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Effective Control of New Product Projects: The Interaction of Organization Culture and Project Leadership
Author(s) -
McDonough Edward F.,
Leifer Richard P.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
journal of product innovation management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.646
H-Index - 144
eISSN - 1540-5885
pISSN - 0737-6782
DOI - 10.1111/1540-5885.330149
Subject(s) - product (mathematics) , new product development , business , marketing , product innovation , task (project management) , process (computing) , control (management) , state (computer science) , delegation , technological change , management , process management , industrial organization , economics , computer science , geometry , mathematics , algorithm , macroeconomics , operating system
In all organizations where technological innovation plays a key role, a state of creative tension exists between those responsible for technological development of new products and the organization's need to satisfy customer demands. The need to maintain a balanced state of tension is clear. When the balance swings too far in the direction of technological development, technological wizardry runs amok. When it swings too far in the direction of satisfying customer demands, innovativeness can be stifled and technological stagnation can result. Maintaining a state of creative tension is important, then, for producing viable and technologically innovative products. A key task confronting managers, therefore, is fostering innovation while at the same time controlling and channelling it to meet the business needs of the organization. Perhaps nowhere is this need greater than in the new product development process. Edward McDonough and Richard Leifer report the results of a study which suggest that this task may be accomplished by relying on a bounded delegation style of project leadership and a culture which emphasizes a business orientation.