The impact of inter-/intra-functional technological learning on new product development outcomes

This research is part of a larger study of 105 project teams from 9 electrical and electronics´ multinational companies in Malaysia. It assesses the extent and effectiveness of inter-/intra-functional technological learning (i.e. comprising knowledge acquisition, information distribution, information interpretation and organizational memory) that occurs within and between new product development project teams/functional groups. Additionally, it investigates the impact of the above four processes on the new product development outcomes (i.e. project success, development speed and product entry timeliness). With the exception of organizational memory, knowledge acquisition, information distribution and information interpretation jointly exert positive influence on project success. Knowledge acquisition and information distribution were found to significantly impact development speed, unlike information interpretation and organizational memory. Knowledge acquisition had a positive impact on product entry timeliness.