Design-manufacturing integration as a mediator of antecedents to new product design quality

Using data from 137 completed new product design (NPD) projects, we examine the direct and indirect effects on new product design quality of technological novelty, project organization complexity, and design-manufacturing integration (DMI). We use structural equation modeling to test the potential of DMI as a mediator of the effects of project organization complexity and technology novelty on product design quality. The results suggest that DMI is a strong driver of design quality, whereas technology novelty and project organization complexity serve to improve design quality only indirectly, in so much as they are associated with greater DMI. These findings extend prior research by establishing the importance of DMI at the NPD project level, suggesting that it is an effective means for coping with technological uncertainty and project organization complexity. We discuss the implications of these findings for future research and for managerial practice.