SMEs; Virtual research and development (R&D) teams and new product development: A literature review

Nader Ale Ebrahim, Shamsuddin Ahmed and Zahari Taha

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are indeed the engines of global economic growth. Their continued growth is a major subject for the economy and employment of any country. Towards that end, virtual research and development (R&D) could be a viable option to sustain and ease the operations of SMEs. However, literature shows there has not been a great deal of research into the diverse characteristic of virtual R&D teams in SMEs. This article provides a comprehensive literature review on different aspects of virtual R&D teams collected from the reputed publications. The purpose of the literature review is to provide an outline on the structure and dynamics of R&D collaboration in SMEs. Specifying the rationale and relevance of virtual teams, the relationship between virtual R&D team for SMEs and new product development (NPD) has been examined. It concludes with identifying the gaps and feebleness in the existing literature and calls for future research in this area. It is argued to form of virtual R&D team deserves consideration at top level management for venturing into the new product development within SMEs.

Keywords: Virtual teams; small and medium enterprises; new product development; R&D (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L17 M1 M11 M12 M5 M54 O1 O3 O32 P23 P42 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010-05-20, Revised 2010-06-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cse, nep-ino and nep-mic
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Published in International Journal of the Physical Sciences 7.5(2010): pp. 916-930

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Related works:
Working Paper: SMEs; Virtual Research and Development (R&D) Teams and New Product Development: A Literature Review (2010)
Working Paper: SMEs; Virtual research and development (R&D) teams and new product development: A literature review (2010)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pra:mprapa:26989

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