Antecedents and consequence of Korean and Japanese new product advantage

From plasma flat-screen TVs to hybrid gas-electric cars, a wide range of new products are being introduced by South Korean and Japanese companies to eager buyers around the world. These new products are often perceived as more innovative, unique, and satisfying compared to competitive offerings, i.e. as advantageous. To understand how Korean and Japanese firms are injecting advantage into new products, and whether this quality leads to higher product performance, we conducted a survey of nearly 260 innovation managers in the two countries. Customer orientation, cross-functional integration, and new product team proficiency were identified as antecedents of, or contributors to, new product advantage, though the effects were not uniform across Korea and Japan. Importantly as well, higher new product performance was a significant consequence of new product advantage in both countries.