To gain competitive advantage,firms involve suppliers in New Product Development (NPD). However, uncertainty affects selection of suppliers and associated technologies, and selection outcomes in terms of commitment to one supplier or maintaining flexibility. We report on  a case study of collaborative NPD with the aim to develop an energy storage unit.The case involved selection of both technology and supplier, where both were changed during the NPD. Drawing upon Hall et al.(2011), we analyze technological, organizational and commercial uncertainties. We demonstrate how technological, commercial and organizational uncertainties cause firms to seek flexibility rather than commitment to one supplier.

Firms are increasingly involving suppliers in new product development (NPD) and one reason for this is to access technological knowledge. Previous research argues that purchasing fulfils an important role in involving the suppliers in NPD. However, purchasing's role under technological uncertainty has not been investigated in detail. The purpose of this paper is to explore purchasing's role in technology selection, supplier selection and level of participation in NPD projects involving suppliers. Three NPD projects at one large high-tech firm are studied. The results show that purchasing has limited influence in the technology selection process, but fulfils an important role in the selection of the supplier and has a role as a trouble-shooter throughout the collaborative NPD projects. Purchasing does not necessarily need to be involved in solving daily, routine problems, but serves as a trouble-shooter to solve problems related to the supplier's strategy, the relationship with the supplier, and commitment issues.

Increasingly, firms are searching for new technologies from suppliers outside firm boundaries through collaborative new product development (NPD). In these situations, it is not clear how firms rely on and achieve complementarity of relational and transactional governance mechanisms. Based on study of technologically uncertain NPD projects, it is determined that organizational separation is used as a way to achieve this complementarity. The findings stress that although transactional and relational governance are considered as complementary mechanisms, they are implemented in separate, but parallel processes in order to avoid potential counteracting effects of simultaneous use. The findings show that under circumstances of technological uncertainty, R&D engineers fulfil an important role in relational governance, while purchasing fulfils transactional governance tasks and is placed outside the NPD project.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the dynamics of management and control in collaborations with suppliers of critical technology.

Design/methodology/approach – Three collaborative product development projects at a system integrator in the Telecom industry were studied. The data was collected through 22 semi-structured interviews and a workshop at the studied company and its suppliers.

Findings – The paper shows that in situations of high dependence on suppliers of critical technologies, control may be pursued by complementing black box development with appropriate checks and balances in the collaboration, i.e. by using combinations of control mechanisms, disconnected development and joint problem solving, contracts and trust, and alignment efforts on project and strategic levels. Further, the paper demonstrates that this involves several trade-offs related to the advantages of increased monitoring and disadvantages of decreased levels of freedom for the supplier and consequently decreased prerequisites for supplier creativity.

Research limitations/implications – The qualitative approach of the research limits generalizability. Our study is limited to three projects at one firm.

Practical implications – Technological roadmaps can be used as an important tool to facilitate alignment with suppliers of critical technologies. Limited influence on project level can be supported by influencing the supplier on a strategic level. By collaborating on a strategic level, firms can gain alignment for future projects and diminish the need for direct project control within the projects. Long-term collaborations facilitate control in projects with powerful suppliers of critical technologies.

Originality/value – While many studies suggest simplified responses to complex situations of supplier involvement in product development, this study provides insight into the complex responses to control suppliers of critical technologies.

Increasingly, firms involve external companies in the innovation process to integrate new technology. However, under technological uncertainty, it may not be obvious which will be the most suitable technology to incorporate. Few studies have investigated how technological uncertainty affects firms’ supplier selection for new product development (NPD). Hence, this paper aims to investigate how firms select suppliers for collaborative NPD under varied levels of technological uncertainty. This research is based on seven case studies in which 53 interviews were conducted. Two strategies for supplier selection under technological uncertainty are discussed. These are based on an evaluation of: (i) the supplier’s present situation and (ii) previous experience. The findings show that technological capabilities were an important criterion in the assessment of suppliers both in projects with low and high technological uncertainty. Moreover, in projects with high technological uncertainty, relational capabilities were also important.