ABeam Consulting Identifies Five Key Factors
That determines the Success or Failure of New Businesses

What This Release Offers You:

• A deep dive into crucial lessons from a survey of new business initiatives, offering practical insights to strengthen market competitiveness.
• Five essential elements—from customer insight and market strategy to organizational leadership—are emphasized, along with strategies to foster collaboration and optimize resource utilization to drive innovation.

　In today’s dynamic environment, many organizations are launching new businesses as a means of growth. However, not all initiatives lead to success. This prompts a critical question: What are the key factors that determine whether a new business thrives or fails? Answering this question has become a strategic imperative for forward-looking organizations.

　To address this, ABeam Consulting conducted a comprehensive web-based survey of 620 individuals with hands-on experience in new business development at large Japanese corporations (each with annual revenues exceeding 20 billion yen). The findings offer practical insights that can be adapted by Thai organizations to design better processes and support long-term business growth.

　ABeam Consulting has placed strategic emphasis on this study in response to the rapid shifts in the business landscape, driven by the acceleration of digital transformation and the rising importance of sustainability management. These shifts have compelled many organizations to seek new business opportunities to stay relevant in an increasingly complex and uncertain future.

　As a global business and digital transformation consulting leader, ABeam Consulting is deeply engaged in strategy and organizational development. We therefore asked the pivotal question: What are the underlying factors that make or break a new business initiative? Our research points to five critical factors that can decisively influence whether an organization’s new business will achieve sustainable success:

Factor 1: Deep Understanding of Customer Pain Points – The Foundational Differentiator Between Success and Failure

　Businesses that can accurately identify and validate genuine customer pain points that directly affect customer decision-making are significantly more likely to succeed. The study confirms that a deep, nuanced understanding of customer problems is the single most important factor driving success.

Key approaches include:

• Direct customer interviews
• In-depth qualitative research
• Quantitative data analysis
• Leveraging existing data to extract insights based on actual customer experiences

　However, central corporate departments, which are often removed from direct customer contact, face limitations in accessing such insights. The absence of systematic data collection mechanisms further clouds the organization’s view of the customer.

　In contrast, business units with direct customer engagement have greater chances of success, especially when they develop new solutions based on customer feedback or leverage existing technologies to create meaningful innovations and viable business models

Factor 2: Strategic Market Fit – Aligning Offerings to Evolving Demand

In a fast-evolving market, launching a new business requires more than just a good idea. Success hinges on understanding how well a product or service aligns with market demand—and which internal team should lead the effort.

If introducing a new product/service to existing customers → It is most effective when led by business units that already have strong relationships with and deep insights into the customer base.

If introducing a new product/service to new customers → Corporate-level departments should lead, as they can offer fresh perspectives free from legacy biases, enabling broader and more creative market exploration.

In summary: For existing customers, success is more likely when business units with established customer knowledge lead. For new customer segments, corporate-led initiatives tend to perform better by avoiding legacy mindsets and embracing out-of-the-box thinking.

Factor 3: Leveraging Internal and External Capabilities Effectively

　Business units often capitalize on existing internal strengths—customer bases, distribution channels, and brand equity—to drive success. However, for new customer segments, success depends heavily on the organization’s ability to gather external insights. For example: Business units benefit from interviews with external experts in related industries. Corporate departments must actively seek support from external consultants, subject matter experts, and market research data, especially when lacking internal capabilities. Corporate departments are often tasked with developing discontinuous businesses that are not directly aligned with existing operations. Thus, these efforts require entirely new knowledge and capabilities. These efforts are typically not self-sufficient and must draw upon external resources to succeed.

　On the other hand, business units usually pursue adjacent innovations that build upon internal strengths, which explains their lower dependency on external partners. Another success factor is the cross-functional knowledge sharing within the organization: Business units benefit from cooperation with departments such as R&D, manufacturing, and sales. Corporate initiatives require access to technologies, patents, customer data, and other assets—regardless of which unit formally holds them.

　Ultimately, the key to success lies not in who owns the resources, but in who can access and leverage them effectively.

Factor 4: Mechanisms that Promote Cross-Departmental Collaboration

　A common feature among organizations that have successfully launched new businesses is the presence of structured mechanisms that actively foster internal collaboration. This goes beyond merely removing barriers—it involves creating a shared culture between legacy operations and new initiatives.

　Critical enablers include incentive systems, such as aligning KPIs of legacy business units with new business goals, fostering a sense of shared ownership, developing internal knowledge-sharing systems, and disseminating case studies.

　Equally important is building collaboration at the grassroots level, involving employees across departments from the early stages. This ensures mutual understanding and genuine support within the organization, laying the foundation for sustainable transformation.

Factor 5: Executive Involvement – Leadership That Drives Change

　New business initiatives with direct involvement from senior executives or board members have a significantly higher success rate.

Leadership plays two critical roles: 

• Driving the initiative—setting vision, priorities, and momentum
• Sponsoring the initiative, allocating resources, and influencing internal alignment

In particular, board members and senior executives are instrumental in:

• Shaping policies
• Securing funding
• Breaking down organizational silos

For business-unit-led initiatives, section managers or unit heads are crucial in translating the organizational vision into tangible, executable plans.

Corporate-led initiatives succeed when sponsored by executives or general managers, due to the cross-functional coordination required. Business-unit-led initiatives succeed when directly led by unit heads, although executive support remains beneficial. The key takeaway: Regardless of who leads the project, strong leadership and executive sponsorship are vital to overcoming organizational inertia and ensuring sustained progress.

Mr. Apilas Kraisittipong, Strategy Consulting Manager at ABeam Consulting (Thailand) Ltd., summarized the key findings, highlighting their relevance for Thai organizations. “Thai businesses must prioritize a systematic, data-driven understanding of customer pain points. At the same time, fostering a culture of collaboration across departments is essential. For any new business to succeed, executive involvement and effective internal and external resources management are indispensable.”

　ABeam Consulting supports organizations by designing structured customer insight processes, promoting internal knowledge sharing, and providing strategic advisory services to engage leaders at every level. These efforts help organizations build new initiatives that are deeply rooted in real market needs and positioned for sustainable growth.

■Related Insights
What separates the success and failure of new businesses, as seen from the "Survey on New Business Initiatives” 

About ABeam Consulting (Thailand) Ltd.

ABeam Consulting (Thailand) Ltd. is a subsidiary of ABeam Consulting Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, with roughly 9,000 highly professional, experienced consultants who have served clients throughout Asia, the Americas, and Europe, providing consulting services in Thailand since 2005. ABeam Consulting (Thailand) has expertise in a wide range of consulting services, including strategy, BPR, IT, Human Capital Management, Outsourcing, SAP Consulting, ESG, and Operational service expertise. We create the future together with corporations and other organizations. As a creative partner leading the way reliably through change, we contribute to industrial and societal change.