Formal new product development (NPD) processes have become an important tool in NPD management. However, our understanding of what makes formal NPD process implementation successful in terms of acceptance and performance is still limited. This paper contributes to an improved understanding of factors affecting the acceptance and use of formal NPD processes. Our results show that acceptance of formal NPD processes is determined by several factors, such as ease of use, transparency of discourse, continuous improvement, involvement of NPD actors, and the ability to bridge differences in thinking. Furthermore, that acceptance of formal NPD processes affects NPD performance positively. These results draw on data from a survey posted to employees working for nine large manufacturers of commercial vehicles worldwide. The results should encourage managers to consider and enhance the factors affecting acceptance. This could be done through using new media for publication to increase transparency and perceived ease of use of the NPD process. Further acceptance of the formal NPD process is increased if it mirrors an operative reality and if organisational structures for improvement of the process are implemented and inclusive to employees involved in NPD. © 2017 World Scientific Publishing Europe Ltd.

The diffusion of various forms of digital technologies has acted as a disrupting force in several industries, promoting open and distributed innovation processes. In this paper we argue that the supplier in open innovation networks tends to get a more active role as a creative peer producer, rather than merely a contractual deliverer. A comparative case study of the mobile phone platforms iPhone and Android is used to analyze this shift in innovative value creation. The notion of generative capacity is introduced to the research on open innovation, suggesting that it is generativity rather than openness that drives the platforms' aggregated wealth. The two cases from the mobile phone industry illustrate that innovation initiatives can successfully approach generativity in different ways and that both openness and control are important to facilitate supplier contributions. © 2011 Imperial College Press.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of a firm’s ability to integrate knowledge on their innovation performance, in order to help firms prioritize their resources used for knowledge integration more effectively. Data were collected from a survey mailed to R&D managers in firms with between 100-1000 employees in a cross-section of industries. Five hypotheses were tested using multiple regression analysis with and without interaction terms. The results indicate that a categorization of knowledge is useful for understanding knowledge integration. The study also shows that the ability to integrate domain-specific knowledge is significantly related to innovation performance. Furthermore, the results indicate that technology turbulence in the industry has a positive moderating effect on the above relation. Managerial implications suggest how managers can focus their efforts in order to effectively integrate knowledge in product development projects. © Imperial College Press.