Why and When to Launch New Products During a Recession: An Empirical Investigation of the U.K. FMCG Industry and the U.S. Automobile Industry.

54 Pages Posted: 19 Dec 2022

See all articles by M. Berk Talay

M. Berk Talay

University of Massachusetts Lowell

Koen Pauwels

Northeastern University - D’Amore-McKim School of Business

Steven Seggie

ESSEC Business School - Marketing Department

Date Written: December 4, 2022

Abstract

Do new products launched during a recession perform better? Does the severity of the recession matter? Are products more successful when launched earlier or later in a recession? These are all questions of managerial importance that as yet remain unanswered in the extant marketing literature. The authors analyze 2 datasets: 1) 8,981 product launches in 20 United Kingdom fast-moving consumer goods categories over 18 years and 2) 1,071 product launches in the United States automotive market over 63 years. The results reveal products launched (a) during a recession and (b) later rather than earlier in the recession survive longer, while more severe recessions are associated with shorter survival. This paper thus enriches marketing theory on recessions by conceptualizing and quantifying timing effects on new product launch success. For managers, the results demonstrate the benefits of countercyclical launching of new product during recessions and to market proactively in such economic conditions.

Keywords: new product launch, recession, business cycles, fast moving consumer goods, automobile industry

JEL Classification: M31

Suggested Citation

Talay, M. Berk and Pauwels, Koen and Seggie, Steven, Why and When to Launch New Products During a Recession: An Empirical Investigation of the U.K. FMCG Industry and the U.S. Automobile Industry. (December 4, 2022). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4293497 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4293497

M. Berk Talay

University of Massachusetts Lowell

Koen Pauwels

Northeastern University - D’Amore-McKim School of Business ( email )

360 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA 02115
United States

Steven Seggie (Contact Author)

ESSEC Business School - Marketing Department ( email )

France

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