The Effectiveness of Virtual R&D Teams in SMEs: Experiences of Malaysian SMEs

Nader Ale Ebrahim
University of Malaya - Department of Engineering Design and Manufacture, Faculty of Engineering

Shamsuddin Ahmed
University of Malaya (UM)

Salwa Hanim Abdul Rashid
University of Malaya (UM) - Department of Engineering Design and Manufacture

Zahari Taha
University Malaysia Pahang - Department of Manufacturing Engineering



The 11th Asia Pacific Industrial Engineering and Management Systems Conference, December 2010

Abstract:
The number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), especially those involved with research and development (R&D) programs and employed virtual teams to create the greatest competitive advantage from limited labor are increasing. Global and localized virtual R&D teams are believed to have a high potential for SMEs growth. Due to the fast growing complexity of the new product, coupled with new emerging opportunities of virtual teams, a collaborative approach is believed to be the future trend. This research explores the effectiveness of virtuality in SMEs virtual R&D teams. An online questionnaire emailed to Malaysian manufacturing SMEs and 74 usable questionnaires were received, representing a 20.8 percent return rate. To avoid the bias that may result from pre-suggested answer, a series of open-ended questions asked from expertise. This study based on analyzing an open-ended question; extract four main themes among expertise recommendations on the effectiveness of virtual teams for SMEs growth and performance. These are suitable for SMEs new product design manager to realize the key advantage and importance of virtual R&D teams in the process of NPD, which lead to increase the effectiveness of the new product's procedure.

Keywords: Virtual Teams, New Product Development, Survey Finding, Small and Medium Enterprises.

SSRN-The Effectiveness of Virtual R&D Teams in SMEs: Experiences of Malaysian SMEs by Nader Ale Ebrahim, Shamsuddin Ahmed, Salwa Hanim Abdul Rashid, Zahari Taha