LEE Geunhee    Department   Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University  College of International Management    Position   Professor
Research Period	2012/04～2015/03
Research Topic	Analysis of unofficial key persons in new product development by Japanese manufacturers
Research Type	Individual Research
Research Division	KAKENHI Research
Consignor	Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
Research Program Type	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
KAKENHI Grant No.	24530514
Responsibility	Research Contributor
Representative Person	FUJII Seiichi
Details	This study focused on key persons in new product development. In particular, it examined Product Champions who get involved unofficially, support new product development from the sidelines and lead that product development to success. This Product Champion study interviewed four Japanese manufacturers. As a result, it revealed three issues; the relationship between the innovation process and the Product Champion type, the long-term growth model of the Product Champion, and the discovery of the Product Champion and the Serial Innovator as key persons.