Factors influencing New Products Development in High-tech Industry: A Cross-National Study

하이테크 신제품 개발 영향요인에 관한 국가간의 실증적 비교연구

The purpose of this research is to develop strategic alternatives for the high-tech products development by comparatively studying characteristics of the industry and R&D structures in Korea and the US. Some of the environmental, strategic, organizational and project teams' characteristics are studied. Data were collected from Korea and US high-tech companies through interviews and questionnaires and event analysis method was used to analyze them. The findings are as follows: First, when the level of market concentration is high, cycle time tends to be longer. Therefore, if there are many competitors in the market, new products development should be swift due to competitive pressures. Second, the developmental strategy should be directed toward the existing customers to speed up new products development. That is, a defensive strategy would result in a shorter cycle time and response time compared to a strategy directed to a niche market. Third, when the level of formalization is high, cycle time tends to be shorter. This means that formal procedures for new products idea development or new products development policies shorten new products development time.