Which National Cultural Factors Promote Digital Technology Usage? Findings From the 5th PDMA Best Practice Survey

This study investigates how national culture affects the usage of digital technologies in new product development. Using the data from 651 companies collected in the 2021 Global PDMA Best Practice survey, we tested two major cultural models: 1) Hofstede and 2) World Values Survey focusing on artificial intelligence (AI). Then we focused on two key cultural factors from each cultural model; individualism and traditional values, to test their influences on the usage of digital technologies including AI, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), additive manufacturing, and simulation tools. Our results show that individualism enhances smart technology usage but not NPD performance. Surprisingly, traditional values hinder smart technology usage while that enhances NPD performance. This twisting relationship will be a hurdle for companies to adopt digital technologies.