Product Development (PD) in Small and medium-sized Firms (SMEs) is a long-neglected research area, and little cumulative work has been conducted previously. The purpose of this paper is to provide a first overview of the area of PD in SMEs. In doing so, we draw upon a sample of 149 peer-reviewed research papers selected from an initial sample of 5694 papers. The review provides tentative answers to issues such as the analytical and methodological approaches of the papers, which topics or areas of research have been focused on by previous scholars, and what kinds of topics that are well covered.

Research often suggests that formal New Product Development (NPD) processes increase the success rate of NPD projects in a firm. However, recent studies indicate a relatively low usage of formal NPD-processes. Very few studies of NPD practices have been carried out in contexts other than that of the US, thus it is of interest to explore whether or not important differences exist. The present study aims to identify the use of and practices within formal NPD-processes in Swedish manufacturing firms and to compare the results with a study conducted in a US context. The results indicate that differences exist in for example reward systems for NPD teams.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to improve our understanding of outsourcing NPD, and specifically of factors affecting the outsourcing decisions, by exploring the practices of the most innovative firms.

Design/methodology/approach – An internet based survey sent in winter 2008 to 494 medium-sized firms in four industries. The response rate was 77.3%. Sample was split into the best firms and the rest, and a best practice analysis was performed with correlation analysis.

Findings – The best firms focus on knowledge issues to a higher extent, while cost and geographical proximity are more important for the rest firms. The best firms prioritize knowledge integration and development of knowledge about the outsourcing process higher.

Research limitations/implications - The sample is taken from medium-sized Swedish manufacturing firms. Future samples need to be expanded to further generalize the conclusions. Results show that further research combining resource and cost perspectives are needed.

Practical implications – Managers are recommended to not only find access to needed knowledge, but also give time to integration on a personal level, as this protect knowledge and lower costs in the long run.

Originality/value – Studies of outsourcing NPD are few and, to our knowledge, no quantitative studies on the topic have been made.

Research on outsourcing normally focuses on outsourcing of production and often uses large firms as samples. Only a few studies address the outsourcing of services or knowledge-intensive activities such as new product development (NPD), and especially in the context of medium-sized firms. Our earlier research in medium-sized firms indicates that outsourcing of NPD is frequent in medium-sized firms, and that there is a lack of knowledge about the phenomenon. This article offers a theoretical framework to study the outsourcing of NPD, and includes the results from a longitudinal case study carried out in six Swedish medium-sized firms to help understand the rationales behind outsourcing of NPD. Results from the present study indicate that ‘good enough’ is the keyword for medium-sized firms with limited resources. This means that it is considered more important with proximity and trust than world class competence, since close and frequent contacts are crucial, when outsourcing knowledge-intensive activities such as NPD. A conceptual model and a definition of the good enough concept are also presented.

PURPOSE – To provide empirical evidence to support the effect of a firm’s ability to integrate knowledge on the innovation performance of a firm, and to examine the different effects of three categories of knowledge.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH – Data were collected using an e-survey sent to R&D managers representing firms with between 100-800 employees from a cross-section of industries. A total of 355 firms were addressed and 193 questionnaires were returned and usable (54.4% response rate). Hypotheses were tested using multiple regression analysis with and without interaction terms.

FINDINGS – Results indicate that ability to integrate thematic knowledge is significantly related to innovation performance. There is also a less significant indication that product properties, as product complexity and newness, have a positively moderating effect on the above relation.

RESEARCH LIMITATIONS – The sample represented medium sized firms. The data were collected in Sweden. As with most studies, it is important to replicate this study in different contexts.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS – The study offers a suggestion to how managers can focus their efforts in order to improve their ability to integrate knowledge from product development projects.