Managing risks in the new product development projects

: the evidence from Taiwanese firms

Abstract

In today's fast-moving and highly competitive markets, new product development (NPD) is critical for firms to achieve sustainable growth and maintain competitive advantage. However, the NPD process is fraught with numerous risks that may weaken the product's performance in the marketplace or may even lead to the failure of the project. Identifying these risks has therefore become a crucial task for firms. At present, the categorisation of NPD project risks is somewhat one-sided and vaguely defined, resulting in the inability of researchers and practitioners to reach a consensus on the risks that may be encountered in the new product development process.

To fill this gap in existing research, this study adopted a systematic review approach to induce a comprehensive risk classification from 116 empirical literature. This study then empirically validated the proposed risk classification using 275 survey data collected from firms in Taiwan. This study further examined the interaction between three contingency factors and these risks of these NPD projects, namely firm size (SMEs vs. large firms), type of projects (incremental vs. radical) and type of industry sectors. In addition, the study analysed the differences in perceptions of NPD risk between employees at different position levels (managers vs. non-management members) within the team.

The results of the study demonstrate that the main types of risk affecting new product development projects were from within the technological category, market category, organisation category and operation category. Moreover, In addition, SMEs' new product projects were more susceptible to technological capability and macroeconomic risks, while larger firms were more susceptible to internal communication and financial risks. Most of the NPD risks had similar impacts on projects across industry sectors. There were differences in risk perception between NPD project team members from different position levels.

This study presented a thorough and reliable framework for identifying and handling risks associated with two different types of new product development (NPD) projects, applicable across a variety of industry sectors and within companies of diverse sizes. This methodology includes a detailed risk classification and a process that has been proven effective through empirical evidence.

Date of Award	4 Nov 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Abertay University
Supervisor	Muhammad Akram (Supervisor) & Mohamed Branine (Supervisor)