ABSTRACT
Several writers have stressed that much decision taking in business fails to follow normative textbook models (Feldman & Page, 1984; Mintzberg et al. 1976; Verhage et al. 1981). The research reported in this book has identified a sample of active and experienced product innovator firms which have taken positive steps to follow certain procedures in a near-textbook manner. The fact that most firms in an industry do not adhere to best current organisational practice is not really surprising. What is exciting and challenging is that a relatively small number of firms in one industry, in which product innovation is of great importance for competitive reasons, is pursuing organisational practices which have been shown to be functional for getting new technically advanced products to market efficiently.
