research limitations/implications – The fact that the paper is a single country study focusing on the manufacturing industry limits its generalisation to other industries/contexts. The paper’s focus on manufacturing organisations limits its contribution to the manufacturing sector. The services sector is a rich field for NPD performance success measures, in addition to being an important contributor to the economy of most, if not all, countries. Further, the paper focuses on only five dimensions of NPD performance success measures, other dimensions of NPD performance success measures might add more insights to their effect on NPD performance success measures. Practical implications – Utilising the findings of this study can help managers make sense of NPD success and failure and plan the NPD strategy and activities across a range of differing situations. The major contribution of this study is increasing the ability of managers to improve their skills and capabilities and focus on the dimensions of NPD success in the best way that enables them to respond effectively to uncertainty caused by changes in the product life cycle which in turn might affect the performance of NPD. The findings urge managers to deal with NPD as a complex process that should be integrated within corporate, business and functional strategies of the firm. Originality/value – The originality of this paper stems from its multidimensional construct of NPD performance success measures as well as in developing an inductive model that shows the complexity of NPD performance dimensions that can be used for assessing the success of new products. The study also has its originality since it is the first empirical work conducted on the manufacturing sector in an emerging market business environment, Jordan.