Building trust in multi-stakeholder collaborations for new product development in the digital transformation era

The study aims to explore the critical approaches adopted by innovative organizations and to build an environment of trust between the multiple stakeholders collaborating for new product development (NPD).

A qualitative research approach is adopted in this study. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with experts from the wood product industry in Quebec, Canada. These organizations have successfully adopted the latest technological developments and have developed a strong collaboration with their stakeholders.

The study identified eleven strategies for the innovative organizations that included early involvement of the stakeholders in the design process, developing long-term relationships and fostering a transparent environment using Industry 4.0 technologies. A novel framework for using this strategy is presented with three stages of application, namely, planning, enactment and review.

Inter-organizational collaborations in NPD are more successful when imbued with trust. The NPD strategies must allow innovative organizations to achieve a balanced ecosystem in which value created through the adaption of new technology can be thoroughly captured through commercialization on time with no field failure.

The study adds to the body of knowledge in stakeholder theory and NPD research and practice.