New Product Development as Knowledge Management in the Italian Auto Industry: How Many Goals Have Been Scored? paper presented at the 5th International Conference on Competence – Based Management, Helsinki University of Technology, Espoo (Helsinki), Finland.

During the ‘80s many companies, seeking ways to develop new high-quality products more quickly and efficiently, have introduced major modifications in their new product development (NPD) processes, sometimes imitating organizational innovations developed by leading firms worldwide. Focusing on Italian Auto industry and in particular on its “national champion”, Fiat Auto, our study points out the specific patterns followed when implementing the transition toward a new model of NPD, based on principles emerging in knowledge-management studies and practices.