Understanding New Product Co-Development Relationships in Technology-Based, Industrial Markets

Abstract

This study focuses on new product co-development relationships, where a seller and buyer enter into a relationship to mutually undertake the development of an innovative product. We draw upon the relationship marketing literature as well as the theoretical frameworks of agency theory and transaction cost analysis to investigate the antecedent conditions that foster such co-development relationships, and the manner by which these factors subsequently influence sellers’ satisfaction with the relationship. The results of our empirical study reveal that the extent to which sellers undertake new product co-development relationships is a function of perceived buyer knowledge and the extent of prior interactions with the buyer as well as the degree of product customization involved. Further, perceived buyer knowledge moderates the sellers’ satisfaction with such co-development efforts.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Gerard A. Athaide

Gerard A. Athaide (Ph.D., Syracuse University) is associate professor of marketing in the Joseph A. Sellinger, S.J., School of Business and Management at Loyola College in Maryland. His research interests focus on new product development, innovation management (with an emphasis on the commercialization of technology-based innovations), and international marketing. He has published several articles on these topics in The Journal of Product Innovation Management, the Journal of Global Marketing and Proceedings of the American Marketing Association, the Academy of Marketing Science, and the Product Development and Management Association.

Rodney L. Stump

Rodney L. Stump (Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University) teaches and conducts research in inter-organizational relationships, channels of distribution, business-to-business marketing, organizational purchasing, and marketing strategy. He presently is an Associate Professor of Marketing at Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD. His work has been published in numerous journals, including Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Business Research, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Industrial Marketing Management, Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing and The Journal of Product Innovation and Management, and in a variety of national and international conference proceedings. Prior to joining academia, Dr. Stump was an officer of a commercial bank with responsibilities in retail marketing, research and development, accounting, and branch management.

Ashwin W. Joshi

Ashwin W. Joshi (Ph.D., Queens University) is associate professor of marketing at the Schulich School of Business, York University, Toronto, Canada. His research interests are in the areas of relationship marketing and new product development. He has published in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Research, Psychology and Marketing, among other journals. His work has also appeared in the Proceedings of the American Marketing Association.