Increased global competitions have urged small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to develop new products
faster. Virtual research and development (R&D) teams in SMEs can offer a solution to speed up time-to-market
of new product development (NPD). However, factors that affect the effectiveness of virtual teams for NPD are
still not adequately verified. This paper presents the correlations between virtual R&D team constructs and
virtual team effectiveness by developing a “Virtual Research and Development Team” (ViR&DT) model. The
items, which may influence the effectiveness of virtual teams, are taken from the literature. Through an online
survey and by application of structural equation modeling (SEM) technique, the proposed model (ViR&DT) has
been tested. The results suggest that the process construct is strongly correlated to the effectiveness of virtual
teams. Therefore, NPD managers in virtual R&D teams should concentrate on the process of new product
development rather than simply equipping the teams with the latest technology or employing highly qualified
experts. Further empirical research is recommended to fully explore and appreciate the breadth of application
of the ViR&DT model. This paper is a part of my PhD journey.
Nader
Ale Ebrahim holds a PhD degree in Technology Management from the Department of
Engineering Design and Manufacture, Faculty of Engineering, University of
Malaya. He holds a Master of Science in the Mechanical Engineering from the
University of Tehran with distinguished honors. He also has over 19 years of
experience in the establishment of the R&D departments in different
companies, heading projects as the project director and project coordinator and
implementing knowledge based system in the R&D department. His current
research interest focuses on E-skills, Research Tools, Bibliometrics and
managing virtual NPD teams in SMEs’ R&D centers. His papers/articles have
published and presented in the several journals and conferences.
Virtual R&D teams
Collaborative teams,
questionnaires,
Team performance
cross-functional teams
product development
3
Patents
6.7
k
Conferences
1.9
k
Events
3.3
k
Jobs
6.7
k
Notes
3.4
k
Authors
253
Publishers
2.7
k
Users
This is an animated dialog which is useful for displaying information. The dialog window can be moved, resized and closed with the 'x' icon.
These items will be permanently deleted and cannot be recovered. Are you sure?