The influence of human motivation factors on the successful implementation of product life cycle management tools: explorative findings and managerial implications

For technology firms it is crucial to integrate progressive product design methods such as Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) tools in their daily routines to improve the quality of the product development process. However, in practice one problem arises: research and development (R&D) employees show little motivation to implement these tools in their work. This paper aims at determining human factors for successful implementation of PLM by studying the motivation of R&D employees. Based on a literature study, face-to-face interviews with 16 R&D experts were performed. Furthermore, a survey study with 22 participants using online questionnaires was conducted. Based on the results of the data analysis, a list of critical human success factors which help managers to implement PLM tools in R&D departments of technology firms successfully is presented