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An Empirical Assessment of the Extent and Intensity of User Involvement in the Early Stages of New Product Development (RIKON Group)

An Empirical Assessment of the Extent and Intensity of User Involvement in the Early Stages of New Product Development (RIKON Group)

Lynch, Patrick and O'Toole, Thomas (2004) An Empirical Assessment of the Extent and Intensity of User Involvement in the Early Stages of New Product Development (RIKON Group). In: 19th International Marketing and Purchasing Conference, 2004, Denmark.

In recent years, there has been an emerging consensus in the literature that interacting with users in the early stages of product development can be a valuable means of increasing the likelihood of success. Yet little is known about the overall current state of practice. This empirical study investigates the extent and intensity of involving users in these stages through the analysis of 572 telephone surveys, and 50 postal questionnaires of companies from the initial sample who actually involved users. The results demonstrate that the involvement of users in these critical early stages only occurs to a minimum extent. Additionally, intense user involvement was the preserve of the few. Results also indicate that intense user involvement in certain stages has a positive impact on the performance of the process. Implications of these findings for managers are also discussed.