Global product development: The impact on the product development process and how companies deal with it

Zaza Nadja Lee Hansen, Saeema Ahmed-Kristensen

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

    Abstract

    Globalisation has enabled companies to globalise their product development process. Today, everything from manufacturing to R&D can be globally distributed. This has led to a more complex and disintegrated product development process. This paper investigates the impacts companies have experienced as a result of this, and how they have been addressed. Data was collected through case studies of five Danish multinational corporations. The findings showed that the companies experienced several challenges when they globalised their product development process. They consequently implemented various operational solutions to counteract the negative impacts with varying degrees of success. This paper presents a unique look into global product development through an investigation of its impact on the organisation, the product development process, and the product. Furthermore, it shows the solutions companies employ to minimize the risks of globalisation and the limitations of these solutions. Finally, this paper provides information on the likely causes for these limitations with the current industry solutions, and suggests how these can be addressed.
    Original languageEnglish
    JournalInternational Journal of Product Development
    Volume15
    Issue number4
    Pages (from-to)205-226
    ISSN1477-9056
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2011

    Keywords

    • collaborative design
    • case study/studies
    • offshoring
    • human factors
    • global product development

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