The Role of Information Technologies in Enhancing R&D-Marketing Integration: An Empirical Investigation

Abstract

The effective integration of research and development (R&D) and marketing contributes to the development of successful new products. Barriers such as physical separation of R&D and marketing, goal incongruity, and cultural differences hamper the cross-functional cooperation. However, it may not be either possible or desirable to eliminate the cross-functional integration barriers in practice. Previous research findings suggest that information technology (IT) can be used to reduce the negative impact of the barriers. This paper examines the moderating role of communication technologies (ITc) and decision-aiding technologies (ITd) in improving the R&D-marketing integration in new product development. The empirical findings from analyzing data on 171 new product development projects suggest that both IT systems can be used to reduce the negative impact of physical separation, goal incongruity, and cultural differences on R&D-marketing integration. However, effectiveness of the two types of IT differs. While IT c appears to be more effective than IT d in overcoming the constraint of physical separation, IT d is more effective than IT c in reducing the negative impact of goal incongruity and cultural differences. IT c is found to have the strongest effect on reducing the negative relationship of physical separation and integration, a less strong effect on cultural differences, and a weak effect on goal incongruity. Conversely, IT d is found to have a strong effect on goal incongruity. These empirical findings provide guidelines for project managers using a specific IT to address a specific integration barrier. If the major barrier is physical separation, IT c is the best solution. On the other hand, if the major barrier is goal incongruity, IT d is the best solution. In addition, it is important for management to note that IT requires more than simply installing computer hardware and software. In addition to investing in those ''hard'' improvements, project managers should strive to create a supportive ''soft'' environment by consistently improving members' IT experiences and familiarity. In the process of the continuous development of IT, state-ofthe-art technologies should be introduced in a timely manner and be made accessible to all team members. Finally, project managers should frequently observe their industry peers' IT usage to keep up with advances.

Where Global and Virtual Meet: The Value of Examining the Intersection of These Elements in Twenty-First-Century Teams

“…Establishing such a communication climate helped to mitigate any in-group/out-group distinctions and faultlines that had formed in the design teams along national or other subgroup boundaries. Song & Song (2010) found not only that CMC tools can be used to reduce the negative impact of barriers, such as physical separation and cultural differences, in virtual teams, but also that it is important to look at the different types of IT systems being used. Rather than grouping all CMC tools together and examining the effects of electronic dependence, different categories of electronic tools may work differently to reduce the negative impact of physical separation and cultural differences on team outcomes (cf.…”

“…Moreover, of the 392 papers on virtual teams, only 18 (4.6%) assessed nation or culture and included it in empirical analyses (i.e., Edwards & Sridhar 2005;Gibson & Gibbs 2006;Glikson & Erez 2013;Graf et al 2010;Hinds & Mortensen 2005;Jarvenpaa & Keating 2011;Krumm et al 2013;Martins & Shalley 2011;Mortensen & Hinds 2001;Muethel et al 2012a,b;Polzer et al 2006;Sarker 2005;Shachaf 2005;Song & Song 2010;Staples & Zhao 2006;Swigger et al 2004;Vignovic & Thompson 2010) (see Table 1). Of these, only 8 papers (2.0% of the total) measured both national culture and either electronic dependence or computer-mediated communication (CMC) tools (i.e., Edwards & Sridhar 2005, Gibson & Gibbs 2006, Glikson & Erez 2013, Martins & Shalley 2011, Muethel et al 2012b, Song & Song 2010, Staples & Zhao 2006, Swigger et al 2004). The other 10 included a simple comparison between teams who have no FTF interaction and teams who are completely FTF (for meta-analytic reviews, see Fjermestad 2004 andRains 2005).…”

Mixing rich and asynchronous communication for new service development performance

“…It can focus attention to the tasks at hand rather than dealing with potential conflict and divergent perspectives which may come to the surface when interpersonal communication is predominant. This builds upon the work of Song and Song (2010) who found that more asynchronous communication can help reduce the negative effects of disagreements during development. (Thatcher and Brown, 2010).…”

The Effects of a CEO’s Technical Background and Cross-functional Coordination on Technological Innovation Performance: The Mediating Role of Technological Innovation Orientation

“…Cross-functional coordination has been frequently recognized as a critical factor for successful technological innovation or new product development (Ayers, Dahlstrom, & Skinner, 1997;De Clercq et al, 2011;Song & Montoya-Weiss, 2001;Song & Parry, 1997;Song & Song, 2010;Stock et al, 2013;Suder, Sherman, & Davis-Cooper, 1998;Troy et al, 2008;Xie et al, 2003). Cross-functional coordination refers to the extent of interaction, communication, information sharing, and joint involvement across diverse organizational functions such as R&D, production, and marketing (Song & Montoya-Weiss, 2001;Troy et al, 2008).…”