Kamran Davari Nikou

The nature of idea generation in new product development is challenging, competing, risky, and requires an interdisciplinary approach. Being aware of the types, sources, techniques, and metrics of ideation is crucial for the achievement of effective and efficient idea generation. The present research attempts to identify the support mechanisms used within different national cultures in terms of generating new product ideas. A descriptive survey was conducted in order to exemplify idea generation norms in new product development and to establish the nature of this process from a multidisciplinary perspective. Then, an explorative qualitative research was carried out with the participation of 78 experts from 39 countries. Subsequently, partial raw data were refined, categorized, and interpreted via content analysis. The literature on idea generation in new product development ought to be more explorative rather than confirmative; it also needs to adopt a wider perspective because of the multidisciplinary nature of the phenomenon it is concerned with. Since successful idea generation can be cultivated along with the development of human capital, more importance should be attached to interdisciplinarity in human resources, multidisciplinarity in human skills, and perceptual vision than to technical excellence.

The purpose of this study is to present the terminology, traits, types, transformation, and trajectory of new product development (NPD) from an interdisciplinary perspective, compare the traditional and modern models, and analyse the side effects of NPD. A descriptive and, in some cases, chronological method is used for data analysis. Data has been gathered from more than a hundred credible literature and online sources. The subject matter is discussed in the context of marketing, engineering, strategy, management, and innovation in order to compile a typology and compare traditional and modern models, counter models, and side effects of NPD. Academic NPD literature has been around for only fifty years and is still relatively young. The study uncovers the transformations of new products and services throughout history, thereby revealing the secrets of a really productive NPD – this however, might not be enough, since the future is too fuzzy, complicated, multi-dimensional, and full of discontinuities.