Exploring new product development team problem-solving creativity in the base of the pyramid B2B firms
Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing
ISSN: 0885-8624
Article publication date: 9 November 2023
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the role of team problem-solving creativity in new product development (NPD) in the bottom-of-the-pyramid (BoP) in business-to-business firms. This study synthesizes perspectives from NPD, creativity and leadership to examine how work-related factors such as NPD managers’ role ambiguity and individual-related factors such as CEO’s ambidextrous leadership style interact to determine team problem-solving creativity and its effect on new product performance (NPP).
Design/methodology/approach
The hypotheses are tested using data from a multi-informant survey of 274 middle-level managers within 137 local BoP manufacturing firms in a sub-Saharan African country.
Findings
The results show that an NPD team’s ability to solve problems creatively determines NPP in BoP markets. The findings also show that NPD managers’ role ambiguity has a negative effect on team problem-solving creativity. However, a CEO’s ambidextrous leadership neutralizes the negative impact of role ambiguity on problem-solving creativity.
Originality/value
This study combines three distinct streams of literature, including NPD, creativity and leadership, to explore the antecedents and outcomes of problem-solving creativity. Drawing on creativity and leadership theories, this study reports that the success of creative idea exchanges depends heavily on a supportive environment for NPD team members and minimizing the NPD manager’s role ambiguity.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Since submission of this article, the following authors have updated their affiliations: Professor Vida Siahtiri is at the Department of Management and Marketing, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia and Hormoz Ahmadi is at La Trobe Business School, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia.
Citation
Getnet, H., O’Cass, A., Siahtiri, V. and Ahmadi, H. (2023), "Exploring new product development team problem-solving creativity in the base of the pyramid B2B firms", Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JBIM-08-2022-0365
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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