Determinants of Korean and Japanese New Product Performance: An Interrelational and Process View

Firms in South Korea and Japan are designing and introducing new products to global markets, contributing to their strong export-led economic growth. To better understand how Korean and Japanese firms are succeeding, the authors conducted a study on new product development. They surveyed product developers in both countries about how strategic, organizational, and process factors influence new product performance (NPP). The authors learned that the determinants of NPP are interrelated and that the new product development process itself is central, namely the stages of initiation and implementation. These two stages directly determine NPP, though initiation appears to be more important. The stages are strengthened by factors such as customer orientation, cross-functional integration, and new product team proficiency; however, the effects are not uniform. Although the model and hypotheses are largely supported, indicating that, in general, they describe South Korean and Japanese new product development, the authors found a few differences between the countries.