Abstract
The food industry is facing a large number of challenges and a new paradigm for the development, acquisition and implementation of the huge potential of scientific breakthroughs is needed. Traditionally, the food NPD process is a closed process, where the inputs for new ideas come mainly from internal sources and new products are developed within the company’s boundaries. Recently, this process has been modified to accommodate the OI paradigm, that addresses these challenges and opportunities, but it is still gaining momentum in the food sector. The main objective of this exploratory study is to investigate which stages of the NPD process food companies use to open, as well as which types of collaborations are established during each (open) stage of the NPD process. Three food companies were analysed and results suggest that the NPD process is more open during the very first phases, during the so-called fuzzy front-end. As for the collaboration, in the first stages of the NPD process the role played by customers and consumers is highly relevant, conversely suppliers’ centrality becomes higher when technical knowledge is required.
