Lean development and its impacts on the performance of new product processes: an analysis of innovative Brazilian companies

A lean development (LD) process would ensure that new products are developed with a focus on reducing waste and adding value to a product's design and manufacturing phases. This paper supposes that after a lean manufacturing (LM) implementation, a company starts to incorporate lean principles and tools in its new product development processes (PDP). LD applies principles derived from LM in PDP and specific lean practices for product development. Studies focusing on LD are scarce, especially compared to publications on LM. This article investigates whether innovative Brazilian industrial companies already using LM are incorporating lean principles and practices in their PDP and evaluates the perceived performance from these applications. In addition, the study seeks to classify the companies surveyed in clusters to understand better the existing arrangements between LM, LD, and performance in this dataset. The survey was applied to 73 companies, and there are obtained 47 valid questionnaires from innovative companies with LM implemented for at least five years that conduct product development activities. We observed in the sample that companies with better perceived PDP performance did not use LM and LD more intensely. And companies with higher degrees of implemented LM and LD have not yet presented a translation of this into PDP performance. Nonetheless, the correlation analysis between the research constructs showed a high multivariate correlation coefficient between LD and PDP performance, indicating that a high level of implemented LD is associated with high values in waste reduction and value creation.