An exploratory study of the effects of supplier relationships on new product development outcomes

Abstract

The literature about the influence of suppliers on new product development (NPD) project outcomes shows mixed results. Focusing on supplier relationships, especially the concept of supplier involvement, we present a two‐stage model explaining supplier relationships and their impacts on product quality, project development time and project cost. The level of supplier involvement on the NPD project is seen as contingent on the level of technical difficulty of the project. This model is tested using secondary survey data.

Knowledge spillovers in the supply chain: Evidence from the high tech sectors

“…The effect of supplier involvement in new product development, with focus on project-related outcome dimensions such as project development times, project costs, product quality, and team effectiveness, has been investigated by conducting case studies and surveys (Primo and Amundson, 2002;Appleyard, 2003;Petersen, et al 2005;Azadegan and Dooley, 2010). The majority of studies suggest that supplier involvement and collaboration has a positive impact on new product development.…”

Supplier traits for better customer firm innovation performance

“…Other researchers had to cope with even smaller numbers. For example, Steinman, Deshpandé, and Farley (2000) base their analysis of the appropriate level of a supplier's market orientation on a very small, but undisclosed number of supplier-customer dyads and Primo and Amundson (2002) investigated 38 NPD projects to study the impact of supplier integration on product quality, project development time and project cost. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the small sample limited the statistical power.…”

“…On the inter-organizational level, scholars in the field of strategy, marketing and operations management have recently paid more attention to the importance of aspects of the relationship between the customer and the supplier who contributed to the customer's NPD project (Jap, 1999;Primo and Amundson, 2002;Sobrero and Roberts, 2001;Stump, Athaide, and Joshi, 2002). However, the question of when and how intensively to involve the supplier in the customer's NPD process, how to interact with the supplier, and with which supplier to interact in NPD have been addressed to varying degrees.…”

Power assessment as a high-level partner selection criterion for new product development projects

“…Wasti and Liker in (Wasti and Liker, 1997) identified a positive effect of ESI when technological uncertainties exist, while Swink showed that the product newness could be less positive for ESI, see (Swink,1999). The long-term alliances between firms were also considered as innovation leverage, but Primo and Amundson in (Primo and Amundson, 2002) note that alliances could alter innovation possibilities in the supply chain. Table 1 summarizes potential benefits and risks that a customer or a supplier may see when participating in an ESI relationship.…”