DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN THE NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS: THE ROLE OF IT-ENABLED PLM SYSTEMS FOR RELATIONAL, STRUCTURAL, AND NPD PERFORMANCE

Abstract

Companies increasingly use digital product lifecycle management (PLM) systems with information technology (IT)-based workflow and product data management functions to assist new product development (NPD). However, empirical evidence on whether and how such digital transformation in PLM contributes to NPD performance is scarce. The objective of this paper is to fill this void. We use Assemblage Theory to develop a theoretical model that links the digital transformation in PLM to performance and focus on the extent to which IT-based data gathering and exchange occur in NPD. We carry out a quantitative survey among 216 key informants of manufacturing companies and use structural equation modelling on the resultant data to provide empirical evidence for our hypothesis. We find that the level of digital transformation in PLM positively influences structural and relational performance and, in effect, also enhances NPD performance. Our findings also show that organisational complexity positively moderates these relationships. For managers, our findings demonstrate the value of digital transformation for managing the NPD process, notably in larger, more complex organisations.