PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT LEADERSHIP IN THE U.S. AND GERMAN AUTO INDUSTRIES

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to look at leadership through heavyweight product development managers and its impact on supplier involvement, customer involvement, and concurrent engineering. Using responses from 406 product development managers and executives in the U.S. and German auto industries, this research validates a model of heavyweight product development managers and their consequences on both internal integration (concurrent engineering) and external integration with suppliers and customers. The results indicated that American heavyweight product development managers have significant positive relationships with both internal integration and external integration in order to develop marketable products well. In contrast, German managers have significant positive relationships only with internal integration efforts within a company and weak relationships with external integration efforts, such as those with suppliers and customers.