Virtues revealed in sustained new product creation and marketing : a case study

It is more customary in assessing new product development and marketing success and failure stories to discuss the " lessons learnt" in terms of marketing theory and practice rather than in terms of any virtues that might or might not have been revealed. Both these are valuable, but the latter is rarely if ever done. This paper aims to help fill this gap. The paper traces the development of both a new product and a new product developer in the building services industry, culminating in a series of clever modifications of an existing product into a powerful new product to deal with deadly asbestos. The paper reveals the main instrumental and personal virtues that characterise this case study, and hopefully indicates the value to marketing theory and practice that can be gained by examining NPD and other marketing activities through a virtues lens as well. Such virtues may well be an important catalyst for product success.