Search for Product Champions in Japanese Firms : The Relationship between Project Manager and Product Champion in New Product Development

Abstract

The study of product champion in new product development projects has been advanced in America, Germany and Korea. On the other hand, compared to these countries, there is almost no research done on this topic in Japan. Therefore it is very significant to explore the existence of product champions in Japanese companies. The product champion is also known as an important key person who strongly influences the project manager as well as the success of new products. After reviewing previous literatures about project managers and product champions, summary of their relationship and empirical studies were conducted. Based on the findings, existences of product champions in Japan were confirmed, thus, leading to the clues for this research.