The ability to minimize the timing of new product development and introduction: An examination of antecedent factors in the North American automobilesupplier industry

The importance of overall tinting in the new product development and the ne w product commercialization processes hers been widely recognized in the li terature. We examined 14 firm-level practices, later reduced to four factor s, that influence the ability to minimize new product development and intro duction times overall relative to competitors. The factors are (I) human re source management, (2) synergistic integration, (3) supplier closeness, and (4) the design-manufacturing interface. An empirical study of the North Am erican automobile supplier industry found some support for the four-factor model of antecedents to timing ability: synergistic integration and supplie r closeness were both significantly related to development avid introductio n time minimization ability. The implications of these findings for product development managers and academic researchers are discussed. (C) 1999 Else vier Science Inc.