Barriers to effective product development within SMEs in the medical manufacturing sector

The aim of this paper is to identify some of the generic problems that restrict effective product development within SME medical manufacturers. The content of the paper is based on the preliminary findings of a European funded project that looks at key issues restricting growth in this industry sector. The paper reports the outcomes of a series of in-depth interviews with senior SME managers within a range of companies in the sector. The interviews focused on the barriers to effective product development within such companies. The responses from managers were analysed and revealed a number of generic problems that companies face when developing new products. Identification of the barriers to effective product development prompts the discussion of possible solutions to overcome these obstacles, and as such, the secondary focus of this paper is on the development of tools to overcome these barriers.