Sustainability Requirements Dynamics in New Product Development

The purpose of a product is to satisfy the needs of the people that are going to acquire it. In order to do so, it has to incorporate characteristics and features that fulfill a series of requirements set by users' expectations and external conditions. In this essay, we are focusing on the design process of a new product and examine up to what extent should sustainability considerations as defined from the triple bottom line should be incorporated and when. Results indicate that the most important factors are the reaction of the customers to the sustainability performance of the product and its price. Attention needs to be paid though, as early incorpo- ration can provide either a competitive advantage or considerably hurt profitability. Finally, we discuss effective policies that could induce a permanent shift towards more sustainable operations.