Factors influencing product development team satisfaction

The increasing use of cross‐functional teams for new product development (NPD) belies the difficulty managers face in creating teams that are truly effective. Effectiveness depends, in part, on having members who are satisfied with their team and their project. This article reports the results of 71 interviews with members of NPD teams, with a particular focus on the drivers of team member satisfaction. These drivers include: team characteristics, clear project goals, clarity about evaluation and rewards, effective leadership, management support, and manageable levels of conflict and stress. To create satisfied team members, we discuss actions that can be taken at the senior management, project leader and team member level.