The Determinants of Japanese New Product Successes

Abstract

The authors report the results from a three-year study of new product development practices in Japanese firms. They develop a causal model of factors correlated with new product success. They test the model using data collected on 788 new products developed and commercialized by Japanese firms in the past four years. The “best practices” identified in this study suggest that Japanese new product success is positively influenced by the level of cross-functional integration and information sharing, the firm's marketing and technical resources and skills, the proficiency of the new product development activities undertaken, and the nature of market conditions. Cross-functional integration and product competitive advantage are two key determinants of new product success. The authors also discuss managerial and research implications.

Market-based capabilities and financial performance of firms: insights into marketing’s contribution to firm value

“…However, being customer-driven may be toothless unless top management sets up a cross-functional process in which different functional areas cooperate in converting customer insights into successful products (Leenders and Wierenga 2002). Doing so, according to Song and Parry (1997) enhances time efficiency in product development. Companies today do not restrict customer interaction only to evaluation of needs and gathering of new product ideas; in fact, they involve customers closely in the actual design of the product itself.…”

“…Song and Parry (1992) note that CFI contributes to (a) better quality of information transfer among functional units, and (b) better implementation of new product development activities such as product design and product launch. On the information aspect, integration enhances "information flows from marketing to manufacturing (sales forecasts), marketing to engineering (product modifications), and engineering to marketing (product support services)" (Song and Parry 1997;p. 67).…”

Intensity, timeliness, and success of incumbent response to technological discontinuities: a synthesis and empirical investigation

“…Success (perceptional) Sales from CAD/CAM-based products meet the expectations (SME) 5-Point Thurstone/Likert-Type response scale 0.82 (0.53) Gatignon (1997), Moorman (1995), Song (1997) CAD/CAM-facilities have higher rentability Furthermore, our findings strengthened four of our predictions regarding the timeliness of response: Hypothesis 1b, which posited a positive relationship between market sensitivity and timeliness of response (b = 0.30, p \ 0.001); Hypothesis 2 0 b, which formalized a positive effect of opportunity framing on response timeliness (b = 0.26, p \ 0.05); Hypothesis 3b, which postulated a positive relationship between management flexibility and timeliness of incumbent reaction (b = 0.34, p \ 0.001); and Hypothesis 4b, which predicted an attenuating effect of resource dependence on timeliness of response (b = -0.23, p \ 0.01).…”

Cross-category innovativeness as a source of new product ideas: Consumers’ perceptions of over-the-counter pharmacological beverages

“…incremental versus radical innovations (Cooper, 1994a). However, Song and Parry (1997) and Cooper (1994b) cautioned that firms with a strong technological orientation also required a strong consumer focus due to the high level of risk associated with radical innovations, to reduce the degree of incompatibility of radically new products, as well as the need to remain differentiated from competitors, from the consumer's perspective. Indeed, it is generally accepted that consumer acceptance of 'radical' innovations is slower than for 'incremental' new products, which presents enormous challenges to companies from both a technical development and strategic marketing perspective (Retail Merchandiser, 2007;Westrate, van Poppel, & Verschuren, 2002).…”