The required intensity and media-richness of communication among strategic partners in new product development projects

This research draws on theories of new product development (NPD), strategic alliances, the media-richness of communication, and social networks to identify factors that impact communication among NPD projects' strategic partners. We group these factors under five categories: alliance NPD project characteristics; industry characteristics; degree of innovativeness of the New Product; degree of competition among partners; and the mode of development of the NPD project. We then investigate how each factor determines the required intensity and media-richness of communication among project partners.