New Product Development Strategy Implementation Duration and New Venture Performance

We adopt an information acquisition and learning perspective to explore the relationship between new product development (NPD) strategy implementation duration and new venture performance. We suggest that the relationship between NPD strategy implementation duration and new venture performance is contingent on the level of environmental turbulence as reflected in an industry’s growth level and firm information-processing capabilities as reflected in the level of centralization of top management team (TMT) mental models. Longer NPD strategy implementation durations are appropriate in stable, low-growth industry environments or when firms are run by TMTs who exhibit high mental model centralization. Meanwhile, shorter NPD strategy implementation durations are called for in turbulent, high-growth industry environments or when firms are run by TMTs who exhibit low levels of mental model centralization. We also suggest that level of industry growth and TMT mental model centralization jointly influence the relationship between NPD strategy implementation duration and new venture performance and that this relationship is strongest for low-growth industries and high levels of TMT mental model centralization. Tests performed on a sample of 94 new ventures founded between 1996 and 2006 and competing in technology intensive industries confirm our hypotheses. We offer theoretical implications for research on new venture performance and on firm competitive strategy implementation.