Is faster really better? An empirical test of the implications of innovation speed

Abstract

New product innovation is critical to the competitive advantage of many firms. However, there is much hoopla, but little evidence, regarding the benefit of innovation speed. Specifically, there exists insufficient, often conflicting evidence about how dimensions of innovation strategy (cost, quality, and speed) relate to one another and how they ultimately affect project success. Evidence from 75 new product development projects clearly indicates that speed is positively related to quality and has the greatest influence on success. However, several external and firm-level factors were found to moderate the effect of innovation strategy dimensions on project success. Results point to the fact that relationships between dimensions of innovation strategy and project success vary with level and source of uncertainty, with the clearest finding being that speed leads to success primarily in more predictable contexts. This suggests that a fast-paced innovation strategy is best when "you know where you're going".