Abstract:

The successful developing and commercialization of new products is a key figure for the companies, due to the competitive advantage that is obtained. This is a complex and risky process, which involves many organizational resources. The information and communication technology (ICT) affects many aspects of the process of developing new products. Due to the fact that knowledge transfer is involved in practically any stage of this project (in a larger or smaller intent); this is also influenced by the usage of information and communication technologies. Exploiting all the opportunities given by ICT usage during knowledge transfer for NPD can lead to increased innovation and better quality of the new products developed. This paper treats how ICT can be used to facilitate the knowledge transfer and innovation in developing new products for companies using project teams located in different geographical locations. For this purpose is presented the "innovation funnel", a useful tool for companies to fostering the innovation by transferring knowledge between different geographical locations and employees of the companies.