Ž . Decision Support Systems 27 1999 213–235 www.elsevier.comrlocaterdsw Supporting Collaborative Process Knowledge Management in New Product Development Teams Balasubramaniam Ramesh 1 , Amrit Tiwana ) J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Department of Computer Information Systems, Georgia State UniÕersity, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA Abstract Knowledge centric activities of developing new products and services are becoming the primary source of sustainable competitive advantage in an era characterized by short product life cycles, dynamic markets and complex processes. We Ž . view new product development NPD as a knowledge-intensive activity. Based on a case study in the consumer electronics Ž . industry, we identify problems associated with knowledge management KM in the context of NPD by cross-functional collaborative teams. We map these problems to broad Information Technology enabled solutions and subsequently translate these into specific system characteristics and requirements. A prototype system that meets these requirements developed to capture and manage tacit and explicit process knowledge is further discussed. The functionalities of the system include functions for representing context with informal components, easy access to process knowledge, assumption surfacing, review of past knowledge, and management of dependencies. We demonstrate the validity our proposed solutions using scenarios drawn from our case study. q 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Knowledge management; Collaborative product development; Organizational memory; Organizational learning; New product development; Knowledge management systems; Decision support systems; Process knowledge; Design rationale 1. Introduction As we move further into the information age, knowledge is becoming a critical component of com- w x w x petitive success of firms 22 . Nonaka 50 observed that, as markets shift, technologies proliferate, com- petitors multiply and products become rapidly obso- lete, successful companies are characterized by their ability to consistently create new knowledge, quickly ) Corresponding author. Tel.: q1-404-262-3823; fax: q1-404- 651-3842; e-mail: atiwana@gsu.edu 1 E-mail: bramesh@gsu.edu. disseminate it, and embody it in new products and w x services. In the post-industrial era, Quinn et al. 54 maintain that the success of a corporation lies more deeply embedded in its intellectual systems, as knowledge based activities of developing new prod- ucts and processes are becoming the primary internal functions of firms attempting to create the greatest w x potential for a competitive advantage 20 . Iansiti and w x MacCormack 35 contend that the consumer needs that a product should satisfy and technologies used in the development of such a product can change radically, even as the product is under development. This has necessitated a flexible product-development process where designers can continue to change and 0167-9236r99r$ - see front matter q 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Ž . PII: S0167-9236 99 00045-7