Based out of my experience in the current company i am part of, is the funding as well just as the fellow user mentioned prior. Some companies are generally very cautious about funding new innovative projects unless there is substantial request for such a product from the general market. Indeed there are some companies that takes risks on funding new products to see how well they perform in the market. In my company, this procedure usually is dependent on what the market research and customer feedback proves to be true. In order to overcome the funding, usually it requires minor cutbacks or obtain funding from the shareholders assuming they are pleased with the general concept and convinced that this new product will make a large profit. The other hurdle that i have encountered is politics within the company, it can become difficult for R&D to see eye-to-eye on new product development with other department such as the finance side because the finance always looks for minimizing cost and focus on the current market rather than exploring others unless constant convincing is presented. (This sometimes occurs with smaller companies compared to larger companies like J&J.)