A Proposed New Product Development Process for Floor Coverings and Assessment of Its Applicability

Abstract

Nowadays, the rapid changes in the marketing environment of construction products accelerate the shortening tendency of product life cycles which in return put pressure on companies to produce successful new products and adopt innovative strategies to survive and expand in the fast competitive environment. The success of the new construction products calls for a high-quality and well-managed product development process. Thus, this study aims at defining the basic steps of a NPD (new product development) process designed for floor coverings and evaluating its applicability. To this end, the product development methods of the leading companies in the construction sector in Turkey have been analyzed. Also, a questionnaire has been conducted to determine which of the steps of the proposed methodology are currently being realized and which are not or cannot be implemented. Finally, based on this information, certain suggestions have been made as to what can be done to enhance the NPD processes of the companies' subject to evaluation.