Abstract
The article focuses on organizational processes of product development, reviews past relevant studies on product development management since the latter half of the 1980s, and explores characteristics, problems and future directions of the product development management of Japanese firms. Past studies have characterized Japanese product development management with organizational integration of product development processes across functional specialties, and have suggested the advantage in international competition. However, the type of product development management is not necessarily effective under current international competition. On the other hand, recent studies on product development management imply that effective product development management for commercial success could differ by product characteristics. These situations encourage both of practitioners and researchers to reconsider Japanese product development management. The article examines past and present studies on product development management, and thereby suggests the differences in effective product development management by product characteristics. Based on the perspective, the article attempts to elucidate problems and future directions of the product development management of Japanese firms.
