Friend or foe? The effects of managerial politics on NPD team communication, collaboration and project success

Authors

Elias Kyriazis, University of WollongongFollow
Graham Massey, University of Technology, Sydney
Paul Couchman, Deakin University
Lester W. Johnson, Swinburne University of Technology

RIS ID

102259

Publication Details

Kyriazis, E., Massey, G., Couchman, P. & Johnson, L. (2017). Friend or foe? The effects of managerial politics on NPD team communication, collaboration and project success. R & D Management, 47 (1), 61-74.

Abstract

Much existing work on new product development (NPD) team integration takes an economically rational perspective, specifying appropriate systems, structures and interactions. Few studies however have explored the effects of politics on working relationships between technically trained managers (TTMs; e.g., research and development managers) and marketing managers (MMs) during NPD. Our results reveal that intra-team politics has positive and negative effects on TTM/MM communication. This is important because communication positively influences collaboration and NPD success. Moreover, the effects of communication variables on these two outcome variables differ depending on whether one is a TTM or MM.