Abstract
The focus of this research was to identify the supplier's role in the new product development process. More specifically, the purpose of this research was to gain an understanding of what constitutes supplier involvement in the new product development process which utilizes a Integrated Product Development (IPD) strategy, and determine what impact this involvement had on the success of IPD. The first objective involved defining supplier involvement, and how it can be accurately measured. The ability to accurately characterize and measure supplier involvement facilitated the accomplishment of the second objective, the identification of the relationship between supplier involvement and the results obtained by employing the IPD strategy.
The research methodology involved a large scale empirical investigation of firms utilizing the IPD strategy. Data was gathered from 133 respondents, a 51.9 percent response rate, through the use of a self-administered questionnaire. Indepth information was provided regarding the organizational, project, and interorganizational variables which impact the success of new product development efforts. The data collected was used to test several hypotheses concerning the impact of supplier involvement on the success of IPD and the market performance of the firms.
The research demonstrated that supplier involvement in the new product development process in an integrated environment had a detrimental impact on product cost, quality, performance, and development time. These findings are contrary to current convention which advocates procurement strategies fostering a high level of supplier involvement such as, partnering, strategic alliances, joint ventures, risk-sharing agreements, and technology sharing arrangements. This research calls into question the strategic advantage of supplier involvement in the new product development process and reveals a need to actively monitor the contributions made through these relationships.