Balanced or Imbalanced, that is the Question : The Effect of R&D/Marketing Power Structure on New Product Development Time

Making new product development (NPD) faster than competitors by gaining the first-mover advantage is critical for firms. This paper examines two competing hypotheses regarding shortening the NPD time. The information processing theory advises that the decision power in NPD projects should be shared with each subunit, which is a balanced power structure. In contrast, resource dependence theory suggests that the decision power in NPD projects should be concentrated in one subunit. The study participants included project leaders, R&D personnel, and marketing personnel in 126 NPD projects in 87 Taiwanese firms. The empirical results supported the balanced R&D/marketing power structure hypothesis