Abstract

The number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), especially those involved with research and development (R&D) programs and employed virtual teams to create the greatest competitive advantage from limited labor are increasing. Global and localized virtual R&D teams are believed to have a high potential for SMEs growth. Due to the fast growing complexity of the new product, coupled with new emerging opportunities of virtual teams, a collaborative approach is believed to be the future trend. This research explores the effectiveness of virtuality in SMEs virtual R&D teams. An online questionnaire emailed to Malaysian manufacturing SMEs and 74 usable questionnaires were received, representing a 20.8 percent return rate. To avoid the bias that may result from pre-suggested answer, a series of open-ended questions asked from expertise. This study based on analyzing an open-ended question; extract four main themes among expertise recommendations on the effectiveness of virtual teams for SMEs growth and performance. These are suitable for SMEs new product design manager to realize the key advantage and importance of virtual R&D teams in the process of NPD, which lead to increase the effectiveness of the new product's procedure.

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by University Library of Munich, Germany in its series MPRA Paper with number 27368.

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Date of creation: Jun 2010
Date of revision: Nov 2010
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Related research

Keywords: Virtual teams; New product development; Survey finding; Small and medium Enterprises.; Other versions of this item:
Find related papers by JEL classification:

• G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies
• O32 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change; Research and Development; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D
• M12 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting - - Business Administration - - - Personnel Management; Executive Compensation
• L7 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Primary Products and Construction
• M11 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting - - Business Administration - - - Production Management
• M1 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting - - Business Administration
• O3 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change; Research and Development; Intellectual Property Rights
• L15 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Information and Product Quality
• P4 - Economic Systems - - Other Economic Systems

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

• NEP-ALL-2011-01-03 (All new papers)
• NEP-CSE-2011-01-03 (Economics of Strategic Management)
• NEP-ENT-2011-01-03 (Entrepreneurship)
• NEP-INO-2011-01-03 (Innovation)
• NEP-SEA-2011-01-03 (South East Asia)

References

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1. Nader Ale Ebrahim & Shamsuddin Ahmed & Zahari Taha, 2010. "SMEs; Virtual research and development (R&D) teams and new product development: A literature review," Post-Print hal-00723647, HAL.
   
   • Nader Ale Ebrahim & Shamsuddin Ahmed & Zahari Taha, 2010. "SMEs; Virtual Research and Development (R&D) Teams and New Product Development: A Literature Review," Post-Print hal-00593362, HAL.
   • Ale Ebrahim, Nader & Ahmed, Shamsuddin & Taha, Zahari, 2010. "SMEs; Virtual research and development (R&D) teams and new product development: A literature review," MPRA Paper 26989, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 10 Jun 2010.
2. Ale Ebrahim, Nader & Ahmed, Shamsuddin & Taha, Zahari, 2009. "Virtual Teams for New Product Development – An Innovative Experience for R&D Engineers," MPRA Paper 27034, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Jul 2009.
   
   • Nader Ale Ebrahim & Shamsuddin Ahmed & Zahari Taha, 2009. "Virtual Teams for New Product Development: An Innovative Experience for R&D Engineers," Post-Print hal-00593361, HAL.
3. Nader Ale Ebrahim & Shamsuddin Ahmed & Zahari Taha, 2009. "Innovation and R&D Activities in Virtual Team," Post-Print hal-00593360, HAL.
   
   • Ale Ebrahim, Nader & Ahmed, Shamsuddin & Taha, Zahari, 2009. "Innovation and R&D Activities in Virtual Team," MPRA Paper 27033, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 17 Jul 0209.
4. Gassmann, Oliver & Keupp, Marcus Matthias, 2007. "The competitive advantage of early and rapidly internationalising SMEs in the biotechnology industry: A knowledge-based view," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 350-366, September.
5. Mezgar, Istvan & Kovacs, Gyorgy L. & Paganelli, Paolo, 2000. "Co-operative production planning for small- and medium-sized enterprises," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(1-3), pages 37-48, March.
6. Ale Ebrahim, Nader & Ahmed, Shamsuddin & Taha, Zahari, 2009. "Virtual R & D teams in small and medium enterprises: A literature review," MPRA Paper 27045, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Oct 2009.
   
   • Nader Ale Ebrahim & Shamsuddin Ahmed & Zahari Taha, 2009. "Virtual R & D teams in small and medium enterprises: A literature review," Post-Print hal-00593358, HAL.
7. Ale Ebrahim, Nader & Ahmed, Shamsuddin & Taha, Zahari, 2010. "Virtual R&D teams and SMEs growth: A comparative study between Iranian and Malaysian SMEs," MPRA Paper 26983, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 13 Jul 2010.
   
   • Nader Ale Ebrahim & Shamsuddin Ahmed & Zahari Taha, 2010. "Virtual R&D Teams and SMEs Growth: A Comparative Study Between Iranian and Malaysian SMEs," Post-Print hal-00593364, HAL.
8. Francesco Perrini & Angeloantonio Russo & Antonio Tencati, 2007. "CSR Strategies of SMEs and Large Firms. Evidence from Italy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 74(3), pages 285-300, September.

Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)
The Effectiveness of Virtual R&D Teams in SMEs: Experiences of Malaysian SMEs