Life Science Journal 2014;11(6) http://www.lifesciencesite.com http://www.lifesciencesite.com lifesciencej@gmail.com 330 A Triangulated Approach To The Assessment of Important Constructs In New Product Development Process Tan Owee Kowang, Amran Rasli, Choi Sang Long Faculty of Management, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia oktan@utm.my Abstract: New Product Development (NPD) is vital for organizational competitiveness and success. However, in the current NPD literature, the important constructs for NPD success are frequently derived from quantitative research. Whereby, qualitative based research on the similar subject is limited. Hence, this study aims to assess the important NPD process constructs in Research and Development (R&D) companies within Malaysia via triangulated approach. As such, the study applied both structured questionnaire and semi structured interview. 384 questionnaires were distributed to staffs in R&D companies within Malaysia, with 186 responded. In addition, 10 NPD experts were participated in the semi structured interview. The triangulation method used in this research showed consistency and support one another. Quantitative finding that derived from descriptive analysis is in line with qualitative outcome that analyzed via Kendall Coefficient of Concordance. Respondents and interviewees perceived that the most important constructs for NPD process in R&D companies within Malaysia are Design and Development, followed by Product Commercialization, Opportunity Identification, Product Testing and Concept Development. The rigor in analysis of this study makes the 5 NPD constructs the valid variables that could be used in future research to assess the conditions and subsequently enhance the NPD performance in R&D organizations. [Tan O.K., Choi S.L., Amran R. A Triangulated Approach To The Assessment of Important Constructs In New Product Development Process. Life Sci J 2014;11(6):330-338] (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com . 45 Keywords: New Product Development; Research and Development; Design; Product Commercialization; Opportunity Identification; Product Testing; Concept Development. 1. Introduction Continuous development of new product that desired and appreciated by the customers is the most important aspect for Research and Development (R&D) organizations in maintaining and improving competitive advantage (Ian and Philip, 2000; Wolff and Pett, 2006; Mohammad, Mehrnoosh and Parivash Jaffari, 2013). However, developing and launching a new product is not an easy task (Cooper, 2008). Scholars and R&D managers are extremely keen to learn about the constructs that implied high impact on the success of new product development and launching process (Chen and Chen, 2009). In the current academic literature, there is a rich stream of literature which discusses the important constructs for New Product Development (NPD) success. However, the important NPD constructs in the current literature are frequently derived from quantitative based studies. There is limited literature available to the extent of NPD constructs that originated from qualitative based research. According to David and Sutton (2004), there is no absolute separation between quantitative and qualitative research, and that the boundary between quantitative and qualitative research is not set by any single or agreed set of principles. Therefore, this study aims to adopt a combination of qualitative and quantitative research approaches, or namely a triangulated approach to identify the main constructs associated with new product development process, with the focus on R&D based companies in Malaysia. 2. Literature Review Innovation growth in Malaysia is driven by two main innovation models, which are known as the Technology Based Innovation Model that mainly driven by public sectors, and the Market Based Innovation Model that primarily steered by private sectors. In line with the recommendation made by the National Innovation Council of Malaysia which stated that the country needs to aggressively pursue market- driven innovation to capture short-to-medium term opportunities and to create jobs and wealth; this paper therefore focuses on Technology Based Innovation model which is founded bases on linear NPD process framework. 2.1 Linear NPD Process Framework Linear NPD process framework (or Sequential NPD process framework) characterized as a fixed and isolated process with sequential flow (refers to Figure 1). The output from each NPD process, as well as the links and flows between processes are relatively deterministic (McCarthy et. al.,2006). This makes Linear NPD process the best fit for NPD that aims to meet client’s specified requirements on time and within targeted cost. Linear NPD is a systematic approach process through a series of distinct phases comprises of design and