New Product Development Project Risks in Saudi Firms - Preliminary Findings

New product development (NPD) is inherently a risky endeavor due to increasing customer demands and dynamic business market. There are considerable evidences that NPD projects suffered from risks and were prone to over cost, schedule overrun and poor technical performance. Although the research on risk in NPD project is extensive, the literature about risks associated to NPD projects conducted in Saudi context is scarce. Keeping in mind the current complexity, turbulence and dynamism in Saudi economic environment, it is essential that Saudi firms effectively manage NPD project risks to enhance NPD operations. With data collected from Saudi firms developing new products, this paper provides an assessment of the likelihood of occurrence of NPD project risks and their potential negative impact. Overall, this research provides the foundation for the first large-scale empirical investigation on NPD project risks in Saudi context and advances our understanding of the antecedents of NPD project risks.