Green new product development and supplier involvement: strategic partnership for green innovation

Integrating environmental concerns into New Product Development (NPD) have become a strategic issue for corporate competitiveness. Despite increasing attention of green products in supply chain management, there is a gap between emerging green NPD and existing mainstream NPD literature. In attempting to bridge this gap, this study presents a case where the Korean Electronics and its key suppliers succeeded in managing environmental challenges and developing a green refrigerator through a collaborative relationship. A case study approach is used to develop a better understanding of the NPD process and the critical factors that contributed to the realisation of a green refrigerator. This study found that critical success factors for green NPD include technology and management factors, as well as cooperativeness and power balance for collaborative relationships. This paper suggests a route to practicing mutually beneficial final manufacturer–supplier relationships through green NPD activities.