Criteria employed for go/no-go decisions when developing successful highly innovative products

Based on a sample of 77 highly innovative products, this study examines the usage and the relative importance of a set of go/no-go decision criteria at four major gates of the new product development (NPD) process. The findings reveal that go/no-go criteria can be grouped into five dimensions: strategic fit, technical feasibility, customer acceptance, market opportunity, and financial performance. Strategic fit dimension is mainly applied in approving the new product concept. Technical feasibility dimension is crucial in approving the new product concept and the product prototype. The usage of customer acceptance dimension is notably high throughout the entire development process, particularly after product launch. Market opportunity dimension is mostly employed to approve the new product concept and the maintenance of the product on the market. Financial performance dimension stands out near the end of the development process. 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.