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A Study on the Activities During the Fuzzy Front End in New Product Development Projects of Korean ICT Firms

Although previous studies on Korean manufacturing firms have empirically analyzed the causal relationship between activities during the FFE (Fuzzy Front End) and success of NPD (New Product Development) of Korean manufacturing firms, no study has concretely focused on Korean ICT (Information and Communications Technology) firms and their FFE activities. The main aim of this study is to identify the activities of these firms during their FFE and provide managerial insights into the other ICT firms. The authors conducted a survey (106 valid responses) that their FFE activities on new product development project managers in Korean ICT firms. The results showed that even though new product development managers of Korean ICT firms did not search for ideas systemically, they communicated with those departments/divisions that had frequent interaction with customers for idea assessment, with the active involvement of middleor higher-level managers. They thoroughly established initial plans in the pre-development stages and seriously analyzed competitors’ products and direct and indirect customer interactions in their market survey activities.