Seminars topic:  In today’s fast-moving markets, traditional New Product Development (NPD) views benefit from a paradox perspective that embraces interdependent contradictions. Drawing on Smith & Lewis (2011), this study examines how four paradoxical practices—performing, organizing, learning, and belonging—relate to NPD performance (product effectiveness and process efficiency). Survey data from 200 Chinese and 164 Nordic firms show that performing is positively related to effectiveness, organizing to efficiency, and learning to both. The country context matters: Chinese firms appear better able to manage NPD paradoxes than Nordic firms.

Scholars Background:  Dr. Carl F. FEY is a Strategy Professor at BI Norwegian Business School and an AIB Fellow. An expert in international business and innovation, he focuses on effective management practices across cultures, especially in China. In 2013, he was named a Qianjiang Scholar (钱江学者) in Zhejiang Province, China.

Time and Location:  October 30, 2025, 10:00–11:30, Room A823, School of Management

Language: EN

Moderator: Prof. Simon Collinson, FAcSS, Tsingshan Chair Professor