Exploring the need for (extreme) speed: motivations for and outcomes of discontinuous NPD acceleration

New product development (NPD) speed is an important concern for firms in today’s fast-paced economy. While existing literature has focused on continuous NPD speed improvements, this paper explores discontinuous NPD acceleration, or dramatic reductions in development time relative to firms’ normal NPD cycles. Across two studies, the authors interview managers to develop a typology of strategic motivations for discontinuous NPD acceleration,...