Project portfolio management for product innovation in service and manufacturing industries

This research examines the relationship between innovation project portfolio management (IPPM) capabilities and competitive advantage. Innovation projects - or projects for the development of new products - are of escalating importance in an increasingly competitive, globalised and deregulated environment characterised by shortening product lifecycles and dynamic markets. IPPM capabilities aim to improve the success rates for product innovation activities by providing a holistic and responsive decision-making environment to maximise the long-term value of innovation investments across the portfolio of innovation projects. This research takes a wide view and investigates the overall rganisational capability for the management of the innovation project portfolio. -- Successful product innovation is no longer primarily a concern of manufacturing-based industries - product development in service industries is a growing endeavour in an increasingly important industry. Therefore this research includes service product development environments and is the first to extend beyond the traditional manufacturing industry base for IPPM research. This is also the first study to investigate IPPM capabilities in Australia. -- A pragmatic perspective guides a two-phase study encompassing a quantitative survey and a qualitative multiple-case study, the combination of methods providing a deeper level of understanding than could be achieved by either method alone. Findings support prior IPPM studies and suggest a positive relationship between structured IPPM capabilities and improved new product outcomes. The research highlights similarities and differences between service and manufacturing environments, and suggests future challenges will result from the increasing blurring of the boundaries between service and manufacturing industries. This research adopts a 'dynamic capabilities' perspective and draws on organisational learning theory to investigate the path-dependent nature of IPPM capability development. It adds to the understanding of how IPPM capabilities work with the resource base and contribute to competitive advantage. The findings of the research are presented in a maturity model and several conceptual models, and areas for future research are identified.