Developing new products: continuity and change

Abstract

The article discusses the issues related to the development of new products, focusing on the continuity and evolution of the process. Product is a key concept in management, and the process of creating and introducing products to the market is the main goal of organizations. The essence of management is to harmonize teamwork in the product development process. The aim of the authors was to organize the knowledge in the field of new product development and to present methodologies and concepts for their creation based on the authors’ own model of cognitive activity, which was used for critical evaluation and systematization of the existing knowledge from the literature and the authors’ own experiences. The model of cognitive activity presented in the article includes research assumptions covering ontological, terminological, axiological, and epistemological categories. The research process begins with the identification of research needs, which define research problems. The analysis of these problems leads to the identification of research approaches and the evolution of knowledge in the field of new product development. Four approaches to new product development were presented: operational/engineering, integrated/ process-based, organizational, and sustainable. Breakthrough changes in new product development arise from practical and theoretical inspirations and impact NPD (New Product Development) management, conceptual models, standards, and development perspectives. Four such breakthrough changes were identified in the article: from the spontaneous to operational approach, from operational to integrated, from integrated to organizational, and from organizational to sustainable. An analysis of the new approach to sustainable product development CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and tools such as SMP (Sustainability Management Plan) and GMP P5 standard were also presented, which integrate CSR principles into new product development management. The perspective of further development includes taking into account additional factors arising from the dynamically changing business environment.