A research on fuzzy front end of npd in Chinese equipment manufacturing firms: A theoretical model

Equipment Manufacturing industry is the indispensable pillar of the development of both economy and technology to each nation. Its development not only determines the process of industrialization, but also affects the comprehensive national strength. This paper focus on the study of some equipment manufacturing firms in China, and explores the fuzzy front end (FFE) innovation of New Product Development (NPD) projects in Chinese equipment manufacturing firms. Firstly, we analyse the impact of the fuzzy front end on the success of all the NPD projects. We develop a conceptual model based on the information-processing approach. Secondly, we compare the fuzzy front end of incremental to radical NPD projects. Although these projects differ in many aspects of newness, we found only a few differences with regard to the fuzzy front end. Finally, Implications of the empirical results and limitations of the study are discussed.