Collaboration with External Sources in NPD: An Empirical Evidence from FMCG Industry
Naheed Bashir · Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) · 2016
This paper has been written as an attempt to examine the role of external sources such as social media networks, suppliers, customers and competitors in new product development (NPD). This study is built on an in-depth study from leading multinational company (MNCs) around the world from the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry. This paper examines that among these sources, which source is more influentially contributes to the product innovation. The findings have highlighted that customers are huge sources of knowledge in NPD while suppliers are the second most influential source , social networking tools are also a source of knowledge for product innovation but social networking tools are not considered a credible source of knowledge in new product product development in MNCs, yet competitors do not contribute in product development at all. This study offers a practical guideline for the managers in MNCs.