New product development from past research to future applications

In this article, the research associated with the successful development of new products is reviewed. From the research, 17 factors are described as being critical to innovative success. Despite this knowledge, however, if is demonstrated that the factors associated with success have largely failed to be translated into practical guides for action. One reason suggested for this is that the research is too generic, and that a product-specific approach based on firms' unique "needs" for improved development is more appropriate. Using an approach recently developed via the uptake of concurrent engineering, the study concludes with a tentative framework for the application of the known success factors in new product development. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.