Risk Management Culture and NPD Performance
Welcome. This questionnaire is part of my current master's thesis research. The study examines how risk management culture relates to new product development performance in companies.
What is NPD? NPD means New Product Development, the process by which companies design, test, and launch new products or services.
What is the Risk Awareness Index? It is an index based on your MaxDiff and scale responses, showing how risk-related factors are perceived and how strongly they are reflected in actual project practice.
My name is Till Blania. I am a master student at HSE Saint Petersburg in the program International Business in International Markets. This survey is conducted for the master thesis I am currently writing.
Data collection notice: Data will be collected and processed anonymously. No personal data are processed or stored in this questionnaire.
Your responses will be anonymised and used only for academic purposes. Completing the survey takes approximately 10 minutes.
Screening
Please answer the following to confirm eligibility for this study.
1. Does your company develop new products or services as part of its core business? *
This answer is mandatory.2. Is your company a small or medium-sized enterprise (fewer than 250 employees)? * (Larger companies can also continue.)
This answer is mandatory.3. Is your company in the tech industry? * (e.g. software, IT, electronics, engineering, medical devices)
This answer is mandatory.4. Do you agree that your anonymous questionnaire data may be used for this master's thesis research? *
This answer is mandatory.General Information
Please provide some basic information about your company and your role. This helps us understand the context of your responses.
Country *
This answer is mandatory.Company size (employees) *
(EU/Russia definition: Micro <15, Small 16–100, Medium 101–250, Large >250)
This answer is mandatory.Primary industry sector *
If Other, please type your industry:
This answer is mandatory when Other is selected. This answer is mandatory.Years in operation of your company *
This answer is mandatory.NPD projects in the last 3 years *
This answer is mandatory.Job title or main role *
This answer is mandatory.Years of experience in NPD or project management *
This answer is mandatory.Dedicated risk management department or function? *
This answer is mandatory.How familiar are you with the details of your company's NPD projects? *
This answer is mandatory.What is your primary role in NPD? *
If Other, please type your role:
This answer is mandatory when Other is selected. This answer is mandatory.Part 1 — Perceived Importance (Block 1 of 3)
! How to use the grid: The factor text is in the first column. In the two columns to the right, mark one strongest and one weakest for this question (two different factors per set).
What Part 1 is about: We ask what is most and least important for your company’s NPD success — the factors you believe should matter when developing new products (your view of priority, not what happened last week).
What you do: In each set of four factors, choose exactly one most important and exactly one least important for that success.
How the task works: In every set, pick only one “best” and one “worst” (two different items), then answer the short follow-up about those four factors. You may sometimes see the same statements again; this is intentional in MaxDiff. Repeating factors in different sets helps us measure which factors you consistently prefer.
Why: This shows which risk areas your organisation treats as priorities, without asking you to rate every item separately.
Part 1 — Perceived Importance (Block 2 of 3)
! How to use the grid: The factor text is in the first column. In the two columns to the right, mark one strongest and one weakest for this question (two different factors per set).
Reminder: In Part 1, choose based on what should be most important for NPD success. Please continue with the next 5 MaxDiff sets. Select exactly one most important and one least important item in each set, then answer the anchor question. Seeing some statements more than once is normal in MaxDiff and part of the survey design.
Part 1 — Perceived Importance (Block 3 of 3)
! How to use the grid: The factor text is in the first column. In the two columns to the right, mark one strongest and one weakest for this question (two different factors per set).
Reminder: In Part 1, choose based on what should be most important for NPD success. This is the final block for Part 1. Please complete all 5 sets before continuing. Seeing some statements more than once is normal in MaxDiff and part of the survey design.
Part 2 — Actual Influence (Block 1 of 3)
! How to use the grid: The factor text is in the first column. In the two columns to the right, mark one strongest and one weakest for this question (two different factors per set).
What Part 2 is about: The same factors, but now about real practice — what actually influences decisions and behaviour in your NPD projects, not what you think should matter.
What you do: In each set, choose the factor that influences your NPD projects the most and the one that influences them the least in day-to-day work.
How the task works: Same steps as Part 1 (one strongest, one weakest, then the follow-up), but the column headings refer to actual influence, not importance. You may sometimes see the same statements again; this is intentional in MaxDiff. Repeating factors in different sets helps us measure which factors you consistently prefer.
Why: Comparing Part 1 (what you consider important) with Part 2 (what really drives projects) supports our research on risk awareness and alignment.
Part 2 — Actual Influence (Block 2 of 3)
! How to use the grid: The factor text is in the first column. In the two columns to the right, mark one strongest and one weakest for this question (two different factors per set).
Reminder: In Part 2, choose based on what actually influences NPD projects in daily practice. Please continue with the next 5 MaxDiff sets for actual influence. Complete best, worst, and anchor for each set. Seeing some statements more than once is normal in MaxDiff and part of the survey design.
Part 2 — Actual Influence (Block 3 of 3)
! How to use the grid: The factor text is in the first column. In the two columns to the right, mark one strongest and one weakest for this question (two different factors per set).
Reminder: In Part 2, choose based on what actually influences NPD projects in daily practice. This is the final block for Part 2. Please complete all 5 sets before moving to the next section. Seeing some statements more than once is normal in MaxDiff and part of the survey design.
NPD Project Success
What we ask: Thinking about the NPD projects your company has completed in the last 3 years, please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements. For each statement, select one of the four bars to show how much it applies to your company (on average or in general).
Scale: 1 = Does not apply to us, 2 = Rather does not apply, 3 = Rather applies, 4 = Fully applies to us.
How Your Organisation Handles NPD Projects
What we ask: For each statement, use the same slider scale to indicate how much it applies to your organisation.
Please do not close this page and wait for submission after pressing Submit.
Thank you for taking your time to participate in my research
Thank you very much for completing this questionnaire. Your answers help me directly to finalise my master's thesis research.
Every single response and every data point is important for the quality of this research and for the final Risk Awareness Index analysis.
Thank you again for your support.
Till Blania
Master Student, HSE Saint Petersburg
International Business in Asian Pacific Market
For questions, please contact: till.blania@gmail.com