Involving External Users and Third Parties in the New Product Developmnet Process(RIKON Group)

New product development (NPD) is increasingly being viewed as a dynamic interplay between two or more actors. The basic tenet of this relationship is that linkages with other actors help firms create value by combining resources, sharing knowledge, increasing speed to market, reducing risk and in general creating a competitive advantage that is likely to be sustainable. Despite the increasing importance attributed to the involvement of external actors such as users and suppliers in NPD, little is known about current practice in the Irish context. Based on empirical evidence collected from 572 Irish manufacturers, external cooperation remains latent and relatively unused as a mechanism for Irish firms to develop new products. Implications of these findings for managers and researchers are discussed.