The Key Success Factors in Distributed Product Development � Case Russia (Track 1, Session 6)
Author(s) :
Anna Kyrki (Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland)
Samuli Kortelainen (Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland)
Abstract : Toughening competition has forced organisations to develop their overall efficiency. Respectively, efficiency of the innovation process has gained attention because of the increased importance of knowledge in building strategic capability. Improving innovation process performance is critical, but studying development of innovation process efficiency has proven to be challenging due to immaterial nature of the process, long causal loops between development steps and results, and lack of valid performance indicators. Many researchers have raised question of extending the innovation process over organisational borders and it has been identified that product development phase offers an opportunity for externalisation. Indeed, utilisation of external sources in research and development process has increased dramatically during last decade. Distributed product development offers lucrative benefits such as cost efficiency, sharing of financial risk of development, and access to know-how. However, there is strong debate over strategic implications of distributed product development. There is substantial variation across different national innovation systems. For firms, such variation creates a strong motivation for tapping into foreign innovation systems in search for new technological solutions. However, also other national specifics have to be identified when organising distributed product development. They dictate the rules of co-operation and their thorough understanding is critical for successful implementation. We discuss Russia as an example of shifting product development activities to access a pool of resources and knowledge. In this paper, we aim to identify key success factors and common pitfalls for Western firms in organisation of distributed product development in Russia. This is done by comparing the successful routines identified in literature review to Russian business environment and business culture. We propose that Russian firms present an interesting option for organisations seeking a joint development partner. Nevertheless, Russian business environment is still developing. This is a challenge that increases the importance of thorough implementation of co-operation.

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