Collaborative New Product Development Research Articles

Buyer-Supplier Collaboration in New Product Development Between Two Equally Powerful Firms: A Case Study of ABB and SKF

Buyer-Supplier Collaboration in New Product Development Between Two Equally Powerful Firms: A Case Study of ABB and SKF

Improving Supplier New Product Development Performance: The Role of Supplier Development

Suppliers play an increasingly central role in helping firms achieve their new product development (NPD) goals. The literature implicitly assumes that suppliers are able to meet or exceed the quality standards and technological expectations of the firm, and yet, in practice, suppliers often lack the technological capabilities needed to undertake collaborative NPD. In such situations, a firm may choose to intervene and actively develop the supplier's technological and product development capabilities. We develop a theoretical framework that conceptualizes supplier development activities within interorganizational NPD projects as part of a bilateral knowledge‐sharing process: design recommendations, technical specifications, and new technology flow from supplier to the firm, and in turn, the firm can implement supplier development activities to upgrade the supplier's technological capabilities. Antecedents (supplier responsibility, skills similarity, single sourcing strategy) and consequences of supplier development activities (on supplier, product, and project performance) are examined using a sample of 153 interorganizational NPD projects within UK manufacturers. We find broad support for our hypotheses. In particular, we show that the relational rents (in the form of improved product and project performance) attained from supplier development activities in new product development are not achieved directly, but rather indirectly, via improvements in the supplier's creative and technological capabilities. Our results emphasize the importance of adopting a strategic view of the potential returns available from investing in the NPD capabilities of key suppliers, and provide clues about underlying reasons for the suboptimal experiences of many companies' collaborative NPD projects.

Collaborative Product Development: The Effect of Project Complexity on the Use of Information Technology Tools and New Product Development Practices

Collaboration is an essential element of new product development (NPD). This research examines the associations between four types of information technology (IT) tools and NPD collaboration. The relationships between NPD practices and NPD collaboration are also examined. Drawing on organizational information processing theory, we propose that the relationships between IT tools and NPD collaboration will be moderated differently by three project complexity dimensions, namely, product size, project novelty, and task interdependence, due to the differing nature of information processing necessitated by each project complexity dimension. Likewise, the moderation effects of the project complexity dimensions on the relationship between NPD practices and NPD collaboration will also be different. We test our hypotheses using data from a sample of NPD projects in three manufacturing industries. We find that IT tools are associated with collaboration to a greater extent when product size is relatively large. In contrast, IT tools exhibit a smaller association with collaboration when project novelty or task interdependence is relatively high. NPD practices are found to be more significantly associated with NPD collaboration under the contingency of high project novelty or high task interdependence. The findings provide insights about circumstances where several popular IT tools are more likely to facilitate collaboration, thus informing an NPD team's IT adoption and use decisions.

Leveraging Social Network Sites in New Product Development: Opportunity or Hype?

Leveraging social network sites is high on the list of priorities for a lot of businesses that are eager to find more effective ways to reach, learn about, and engage customers in new product development (NPD). However, the rapidly changing landscape of social network sites can be difficult to navigate successfully and doubts remain about whether and how they can be used to good effect. In fact, empirical research confirming a positive relationship between the use of social network sites inNPDand business performance is scarce.This paper reports on research examining the use of social network sites for three purposes, namely for market research guiding the development of new products, for getting customers to collaborate in theNPDprocess, and for new product launch. The results of this research suggest that the benefits expected from using social network sites inNPDare largely not being realized by businesses. Using social network sites to conduct market research leading into theNPDprocess was not found to contribute to business performance, and in fact was found to have negative relationships with both profitability and market growth. Using social network sites to get customers to collaborate in theNPDprocess was found to be positively related with innovativeness but not with market growth or profitability. Finally, using social network sites for new product launch was where the most positive indications were seen, since this was found to be positively related with innovativeness, market growth, and profitability.Thus, it appears that while businesses may get good results from using social network sites for product launch, they still have a learning curve to traverse before they can successfully use them for market research or customer collaboration inNPD. While there is currently a great deal of enthusiasm—even hype—about the potential opportunities of using social network sites forNPD, this research suggests that businesses should move carefully and recognize that just jumping on the social network bandwagon will not insure success.

Buyer–Supplier Collaboration Quality in New Product Development Projects

Previous research has found that buyer–supplier collaboration in new product development can contribute to project success. Empirical evidence is mixed, however, and the concept of buyer–supplier collaboration is under‐developed. This work develops a new construct, buyer–supplier collaboration quality, defined as the extent to which a buyer and supplier exploit shared resources while minimizing waste through interacting during project planning and execution. We use resource dependence theory to formulate interfirm and project‐level antecedents of buyer–supplier collaboration quality and argue how it affects new product development project outcomes. Data from an empirical survey of 214 buying organizations validate the measurement structure of the new construct and support its positive associations with design quality and project efficiency. We also find that goal congruence, complementary capabilities and interfirm coordination efforts increase buyer–supplier collaboration quality, while interfirm relationship‐specific investment reduces it.

METHOD APPLICATION IN NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND THE IMPACT ON CROSS-FUNCTIONAL COLLABORATION AND NEW PRODUCT SUCCESS

In recent years, scholars have devoted increasing attention to the use of methods in new product development. For the first time, we examine particularly the relationship between method application, cross-functional collaboration in new product development and new product success. The analysis of more than 400 new product development projects from 201 different companies shows that applying methods in new product development leads directly to the superior financial performance of the developed product (by reducing product costs, for example) and also leads indirectly to superior cross-functional collaboration during the development project. Both effects are analysed, showing how firms can actively improve on what in some cases are very high failure rates in the development of new products.

The Impact of Supplier Relationship Management on Competitive Performance of Manufacturing Firms

Supplier Relationship Management is very important for manufacturing firms as it can ensure the supply of reliable and frequent deliveries in today's dynamic and competitive environment. For such relationship to be effective and long-term, it has to be beneficial for all parties, the buying and the supplier firms. This study attempts to examine the impact of supplier relationship management (SRM) on competitive performance in the manufacturing sector. Based on the literature review, we measure SRM through five main practices: supplier quality improvement, trust-based relationship with suppliers, supplier lead time reduction, supplier collaboration in new product development, and supplier partnership/development. We measure competitive performance through cost, quality, flexibility, delivery, and on time product launch. Using international data collected in Japan, Korea, USA, and Italy as part of round 3 of High Performance Manufacturing (HPM) project, and After using statistical package of social sciences (SPSS) to describe and analyze the data, the results show that two practices of supplier relationship management, supplier partnership/development and supplier lead time reduction significantly and positively affect the competitive performance of the buying firms. Discussion and conclusion are provided based on the results of this study.

Variation of purchasing's involvement: case studies of supplier collaborations in new product development

Firms are increasingly involving suppliers in new product development (NPD) and one reason for this is to access technological knowledge. Previous research argues that purchasing fulfils an important role in involving the suppliers in NPD. However, purchasing's role under technological uncertainty has not been investigated in detail. The purpose of this paper is to explore purchasing's role in technology selection, supplier selection and level of participation in NPD projects involving suppliers. Three NPD projects at one large high-tech firm are studied. The results show that purchasing has limited influence in the technology selection process, but fulfils an important role in the selection of the supplier and has a role as a trouble-shooter throughout the collaborative NPD projects. Purchasing does not necessarily need to be involved in solving daily, routine problems, but serves as a trouble-shooter to solve problems related to the supplier's strategy, the relationship with the supplier, and commitment issues.

Supplier selection under technological uncertainty in new product development projects

Increasingly, firms involve external companies in the innovation process to integrate new technology. However, under technological uncertainty, it may not be obvious which technology will be the most suitable to incorporate. Few studies have investigated how technological uncertainty affects firms' supplier selection for new product development (NPD). Hence, this paper aims to investigate how firms select suppliers for collaborative NPD under varied levels of technological uncertainty. This research is based on seven case studies in which 53 interviews were conducted. Two strategies for supplier selection under technological uncertainty are discussed. These are based on an evaluation of: i) the supplier's present situation; ii) previous experience. The findings show that technological capabilities were an important criterion in the assessment of suppliers in projects with both low and high technological uncertainty. Moreover, in projects with high technological uncertainty, relational capabilities were important.

Uncertainty in collaborative NPD: Effects on the selection of technology and supplier

To gain competitive advantage, firms involve suppliers in New Product Development (NPD). However, uncertainty affects selection of suppliers and associated technologies, and selection outcomes in terms of commitment to one supplier or maintaining flexibility. We report on a case study of collaborative NPD with the aim to develop an energy storage unit. The case involved selection of both technology and supplier, where both were changed during the NPD. Drawing upon Hall et al. (2011), we analyze technological, organizational and commercial uncertainties. We demonstrate how technological, commercial and organizational uncertainties cause firms to seek flexibility rather than commitment to one supplier.

A design of knowledge management tool for supporting product development

New Product Development (NPD) is one of the most important activities for companies. The NPD activities get to depend on knowledge more and more. Therefore, Knowledge Management (KM) has become a key issue and a hot topic in the fields of NPD researches. This paper proposes a new design of an effective NPD-support KM tool for facilitating the knowledge sharing and acquisition among collaborative NPD team members. The KM tool mainly contains two channels for knowledge acquisition: knowledge query and knowledge recommendation. The former one is the basic function for all types of KM tools, and also acts as the basis for the latter one. This paper proposes two types of knowledge recommendation ways: one is a vector-based way; the other is a phrase-based way. Key techniques for implementing the KM tool are elaborated. A demo example is also illustrated to show the functions of the proposed KM tool.

Management Insights

Management Insights

Impact of technological uncertainty in supplier selection for NPD collaborations: literature review and a case study

This paper combines a literature review and a case study of supplier selection for new product development (NPD) collaboration to illustrate the impact of technological uncertainty and how firms co ...

Inter-organizational knowledge integration in Collaborative NPD projects: evidence from the aerospace industry

This paper aims to analyse the practice of knowledge integration (KI) in Collaborative New Product Development (Co-NPD) projects involving multiple partners in an aerospace network. On the basis of a pragmatic approach, a multiple-case study is developed focusing on two Italian aerospace companies involved in a research project aimed to define methodologies and technologies for knowledge collaboration in NPD. Data are gathered with a triangulation technique merging official documents and open-ended and closed-ended interviews administered in the companies’ sites and involving managers, engineers and employees. The paper proposes a systematic treatment of the KI practice describing the types of knowledge, strategies, barriers and intellectual property policies for KI at inter-organizational level. The findings provide insights to address NPD models for aerospace networks where the complexity and value of codified knowledge coming from external sources requires adequate treatments and security standards.

A Middle-Agent Framework Focused on the Role of Distributors

In this paper, we propose to use a middle-agent framework to analyze a business model that is focused on distributors for win-win cooperation and collaboration by revealing the effect, the influence, and the requirement for consensus in cooperation and collaboration. Distributors can create good cooperation and collaboration by mediates between manufacturing and user companies. We give an example of the collaborative development of new products where a distributor mediating between maker and user companies. The Application Specific Standard Product (ASSP), which is an LSI for specific applications, is attracting attention. To develop an ASSP, both semiconductor and user companies must agree on the functions that the ASSP has and on how many ASSPs must be considered without dis- closing secret information. In this paper, we model distributors in a collaborative development and implement a tool for an agent-based simulation, in which we imagine a market where a product is developed, sold, and bought. We investigate the role of middle agents, distributors and how they affect the market. In addition, we propose a framework for examining a new business model.

Actors’ networks management for design co-ordination

In a worldwide context of collaborative development of new products and/or services, companies have to control the design process to increase design performance. Formal and informal networks of actors are activated during the very first phases of product development projects in order to define the company’s partners in a more efficient way. Our goal is to study relationships between co-design projects and networks of partners in order to help project managers in setting up design teams. This leads to the identification of several drivers which influence the actors’ network use and leading. Drivers such as project organisational structure, concurrent engineering techniques, groupware-like and knowledge-based systems support and enhance such networks. We will base our experimental issues on an industrial case study from energy production sector. This industrial case explores the structure and the management of actors’ networks.

Managing Mechanisms for Collaborative New-Product Development in the Ceramic Tile Design Chain

This paper focuses on improving the management of New-Product Development (NPD) processes within the particular context of a cluster of enterprises that cooperate through a network of intra- and inter-firm relations. Ceramic tile design chains have certain singularities that condition the NPD process, such as the lack of a strong hierarchy, fashion pressure or the existence of different origins for NPD projects. We have studied these particular circumstances in order to tailor Product Life-cycle Management (PLM) tools and some other management mechanisms to fit suitable sectoral reference models. Special emphasis will be placed on PLM templates for structuring and standardizing projects, and also on the roles involved in the process. The design of the New-Product Development (NPD) process, and the organization and the infrastructure that support it, are critical elements to sustain the competitiveness of industries in which product innovation is the key strategy. This is the case for most of the ceramic tile manufacturers in the Castellon (Spain) cluster. The design and development of new ceramic tile products involve many actors (companies and other organizations or people belonging to the ceramic tile cluster), who play different roles within the process. The relationships maintained among them allow collaborative networks to be constituted. The CE-TILE project (Vila, 05), (Romero, 08) was launched with the aim of improving the efficiency of these networks and solving the work and information management problems related to the NPD process in what we call 'Ceramic Design Chains'. This was to be achieved by taking advantage of the benefits of the services provided by the Internet and web technologies. After a preliminary analysis of the NPD processes (for ceramic tile products), a conceptual framework focused on

Development of a tool for building shared representations among industrial designers and engineering designers

Previous studies have demonstrated the importance of multi-disciplinary collaboration in New Product Development (NPD). As such, interactions between industrial designers and engineering designers have become increasingly important. This research project aims to build a shared understanding between the two disciplines during NPD. Following empirical research that revealed collaboration-related problem areas, as well as collecting data concerning the use of design representations, a card system was developed to provide information on the role and significance of design representations, leading to joint understanding, improved communication and creation of shared knowledge. When asked in the validation study if the system would foster collaboration, 68.2% of industrial designers and 63.2% of the engineering designers gave a good and excellent rating, indicating that the system could play a significant role towards the support of multi-disciplinary teamwork.

Understanding the complexity of knowledge integration in collaborative new product development teams: A case study

Knowledge integration is important in collaborative new product development (Co-NPD). The research literature shows that the way actors create a shared understanding about the new to create products is a quality indicator of Co-NPD. This study investigates what factors influence the creation of a shared understanding in Co-NPD. The results show factors at three different levels; the actor, project and company level. Additionally, there exist relationships across the factors. The related factors form four different types of interfaces. The interfaces differ from each other since different types of collaborative mechanisms exist within them.

Learning Capability, Technological Parity, and Innovation Mode Use*

The purpose of this research was to examine whether a firm's learning capability interacts with industry technological parity to predict innovation mode use. Learning capability is conceptualized in the current research as a firm's ability to develop or acquire the new knowledge-based resources and skills needed to offer new products. Industry technological parity is conceptualized as the extent to which similarity and equality exist among the technological competencies of the firms in an industry. Three generic modes of innovation are considered: internal, cooperative, and external innovation. These modes reflect the development of new products based solely on internal resources, the collaborative development of new products (i.e., with one or more development partners), and the acquisition of fully developed products from external sources, respectively. The premises of this research are that (1) technological parity can create incentives or disincentives for innovating in a particular mode, depending upon the value of external innovative resources relative to the value of internal innovative resources and (2) firms will choose innovation modes that reflect a combination of their abilities and incentives to innovate alone, with others, or through others. Survey research and secondary sources were used to collect data from 119 high-technology firms. Results indicate that firms exhibit greater use of internal and external innovation when high levels of industry technological parity are matched by high levels of firm learning capability. By contrast, a negative relationship between learning capability and industry technological parity is associated with greater use of the cooperative mode of innovation. Thus, a single, common internal capability—learning capability—interacts with the level of technological parity in the environment to significantly predict three distinct innovation modes—modes that are not inherently dependent upon one another. As such, a firm's internal ability to innovate, as reflected in learning capability, has relevance well beyond that firm's likely internal innovation output. It also predicts the firm's likely use of cooperative and external innovation when considered in light of the level of industry technological parity. A practical implication of these findings is that companies with modest learning capabilities are not inherently precluded from innovating. Rather, they can innovate through modes for which conditions in their current environments do not constitute significant obstacles to innovation output. In particular, modest learning capabilities are associated with higher innovative output in the internal, cooperative, and external modes when industry technological parity levels are low, high, and low, respectively. Conversely, strong learning capabilities tend to be associated with higher innovative output in the internal, cooperative, and external modes when industry technological parity levels are high, low, and high, respectively.