Emerging team practices in global product development

Purpose – This case study feature aims to focus on team performance in a global product development environment and endeavors to enable managers and leaders of global teams to benefit from the insight. Design/methodology/approach – The paper outlines a case study conducted in an organizational setting spanning a period of five years. The researchers studied a department consisting of product development team members in an emerging region and report findings in the context of existing concepts. Findings – Based on the case study, it is observed that global product development teams are similar to other teams and are governed by structure, task, leadership and team processes. The distance and culture aspect of global teams tend to have additional challenges. Some of these challenges can be mitigated by enabling a robust team design, the right team composition, common processes, alignment with structure, focused training and development, consistent performance and evaluation mechanisms, as well as implementing knowledge management systems and having senior management support. Research limitations/implications – Usage of global teams for product development is rapidly increasing and the understanding of team performance is critical for their success. This case study is based on an actual product development team engaged over a period of five years. The insights gathered provide a practical perspective of global team functioning that can be used for further exploration and research. Practical implications – The case study findings can be used by practicing managers, leaders of global teams and organizations to help them understand various factors and implications that may reduce global team challenges in a product development scenario. Some of the best practices suggested in the study may help those creating a global team. Originality/value – The case study illustrates some of the practical aspects of a global product development function. The approach into examining the functioning of a working team over a period of time helps provide a valuable and coherent view of a complex phenomenon. The factors uncovered during the study help provide a basis for further research.