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This thesis investigates relationships between external linkages and new product innovativenessf ocusing particularly on the perspectiveo f a knowledge-enabledv iew of new product development. Building on organisational learning theory and knowledge-basedth eorieso f inter-firm collaboration,t his thesis arguest hat the effects of external linkages on new product innovativeness vary and these are largely contingent upon a finn's absorptive capacity. The finn's level of absorptive capacity determines how effectively knowledge from external collaborators relevant to the new product project is absorbed, resulting in the creation of new knowledge that the finn can apply for its own commercial use. It considers why some firms are more effective than others at absorbing new product related knowledge from external collaborators to facilitate more innovative product development. Based on an empirical study of 116 new product development projects in Taiwanese Information Technology (IT) firms, the thesis assesses the relative importance of external linkages in increasing new product innovativeness. The results showt hat the impacto f horizontall inks (that is, collaborationw ith otherc ompanies, research institutes, and universities) on gains in new product related knowledge is greater than that of vertical linkages (that is, supplier and customer involvement). Compared to links with customers, universities, and research institutes, corporate linkages play the most prominent and consistent role in enhancing the accumulation of new product related knowledge. This knowledge namely pertains to predevelopmenat ssessmentR, &D, manufacturinga nd marketing. The thesis confirms that the firm's absorptive capacity positively affects its gains in new product related knowledge. In addition, absorptive capacity's interactions with corporate linkages have significant, positive effects on gains in new product related knowledge. However such interaction effects were not observed for the other external linkages, with exception of industry-based research institute linkage. Moreover, the results confinn that the positive impacts of absorptive capacity, corporation linkages, and supplier linkages on new product innovativeness are mediated by the extent of new product related knowledge gained. This thesis bridges the gap between theories of organisational absorptive capacity and the effective generation of new products. It contributes to our understanding of the role of a firm's absorptive capacity in NPD research. It examines this issue from a knowledge-enabled view of new product development. The findings will assist managers to more effectively formulate NPD strategy by incorporating firms' internal learning capacity with the complementary knowledge and technology that external collaborators can provide.

The research was conducted to determine what the success factors for new product development and commercialization were for a selected sample of SMEs in South Africa. Academic literature on success factors for New Product Development and commercialization, as well as small and medium businesseswere reviewed. The review of the literature provided the theoretical framework for 21 success factors relevant to the study. These success factors were further extrapolated to 36 success factors and used as a basis for determining South African SME relevance. The findings were consistent with the literature review and point to several success factors that South African SMEs deem critical to success of new product development. In conclusion, South African SMEs confirm the importance of the success factors as presented in the literature. The ranking by importance of these success factors highlight the specific value that South African SMEs place on these success factors. These need further in-depth research.

The research was conducted to determine what the success factors for new product development and commercialization were for a selected sample of SMEs in South Africa. Academic literature on success factors for New Product Development and commercialization, as well as small and medium businesseswere reviewed. The review of the literature provided the theoretical framework for 21 success factors relevant to the study. These success factors were further extrapolated to 36 success factors and used as a basis for determining South African SME relevance. The findings were consistent with the literature review and point to several success factors that South African SMEs deem critical to success of new product development. In conclusion, South African SMEs confirm the importance of the success factors as presented in the literature. The ranking by importance of these success factors highlight the specific value that South African SMEs place on these success factors. These need further in-depth research.

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Healthcare is a topic that matters since it aims to ensure better well-being for people. An important and essential part of health care is medical devices since it has the potential to increase the quality of life for people with a health problem. Among the suppliers of innovation, the medical device industry is a dynamic field providing thousands of products to the market every year with the aim to enhance people's lives. However, there are many actors that influences the medical device development such as regulations that ensures that medical devices follow a specific procedure during development, at the same time buyers and end-users need to be integrated throughout the medical device design, this results in challenges during medical device development. This thesis focuses on new product development (NPD) and investigates how projects are managed in a medical device context. Furthermore, the thesis elaborates projects of different novelty and the influence from the characteristic of complexity. This is done with a single-case study of a case company that develop and market medical devices. The empirical findings shows that the main challenges are in the area of clinical studies and product development, furthermore, managing NPD projects in a medical device context deals with specialized knowledge that is dispersed among a group of actors which can influence the development of the medical device no matter the novelty. It was found that the difference between the studied projects was minor in terms of complexity. Though, it was noticed that the project of radical novelty had more interaction with the end-user, which can relate to uncertainty in the function of the product, as a consequence from being completely new product. As a result from the findings, the implication is that the projects can not be treated and managed similarly as a result from uncertainty, thus, it depends on the integration of actors, consequently, influencing time of development and resources. This thesis contributes to the community of companies operating in a medical device context where there is minor focus on complexity in projects, it was found that it might be beneficial to make distinctions in complexity characteristics when identifying challenges and addressing NPD projects in a medical device context.

Knowledge management (KM) is an essential, if sometimes overlooked part of new product development (NPD). It describes the way information and new knowledge is being shared in a commercial organization, hence, how it is stored and made accessible within an organization. KM is applied to many organizational settings, but the application is sparse. KM has the potential to assist NPD, as previously acquired knowledge can be used more efficiently and redundant work can be avoided. However, there is no successful model or guideline for KM in an NPD environment. This project specifically examined the NPD situation, and the research questions included: What do engineering companies in New Zealand do, if anything, to store acquired knowledge? What would encourage engineers to share their knowledge in NPD projects? These research questions were answered by two methods: a survey and then follow-up face-to-face interviews were conducted. Statistical analysis identified various factors as important. Further, differences between New Zealand and German companies were examined. The survey and interview results showed that knowledge was found definitely important for innovation and NPD. However, Germans tended to rate the overall importance of knowledge higher than New Zealanders. It was found that all NPD companies used codification and personalization KM strategies to store knowledge and to make it accessible. However, a tendency towards a stronger emphasis on personalization was found. Particular knowledge sharing encouragements were identified that could result in a higher willingness of engineers to share their knowledge; supporting a communicative work-climate, setting up regular meetings for knowledge exchange and active encouragement to share knowledge. Apart from encouragements, survey and interview results also pointed out the importance of a clearly set direction for KM from management. Companies that were associated with successful KM did not only apply one particular KM process, but a combination of many. Particular KM practices and knowledge sharing encouragements were associated with KM success; the creation of a tidy, well structured database, regular meetings for knowledge sharing, supporting a communicative work-climate and active encouragement of staff to share their knowledge. Furthermore, the influence of personal relationships, trust and power differences on personal knowledge sharing processes were identified. Poor personal relationships and a low perceived level of trust can decrease the willingness of engineers to share knowledge. Engineers found that the most difficult situation in which to seek knowledge was from superiors, while the easiest was from peers. Thus organizational design and hierarchy structures can have an influence on KM. These results were used to construct an integrative model that describes the factors, and their interaction, for successful KM in NPD. Based on the interview and survey results, the main implications for practitioners are that an overall awareness of KM and the benefits thereof for the company itself and the employees are important for successful KM. Executives should consider setting direction, providing the required tools for KM, educating staff regarding KM, and actively encouraging knowledge sharing processes. Further, executives should be aware of the influence of organizational design on personal knowledge sharing mechanisms. NPD project managers should consider educating their project team regarding KM. Especially for the successful application of personal knowledge sharing processes it is important that project managers are aware of personal relationships and potential issues among their team members. In order to achieve a high willingness to share knowledge within the project team, project managers should consider supporting a communicative work-climate, setting up regular meetings for knowledge exchange and actively encouraging their project team members to share their knowledge. These methods were associated not only with a high willingness of employees to share knowledge, but also with KM success in general. Engineers should consider contributing to the KM process by applying the company’s KM strategy and by having a high willingness to share own knowledge and ask questions to acquire knowledge. Furthermore engineers need to be aware of personal relationships with their colleagues and try to maintain a good work-climate, as this affects personal knowledge sharing processes within the NPD project team. New product development requires knowledge, and in an organizational context that knowledge needs to be managed if there is to be an enduring future for the firm. This work has surveyed industry perspectives and identified factors that contribute to successful knowledge management, creating an integrated model that is applicable to new product development.

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The research aims at analyzing the internal communication in a new product development project of Sandvik with expectation to explore possibilities of improvement. Throughout the research, internal communication seems to have a great impact on innovation and project performance. Several critical factors in building effective communication were identified as team size, superordinate goals, centralization of communication, early involvement, physical proximity, and leadership. Meetings were considered as a major and efficient method of communication within the project. Based on these issues, recommendations for improving internal communication within the project were suggested.