Pessoa and Trabasso identify six types of risks associated with NPD: performance, schedule, development cost, resources/technology, market, and business risks. Performance risk rises from the design’s ability to achieve the required quality of a product, including production capacity and cost associated with the new product. Schedule risk is related to performance one but is based on whether the project can outline the needed design or not. Mingle can reduce these types of risks with the help of clear product and project strategies that consider as many factors as possible. This action may help Mingle outline the best way of resource allocation and planning to meet all requirements and objectives of NPD.
Development cost risk appears if the company will not be able to meet budget limitations during NPD. Resource risk is a result of resource constraints that should be considered in the planning stage. Market risk is a constant risk that a company cannot control since it is related to product acceptability by potential consumers. This risk can only be measured by forecasting procedures. This type of risk can be minimized if Mingle creates a valuable product with a sufficient supporting marketing campaign that will promote the project and attract new consumers.
It is preferable to choose a project that is somehow related to the actual company’s operations. Therefore, in the case of Mingle, it is essential to develop either in the same seasoning market or the one which is close to the existing products. For instance, the project may be directed to the new sauces, marinades, or salad dressing products. The company will be more familiar with this market and may achieve higher consumption due to the existing brand awareness and recognition of the seasoning brand in consumers’ minds. As a result, business risk is another external factor that includes political, economic, social, or other public factors which cannot be controlled or even predicted.
Company culture is a basic set of values, beliefs, and goals shared in a particular organization. Generally, culture outlines the company’s objectives and plans, which direct the overall organizational growth and development. Belassi, Kondra, and Tukel propose that innovation strategy achieves success mostly when it fits the company’s culture, while NPD in organizations with a culture that conflicts with an innovative approach mostly fails in the market. Therefore, it is essential to have an NPD process that matches the company’s culture to achieve better organizational performance and results generated by innovations strategy. Referring to Chen et al., culture directs employees’ behavior and influences how the company allocates its resources and chooses preferences. Mingle may ensure in its NPD process by analyzing whether the top managers fully support innovation strategy and agree with all aspects of the company’s growth. Researchers state that a fit between innovation and organizational structures provides both speed and quality in a company’s project.
The success of NPD directly depends on internal and external factors which influence the overall process and idea generation. It includes NPD structure, communication level between departments inside the company, such as R&D and marketing employees, as well as external parties’ involvement in the process, either suppliers or consumers. All these groups of people who directly or indirectly affect the company’s products should be considered in the NPD process. Mingle should actively interact with backward and frontward parties in order to come up with the best ideas, cut the cost, and provide the most convenient design in terms of utilitarian and visual aspects. The set of these activities will help to make NPD a part of the company’s culture and focus further development on organizational growth through innovations and new ideas.
