ABSTRACT
In recent years, considerable attention has been given to the management of product development, particularly within management and engineering disciplines (Hollins and Pugh, 1990; Womack et al., 1990; Brown and Eisenhardt, 1995; Cooper, 1996). Within the field of strategic management, the importance of new product development (NPD) and innovation has increasingly been recognized (Jenkins et al., 1997) as has the interrelatedness of the NPD and innovation process with organizational conditions (see for example Nohria and Gulati 1996). Amabile et al. (1996) wrote:
Successful implementation of new programs, new product introductions, or new services depends on a person or a team having a good idea – and developing that idea beyond its initial state … we assume that the social environment can influence both the level and the frequency of creative behaviour … creativity by individuals and teams is a starting point for innovation … Creativity is the seed of all innovation, and psychological perceptions of innovation … within an organization are likely to impact the motivation to generate new ideas.
