"If only we'd known sooner": Developing knowledge of organizational changes earlier in the product development process

Managers of canceled innovation projects may berate themselves retrospectiv ely for not having known about downstream organizational changes earlier in the development process. The assumption that knowledge of changes can and should be captured in the early stages of product development is prevalent in both research and practice. This paper reports on a held study of 13 inn ovation projects in two Fortune 500 corporations. It details 51 change init iatives that the projects challenge their organizations to undertake. Findi ngs provide insight into the difficulties of capturing knowledge of downstr eam organizational changes. The paper presents a model in which information al knowledge of what new activities are required to implement a new product must be complemented with interpretive knowledge of how those activities r elate to the organization and strategy of the firm.