The Challenges of New Product Development in a Developing Economy

Abstract

New Product Development (NPD) involves creating a new product from concept to the market. The product could be entirely new or rebranding. It is a critical focus of any production firm. The increase in volume of new competitive products is an indicator of any fast growing production concern. However the challenges that could affect development of a new product in a developing economy include, but not limited to the following: Inadequate infrastructural facilities, lack of funding, low technological skill, lead time for product development, poor marketing strategies and post product evaluation. There are few studies dedicated to New Product Development (NPD) in this hypercompetitive de-regulated industry today, hence the need to study the probable challenges to be encountered in developing new product becomes necessary. Profit and value added oriented industries have structured organization that facilitates new product development. Such products are developed to satisfy customers’ needs at a time. One critical factor that could be used to assess the acceptability of any new product in the market is the post market performance analysis. However the magnitude of this analysis is not isolated from those challenges peculiar to New Product Development. This study highlights method and stages that project managers require to develop quality new products with challenging time-to-market goals.