Uncertainty perception in product innovation projects

Uncertainty is a critical element of New Product Development (NPD) and is intrinsic to NPD projects. Uncertainty has been defined in various ways and explored using several different frameworks. Uncertainty perception drives project activities, which, collectively, are linked to general performance.

This the-sis research addresses gaps related to the direct and indirect in-fluences of uncertainty perception on individual activities, and the link between specific perceived uncertainties that determines specific project activities in the context of NPD projects and in-novation. This thesis includes a collection of papers, based on qualitative and quantitative methods, and a multicase and exper-imental study for data collection.

The findings contribute to the NPD literature by demonstrating the link between uncertainty type and activity type, changing the focus in the NPD context, from uncertainty perception types and their characteristics, to uncertainty types linked directly to specific activities. This pro-vides the basis for a model to frame the NPD project context, for an investigation of perceived uncertainties.