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Overview Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming all aspects of business, including new product development (NPD). Early adopters of AI for NPD are reaping substantial rewards, witnessing remarkable reductions in development timelines, and experiencing a more rapid pace of innovation. But what about the more typical firm? This article presents the preliminary results of a study of US and Central European companies, shedding light on the current state of AI implementation across 13 key AI applications in NPD. We found that companies studied have not yet fully embraced AI across any of these applications; 75 percent have failed to adopt AI for a single application; and "intention to adopt" for all 13 applications is quite weak. European firms are only marginally ahead of US firms. We conclude with important messages for management and offer six recommendations firms can use in their efforts to integrate AI into NPD. A note of caution: Companies will need to act quickly in their AI adoption efforts; otherwise, they risk losing out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A highly effective CREATIVE R&D culture combines Customer-focused, Risk-tolerant, Entrepreneurial, Alignment with strategy, Technology and scientific excellence, Innovative, Virtual organization (Collaboration), and Execution elements to consistently drive true product innovation. To generate this culture, R&D leaders should examine attitudes and values, and eliminate barriers that impede behaviors based on these characteristics. Constructing the CREATIVE R&D culture involves a change process of building on inherent strengths and compensating for organizational gaps. This starts with a foundation of leadership and executes product innovation at the juncture of customer insight, technology and business alignment powered by risk tolerance and collaboration. This holistic framework has evolved from the practice of product development and has been applied successfully in various companies and industries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Change midstream in a product development project often means cost and budget overruns, schedule delays and product defects. Understandably, managers dislike change and have installed systems, such as phased development, to inhibit it. On the other hand, change from understanding the customer better, from market dynamics and from technology advances is connected inescapably with innovation, which management seeks. This article proposes an alternative: build a set of tools and approaches to accommodate change without undue disruption, thus reintroducing flexibility into product development. The flexibility techniques described in this article were inspired by the recent reintroduction of flexibility into the parallel field of software development by the agile software movement. They can be used defensively to deal effectively with imposed change or offensively to actually lead change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]