Title: Outsourcing and organising NPD at emerging markets: a survey of Malaysian firms

Authors: Ammar Al-Shalabi, Jonas Rundquist

Addresses: Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Multimedia University, 75450, Melaka, Malaysia. ' School of Business and Engineering, Halmstad University, 30118, Halmstad, Sweden

Abstract: Malaysian manufacturing firms need New Product Development (NPD) methods as tools for boosting their ability to survive. The purpose of this study is to investigate NPD practices in Malaysia, especially practices for outsourcing and organising NPD. The objectives were achieved by using a mail survey addressing companies in the automotive, chemical, and electrical industries. The results of the survey indicate that the NPD practices used in Malaysian firms focus more on production cost and manufacturability, whereas the need for increased knowledge receives lower priority. The results also reveal a major difference in practice between locally owned firms and subsidiaries of multinational companies.

Keywords: outsourcing; new product development; NPD; best practice; Malaysia; manufacturing industry; automotive companies; chemical industry; electrical industry; automobile industry; production costs; manufacturability; knowledge awareness; locally owned firms; subsidiaries; multinational corporations; MNCs; emerging markets.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBEM.2010.033376

International Journal of Business and Emerging Markets, 2010 Vol.2 No.3, pp.213 - 234

Published online: 01 Jun 2010 *

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