Does functional managerial dependence affect working relationships during NPD projects: an Australian perspective

New product development work requires managers from functional backgrounds to work

together on projects and rely on each other’s specialist skills and resources to meet their

own job requirements. This interaction requires the manager to make decisions about the

extent to which they want to invest in a working relationship with a functional

counterpart. The purpose of this exploratory paper is to develop and test an exploratory

model examining the effects of such managerial dependence on relationship investment

and communication and during cross-functional working relationships between marketing

managers and R&D managers in 184 new product development projects in Australia.

This study provides empirical support for the proposition that while the way a manager

perceives their dependence on their functional counterparts is important, a greater

predictor of successful working relationships is the norm of reciprocity. This has

implications for the nature of integration mechanisms that top management use to

facilitate successful interactions between their functional specialists on NPD projects.