The impact of the use of Internet-based technologies on new product development performance

Faced with the rapidly changing environment and the necessity to effectively manage the collaborative nature of product development, numerous firms invest in Internet-based technologies (IBT) to support their innovation activity. However, despite the vast theoretical and case-study-based research in the literature regarding the alleged role of Internet-based technologies in new product development (NPD), there is no systematic large-scale empirical evidence which would confirm that the use of Internet-based technologies leads to improvement of NPD performance.;Next, based on an extensive review of the literature a research model was developed proposing that IBT use has a positive impact on NPD performance. It was further hypothesized that this impact is indirect and takes place through improvement of communication quality, effectiveness of team learning and team integration.;In order to test the model, data was collected by means of a questionnaire. The sampling frame comprised of managers of product development projects from Canadian and American manufacturing companies operating in high-tech industries. The questionnaire was completed by 278 respondents. Based on the collected data, the theoretical framework was evaluated using structural equation modeling approach.;IBT use was found to be significant contributor to all three dimensions of NPD performance: product quality, time-to-market and development cost. The hypothesized indirect nature of this relationship was also confirmed. The total impact of IBT use on NPD performance was found to be significantly higher for projects devoted to development of highly innovative products and for projects executed by global teams.;In order to address this issue, this thesis examined the impact of the Internet-based technology use on NPD performance. First, a novel conceptualization and definition of IBT use construct was proposed. Internet-based technology use in NPD project was defined as the extent to which the project team deploys Internet-based technologies to support NPD project activities and processes. It was conceptualized as a four dimensional construct, each of the dimensions reflecting a domain of application of the technology.;This thesis contributed to the theory by synthesizing and extending previously disparate studies to develop a unified model of Internet-based technology use in NPD and by testing this model empirically.