Does Military Integrated Product Team Performance Predict Commercial Cost Reduction Program Success

Abstract In the early 1990s, U.S military leaders began to copy commercial enterprises by assembling integrated product teams (IPTs) to adapt and implement commercial cost reduction programs (CCRPs) for military organizations. However, no evidence existed in literature that military IPT performance related to CCRP success. A non-experimental quantitative correlational study was conducted to find whether or not a relationship existed between military IPT performance and CCRP success.  A questionnaire distribution yielded 80 acceptable responses, and Spearman’s rank order correlation and ordinal regression were employed for correlation and predictor significance analyses, respectively.  The Spearman correlation coefficient analysis results revealed a strong positive relationship between the IPT Performance and CCRP Success, rs = .70, p < .01.  The correlation coefficients between each of the six variables of IPT Performance and CCRP Success were IPT Communication rs = .64, p < .01, IPT Coordination rs = .57, p < .01, IPT Balance of Member Contributions rs = .51, p < .01, IPT Mutual Support rs = .65, p < .01, IPT Effort rs = .36, p < .01, and IPT Cohesion rs =.67, p < .01.  Ordinal regression analysis yielded three significant predictors, IPT Coordination (Estimate = .23), IPT Effort (Estimate = -.40), and IPT Cohesion (Estimate = .24). Military managers should first assess whether or not their organizational systems are conducive to hosting IPTs and whether or not their organizations contain the necessary resources for hosting IPTs. Future researchers should employ a larger sample and a qualitative study to observe team interactions for identifying characteristics of teams and team members. Keywords: commercial cost reduction programs, integrated product teams, military, team performance, program success, integrated product and process development.