Managers' perceptions of learning in new product development

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -Post-project reviews (PPRs) are widely recommended as an appropriate mechanism to stimulate project-to-project learning in new product development (NPD) teams. However, empirical research on their potential is limited and so this study aims to answer two questions: how do NPD professionals perceive PPRs? and is tacit knowledge created during PPRs? Design/methodology/approach -Five in-depth case studies were conducted in German companies. The main sources of data were: company documentation; in-depth interviews with managers; and observation of PPRs. The different data sources enabled extensive data triangulation and a high degree of reliability and validity to be achieved. Findings -The results indicate that NPD personnel perceive PPRs to be a very useful mechanism. They also show that social interactions and tacit knowledge play key roles in NPD learning.Research limitations/implications -Tacit knowledge was investigated using a proxy measurethe usage of metaphors and stories in NPD discussions and documents. More robust ways of studying the generation and transfer of tacit knowledge are needed. The whole area of knowledge and learning in NPD requires significant further study. Practical implications -Management needs to drive the dissemination of the results of PPRs more effectively, in order to make more use of the tacit knowledge generated. Originality/value -The main contributions of this study are the insights it provides on how PPRs are perceived and the exploratory investigation it makes of tacit knowledge -a complex topic that has previously only been discussed at a theoretical level.

Factors influencing knowledge transfer between NPD teams: a taxonomic analysis based on a sociotechnical approach

“…(), [65] Kane et al. (), [67] Koners and Goffin (), [68] Koners and Goffin (), [72] Lee and Choi (), [73] Lee et al. (), [77] Lin and Lee (), [78] Linder and Wald (), [79] Littler et al.…”

Reaping the Benefits: Mechanisms for Knowledge Transfer in Product Development Collaboration

“…It has been noted that research within the area of innovation often ignores the literature on knowledge and organisational learning (Koners and Goffin, 2007). As such, particular care was taken to build on the extant literature, and especially to explain how knowledge transfer is operationalised (see section "Operationalising knowledge transfer").…”

Internet-Based Technology Use and New Product Time-to-Market: The Moderating Effect of Product Innovativeness

“…Over the last decade NPD team learning has been receiving great attention in practice as well as in academia due to its perceived role in facilitating new product performance and success (e.g., Hughes and Chafin, 1996;Edmondson, 1999;Akgün et al, 2002;Lynn, 1998;Lynn et al, 2000;Döös et al, 2005;Koners and Goffin, 2007). In this study, team learning is defined, after Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995), as the collective activity of gathering, retaining, sharing, interpreting, and applying knowledge during a project execution to address project tasks and problems in order to achieve the common goal of the team.…”