HOW MANAGERS IN HIGH-TECHNOLOGY ORGANIZATIONS PERCEIVE THE USEFULNESSOF INFORMATION SHARED DURING NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

This study surveys managers in high technology organizations throughou t the USA to determine the role of the perceived usefulness of informa tion shared between functional areas during new product development. M arketing, Manufacturing and R&D managers were asked to rate the percei ved usefulness of information shared between functional areas during a specific new product development program. Managers rated the perceive d usefulness of shared information on the basis of sixteen characteris tics describing the information, the relationship between workers in d ifferent functional areas, and the overall effectiveness of integratio n in the organization. The results reveal similarities and differences in the perceived usefulness of information shared between different f unctional areas. The paper discusses these results and their implicati ons for managers involved in new product development in high technolog y organizations.