Effects of cross-functional integration on NPD success: mediating roles of customer and supplier involvement

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore how cross-functional integration (CFI) influences external partner involvement and subsequently promotes new product development (NPD) project success. On the basis of survey data collected from 297 manufacturers around the world, structural equation modelling and bootstrapping approaches are used to test the proposed research model. The findings of this study reveal that CFI not only directly promotes NPD success but also does so indirectly by enhancing external partner involvement (i.e. customer and supplier involvement). The results provide a theoretical contribution to the study of CFI and also extend our practical understanding of the underlying mechanisms that CFI improves NPD performance via involving external supply chain partners in NPD projects more efficiently.