Management practices influencing new product success and failure in the United States and Scandinavia: A cross-cultural comparative study

This comparative cross-cultural study of United States (U.S.) and Scandinav ian telecommunications products found both similarities and differences in The successful new product development (NPD) management practices within th e U.S. and Scandinavia. Proficiencies in conducting development, marketing, and customer sen ice activities were identified as important to NPD succes s in both Scandinavia and the U.S. However,er, differences between the U.S. and Scandinavia were found with regard to the importance of research and d evelopment/marketing integration and project manager competency?: with thes e aspects being more important to NPD success in the U.S. Additional differ ences bern een Scandinavia and the U.S. were found in the successful NPD st rategies for. entering familiar versus unfamiliar markets, with the Scandin avian systems being more oriented toward product design strategies. The ove rall results characterized U.S, NPD management systems as product-market or iented, task focused, and project management driven. Bq comparison, the Sca ndinavian NPD management systems were characterized as product-service orie nted, driven by enduring interpersonal relationships and socially oriented to helping others. These characterizations were found to be consistent with dissimilarities in the national cultures of the U.S. and Scandinavia, sugg esting that some core NPD management principles may be generally important to success, whereas others may be culturally dependent. The ir,importance o f recognizing these differences is pointed out in a discussion of their imp lications for NPD theory and practice in today's global economy. (C) 1999 E lsevier Science Inc.