Technology novelty, project complexity, and product development project execution success: a deeper look at task uncertainty in product innovation

TLDR

Product development literature and organizational information processing theory provide the theoretical backdrop for studying task uncertainty. The study applies task uncertainty to examine how technology novelty and project complexity influence product development project outcomes. The authors surveyed 120 assembled‑goods new‑product projects, characterizing them by technology novelty and complexity, and measured success across technical performance, unit cost, time‑to‑market, and overall goal achievement.

Abstract

This paper applies the construct of task uncertainty to study relationships between product development project characteristics and project outcomes. The authors characterize product development projects in terms of their technology novelty and project complexity levels. This characterization is based on product development literature and organizational information processing theory. They hypothesize that technology novelty and project complexity characteristics contribute to project task uncertainty and are in turn associated with project execution outcomes. A cross-sectional survey of 120 new product development projects for assembled goods was employed to test relationships between project characteristics and project success. Success measures include achievement of individual project goals, such as technical performance, unit-cost, time-to-market and overall achievement of project goals.