Factors Influencing Information Technology Usage for New Product Development: The Case of Japanese Companies*
Factors Influencing Information Technology Usage for New Product Development: The Case of Japanese Companies*
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DOI：
10.1111/j.1540-5885.2011.00848.x
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发表时间：
2011-11
影响因子：
10.5
通讯作者：
T. Kawakami;S. Durmusoglu;G. Barczak
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
T. Kawakami;S. Durmusoglu;G. Barczak
虽然新产品开发（NPD）的信息技术（IT）工具广泛可用，但先前的研究发现，IT的使用仅限于大型公司（参见Barczak和Sultan， 2006），但越来越多（Cooper, 2007）。现有的研究表明，有几个因素影响IT的使用，包括冠军的存在和新产品开发过程的形式化（Barczak, Sultan, and Hultink, 2007; Barczak, Hultink, and Sultan, 2008）。此外，人们还发现，信息技术使用的前因因国而异（Barczak, Hultink, and Sultan, 2008）；也就是说，它们是特定于上下文的。本研究通过探索促进和/或抑制日本公司在新产品开发中使用IT的因素，扩展了先前的研究。之所以选择日本进行这项研究，是因为有人认为，为了发展适用于不同国家或文化的广义NPD理论，需要进一步了解北美和西欧国家以外的国家（Song and Parry, 1996; Song, Kawakami, and Stringfellow, 2010）。此外，日本文化以与北美和其他西方国家非常不同而闻名，特别是日本相对强调集体而不是个人；高不确定性规避相对于低不确定性规避；长期导向而非短期导向（Hofstede, 2005; Kawakami, Maclachlan, and Stringfellow，即将出版）。日本缺乏对IT和NPD的研究，这意味着本研究需要一种探索性的、扎根的理论方法。采用多案例研究方法，作者对不同行业19家公司的35名营销、研发和IT经理和高管进行了半结构化访谈。通过对访谈数据和后续调查的分析，作者提出了战略因素、市场环境因素、开发过程因素、组织因素和技术-人交互因素五大类十个因素可能影响日本企业在新产品开发过程中对IT的使用。具体而言，产品创新、全球参与程度、正式的IT ROI测量、新产品开发活动的标准化、物理接近性、对变化的抵抗力、CIO作为执行发起人、感官需求、感知易用性和感知有用性预计会影响IT使用。从理论角度来看，本研究通过将文化背景扩展到北美和西欧以外，将重点放在一个亚洲国家，即日本，从而扩展了先前对IT使用的研究。它还增加了整合民族文化和NPD的有限研究，并使开发一个可以进行经验检验的概念模型成为可能。
Although information technology (IT) tools for new product development (NPD) are widely available, prior studies have found the usage of IT to be limited to large-sized firms (cf. Barczak and Sultan, 2006), but increasing (Cooper, 2007). Extant research indicates that several factors influence IT usage, including the existence of a champion and NPD process formalization (Barczak, Sultan, and Hultink, 2007; Barczak, Hultink, and Sultan, 2008). In addition, the antecedents to IT usage have been found to vary among countries (Barczak, Hultink, and Sultan, 2008); that is, they are context-specific. This study extends prior research by exploring the factors that facilitate and/or inhibit IT usage for NPD in Japanese firms. Japan was chosen for this study because it has been argued that, in order to develop generalized NPD theories applicable across different nations or cultures, further understanding is needed about countries other than North American and Western European countries (Song and Parry, 1996; Song, Kawakami, and Stringfellow, 2010). Additionally, the culture of Japan is known for being very different from North America and other Western countries, particularly in terms of Japan's relative emphasis on the collective as opposed to the individual; high in uncertainty avoidance as opposed to low uncertainty avoidance; and long-term orientation rather than short-term orientation (Hofstede, 2005; Kawakami, Maclachlan, and Stringfellow, forthcoming). The lack of research in Japan on IT and NPD implied the need for an exploratory, grounded theory approach to this study. Using a multiple case study method, the authors conducted semi-structured interviews with 35 marketing, R&D, and IT managers and executives in 19 firms in a variety of industries. Based on the analysis of the interview data and the follow-up surveys, the authors propose that ten factors in five categories, namely, strategic factors, market environment factors, development process factors, organizational factors, and technology-human interaction factors, are likely to influence IT usage for NPD in Japanese companies. Specifically, product innovativeness, extent of global engagement, formalized IT ROI measure, standardization of NPD activities, physical proximity, resistance to change, CIO as an executive sponsor, sensory requirements, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness are expected to influence IT usage. From a theoretical perspective, this study extends prior research on IT usage by expanding the cultural context beyond North America and Western Europe by focusing on an Asian country, namely Japan. It also adds to the limited research that integrates national culture and NPD and enables the development of a conceptual model that could be tested empirically.