Consumer Electronics Industry Research Articles

Research and development resourcing when faced with fundamental market dynamics

System dynamics has been used over a number of years to explore and explain the role Research and Development (R&D) can play in shaping the dynamics of a firm or industry. This paper describes how a dynamic simulation model can be built which broadly characterises and captures the causal feedback structure and performance behaviour inherent to a generic R&D system within a firm. Alternative futures are played out to explore the long-term consequences of a confluence of R&D resource decisions, coupled with changes to market demand. Particular attention is paid to aspects of the Consumer Electronics (CE) industry, within such a rapidly changing industries system dynamics is recommended as an approach to inform R&D resourcing decisions.

It's no place like home [home automation

Recent developments in networking standards and marketing alliances are driving the home automation market forward, and providing a platform for some intriguing new applications. One of the most interesting developments in home automation is the progress of the Zigbee Alliance, a consortium of companies that is developing a low-power wireless networking standard for the control devices used in factories, offices and homes. Another important development is the increasing convergence of IT and consumer electronics industries. Issues concerning interoperability, however, will first need to be addressed before consumers can truly enjoy content.

Industry Evolution and Cross-Sectoral Skill Transfers: A Comparative Analysis of the Video Game Industry in Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom

In this paper we explore the interrelationship between technological progress and the formation of industry-specific skills by analysing the evolution of the video-game industry in three countries: Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom. We argue that the cross-sectoral transfer of skills occurs differently depending on national contexts, such as the social legitimacy and strength of preexisting industries, the socioeconomic status of entrepreneurs or pioneer firms in an emerging industry, and the sociocultural cohesiveness between the preexisting and emerging industries. Each country draws on a different set of creative resources, which results in a unique trajectory. Whereas Japan's video-game industry emerged out of corporate sponsorships in arcades, toys, and consumer electronics industries and drew skills from the comic book and animated-film sectors, the video-game industry in the United States evolved from arcades and personal computers. In the United Kingdom the video-game industry developed bottom-up, through a process of skills formation in the youth culture of ‘bedroom coders' that nurtured self-taught programmers in their teens throughout the country.

Scheduling of single stage assembly with air transportation in a consumer electronic supply chain

Consumer electronics supply chain being a booming industry with intensive competition, multinational organizations are rapidly moving towards global manufacturing networks to minimize the costs and improve delivery efficiency. The studies on modeling and scheduling of global supply chains in consumer electronics industry have lead to growing interests in recent years. In this paper, the problem of synchronized scheduling of assembly with air transportation to minimize delivery costs is addressed. The overall problem is decomposed into sub-problems viz., the air transportation allocation problem and assembly scheduling problem. The air transportation allocation problem is shown to have the structure of the regular transportation problem, while the assembly scheduling problem is shown to be NP-hard. We investigate the case of process delays in assembly for reasons such as machine breakdowns, shortages of materials, etc., and present a schedule repair heuristic. We evaluate the performance of the proposed heuristic with industry practice methods by testing the heuristics on randomly generated problems of size varying from 20 to 100 jobs.

Inventing the Electronic Century: The Epic Story of the Consumer Electronics and Computer Industries (review)

Inventing the Electronic Century: The Epic Story of the Consumer Electronics and Computer Industries (review)

Who pays for E-waste? [electronic waste recycling

The state of Washington has enacted a bill that would require manufacturers to pay for the costs of recycling old electronics equipment. The bill covers the collection, transportation, and recycling of computers, monitors, and TVs from consumers, small businesses, schools, small government entities, and charities. While environmentalists and consumer advocates are happy with the bill's enactment, a vast majority of the US consumer electronics industry prefer the ARF (advance recovery fee) model which passes the costs to consumers. Instead they are pushing for the US government to pass national legislation governing electronics recycling.

When does the majority become a majority? Empirical analysis of the time at which main market adopters purchase the bulk of our sales

The idea of a dual-market structure in the early stages of a product's life cycle has become one of the most widely accepted ideas among new product marketing practitioners in the past decade. Concepts such as “Early Market/Main Market” and “Visionaries/Pragmatists” have entered the lexicon of high-tech executives to express the notion that the market for new products is composed of early and main markets with a discontinuity in the diffusion process in between them. Moreover, these concepts have been at least partially tested and verified in the marketing academic literature in the past few years. We extend this branch of research by investigating the timing issues in dual-market cases. We define Change-of-Dominance Time (CD-Time) as the number of years it takes main market adopters to outnumber early market adopters. We empirically investigate this timing issue on a comprehensive data set of new product sales in the consumer electronics industry. We find that regarding explanatory determinants of CD-Time, external influence, such as advertising, to the early market is the most important explanatory variable. We examine the relationship between CD-Time and other early product life cycle phenomena: Takeoff, Saddle, and Rogers' size of adopter categories. We found relatively high correlations between these phenomena and CD-Time. The answer to the question “When does the majority become a majority?” is indeed “at 16%”! In a dual-market setting, the average time at which the main market outnumbers the early market is when 16% of the market has already adopted the product. In terms of time, in 75% of the cases the majority becomes a majority in 5 to 10 years.

The role and performance measurement of after‐sales in the durable consumer goods industries: an empirical study

PurposeTo analyse the role of after‐sales services in manufacturing contexts, and the related after‐sales performance measurement systems.Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory case study research was performed in the automotive, household appliance, IT and consumer electronics industries. The sample is made up of 48 firms with after‐sales operations in Italy.FindingsThe role attributed to after‐sales activities in the IT and consumer electronics and household appliance industries shows an orientation to improve company image, customer satisfaction and retention (marketing focus). A different situation characterises the companies studied in the automotive industry. In most firms, however, measurement systems are quite simple and short‐term oriented, especially in the IT and consumer electronics and household appliance industries. The measurement of non‐financial performance emphasises effectiveness rather than efficiency, and the automotive industry, on the whole, presents more advanced measurement systems, together with more integrated strategic management of after‐sales. The household appliance industry, on the other hand, due to the significant presence of SMEs, is characterised by less sophisticated performance measurement systems.Originality/valueProvides a representation of current empirical practices in after‐sales role and performance measurement, a topic insufficiently covered by conceptual and empirical research.

Methodologies for synchronised scheduling of assembly and air transportation in a consumer electronics supply chain

Motivated by a major PC manufacturer in the consumer electronics industry, we study the problem of synchronisation of assembly manufacturing and final deliveries using air transportation to achieve accurate delivery with minimised delivery cost in consumer electronics supply chain (CESC). The customer orders are shipped to the customers by cargo flights. Orders are allocated to the available flight capacities based on customer delivery dates. Synchronisation is considered to match the assembly completion of each order with the departure time of its predetermined allocated flights. We break the synchronisation problem down into two sub-problems consisting of an air transportation allocation problem and an assembly scheduling problem. The first sub-problem is formulated as an Integer Linear Programming (ILP) model. Two solution methodologies are proposed for the second sub-problem. Computational results indicate that the proposed methodologies can achieve considerable cost reduction compared to the existing industry practice.

Quality and Reliability Problems from a Consumer's Perspective: an Increasing Problem Overlooked by Businesses?

Currently, many businesses in the consumer electronics industry are facing an increasing number of consumer complaints, despite the application of quality tools that proved to be very powerful in the past. We assessed over 20 new product development projects, to understand the reasons behind the rising number of consumer complaints. We found that businesses are developing more innovative products that are brought to the market faster, with inherently higher uncertainties on the consumer expectations of these products. Current analyses of consumer complaints solely focus on checking if the product is functioning according to the technical specification, and these analyses show a rising number of consumer complaints where no failure could be established. When looking at product quality and reliability from a consumer's perspective, we found that consumers complain not only about technical product failures but also when the product does not satisfy their expectations. In this paper we will take the perspective of the consumer to analyse dissatisfaction with new products from various available sources, which were not set-up for quality and reliability purposes. We will show that analysing information from these sources gives better information, especially on the non-technical failures compared with the traditional quality and reliability sources. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Clearing the Fog Surrounding Internet File Sharing?

In its (in)famous decision against Grokster and Streamcast the Supreme Court managed to sidestep the fundamental issues of copyright in the information age and focused on a generic bad faith standard and obscure business models instead. This short article provides an introduction to fundamental questions of indirect liability for copyright infringement under US law and follows the trail of decisions leading up to the confusing Supreme Court opinion (including Aimster and Napster). It analyzes the arguments made and briefly discusses possible implications for the interest groups involved. The paper concludes that file sharing is still a dubious, but not illegal business and that all important questions remain open even after the ruling. All parties involved can feel both worried and assured by the decision, but no one can claim a decisive victory (yet). The clear line between the Consumer Electronics (and Software) industry and the Entertainment business divides not only the state of California, but the Supreme Court bench as well.

Study on Idle Noise Characteristics of Hard Disk Drives Based on a Multibody Dynamic Formulation#

ABSTRACT With the increasing use of electromechanical systems, such as hard disk drives (HDD), CD-Rom drives, and DVD drives in the consumer electronics industry, there is a growing demand for quieter products. The noise emitted from these devices may originate from the vibration of mechanical components in operation, such as bearings, gears, and actuators, etc. The vibration is then transmitted to other parts of the devices, such as cover and basement, etc., and the noise emitted may then be amplified. This paper aims to present an approach to study idle noise, which is an important type of noise in HDD due to spinning. The dynamic characteristics of ball-bearing disks/spindle systems of HDD including flexible stationary structures, such as top cover, shaft, and basement, etc., are analyzed based on a multibody dynamic formulation. The discrete governing equations of motion for the system are derived through the use of Lagrangian equation while elastic deformations of the stationary structures are described by nodal coordinates from a finite element formulation. After obtaining the response of the stationary part, the subsequent radiated noise for different possible noise forces is calculated and analyzed based on finite element method. The characteristics of idle noise are identified. Finally some experiments about the noise are studied.

Modular autonomous array deployments using passive acoustic time synchronization

Multi-element acoustic arrays generally use wired cable to transmit signals to a central recording location. While convenient, hardwiring hydrophones together increases array fragility and field costs while decreasing deployment flexibility. It is thus difficult to integrate acoustic array operations with field activities involving marine mammals in remote environments. Economic trends in the cell-phone and consumer electronics industries, combined with recent trends in tagging technology development, have led to the existence of compact low-power autonomous acoustic recorders that store data to either flash memory or small hard drives. In this presentation it is shown how two or more autonomous recorders can be time-synchronized using passive acoustic measurements of the background ambient noise field, effectively creating coherent array processing systems of varying aperture, spacing, and deployment geometry. Configurations tested to date include short and large-aperture vertical arrays off the coasts of Australia and Alaska, bottom-mounted horizontal arrays in San Ignacio Lagoon, Baja California, and instruments installed inside a glider. [Work sponsored by ONR Acoustic Entry Level Faculty Award.]

Nanotubes in the Clean Room

The article profiles the nanotube research and development of Nantero, formed by former Harvard graduate students, whose projects may soon make their way into electronic memories. Charles M. Lieber, a major figure in nanotechnology, asked one of his graduate students in 1998 to undertake the design of a radically new type of computer memory. It would read and write digital bits with memory elements that measured less than 10 billionths of a meter (10 nanometers). Until then, the student, a German native named Thomas Rueckes, had been spending his time in Lieber's laboratory at Harvard University measuring the electrical and material properties of carbon nanotubes. Many researchers were trying to use nanotubes as wires or components in new transistor designs. Rueckes chose to focus instead on their extraordinary tensile strength and resilience. Until his graduation in 2001, Rueckes continued to develop the concept. As he worked, he realized that nanotubes had more and more to offer. They could, in theory, provide the makings of a universal memory, one that combined the speed of static random-access memory, the low cost of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), and the nonvolatility (instant on operation) of flash memory. Its status as uber-material would also make it a low consumer of electrical power as well as resistant to potentially damaging heat, cold and magnetism. In 2001, Schmergel and Rueckes, along with Brent M. Segal, another former Harvard chemistry doctoral student, formed Nantero. When Nantero had gained confidence with the technology, it began a new round of visits to semiconductor manufacturers. In 2003 LSI Logic, a leading maker of customized chips for the telecommunications, storage and consumer electronics industries, agreed to bring the process for making what Nantero calls nanotube random-access memory (NRAM) into its factory in Gresham, Ore.

Improving the Quality of Information Flows in the Backend of a Product Development Process: a Case Study

Considerable research has gone into designing effective product development processes. This, coupled with the increasing need for products that are able to deliver reliable, complex functionality with a high degree of innovation, presents a major challenge to modern day industries in the business of developing products. In order to incorporate relevant field experience in the design and manufacturing of new products, increasingly detailed information needs to be retrieved from the market in a very short amount of time. In one particular consumer electronics industry, business process models describing the information flow in the backend of the product development process indicated massive data loss and also serious data quality degradation. This paper attempts to show how such losses can be mitigated and also proposes a business model that can adequately capture information of a higher quality and in a more structured manner. The end result will be a product development process that provides better feedback on current product performance and is more responsive to future market needs. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Technological capability accumulation in the 'maquila industry' in Mexico

From the mid-1960s, 'maquila' plants were established in the Mexican Northern border. The Mexican model was based on foreign firms establishing their own assembly plants. Even though this model was less successful than that of East and South East Asian in terms of several techno-economic indicators, it has largely contributed to employment generation. However, as a result of internal learning process and changes in the global firms strategies, several 'maquilas' operating in Mexico have undergone important qualitative changes. During the 1990s there was a change in the nature of their productive and technological activities towards more complex products and more innovative technological activities. In contrast, other dimensions have evolved slowly, such as the engagement of Mexican suppliers in global supply chains. The aim of this paper is to discuss an analytical framework to help study the technological capability accumulation in the 'maquila' industry in Mexico. Based on that the paper seeks to examine levels of technological capability accumulation of three maquilas, and to bring to light some stylized facts of the accumulation process in this industry. The analytical framework proposed draws on the taxonomy of technological capabilities proposed by Bell & Pavitt (1995) for the manufacturing industry in developing countries and its further adaptations and applications carried in Figueiredo (2001) and Ariffin & Figueiredo (2003, 2004). This paper adapts it to the particularities of the 'maquila' industry in Mexico. The new taxonomy includes technical functions that are relevant to this industry and redefines activities that correspond to various levels of accumulation. This paper is based on a case study methodology. The cases are the business lines of three maquilas in Ciudad Juarez: Thomson Multimedia, Philips Corp. and Delphi Corp. Two business lines correspond to the consumer electronics industry and the third is specialized on electronic products for the auto-parts industry. The evidence was collected between April 2001 and October 2002 in Ciudad Juarez. The main source of information are interviews conducted on the personnel of different hierarchical positions within each 'maquila'.

Chilling out an economy

The US Governments latest plans to crack down on copyright abuse will cripple the country's consumer electronics industry, critics of the proposed 'Induce Act' are warning.

Book Review Essay: Industrial Invention, Electronic Competition—A Review of Three Books on Global Strategic CompetitionInventing the Electronic Century: The Epic Story of the Consumer Electronics and Computer Industries, by ChandlerAlfred D.Jr., New York: Free Press, 2001.Managing New Industry Creation: Global Knowledge Formation and Entrepreneurship in High Technology, by MurthaThomas P., LenwayStefanie A., and HartJeffrey A.. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press,

The article reviews the books “Inventing the Electronic Century: The Epic Story of the Consumer Electronics and Computer Industries,” by Alfred D. Chandler Jr., “Managing New Industry Creation: Global Knowledge Formation and Entrepreneurship in High Technology,” by Thomas P. Murtha, Stefanie A. Lenway, and Jeffrey A. Hart, and “From Global to Metanational: How Companies Win in the Knowledge Economy,” by Yves Doz, Jose Santos, and Peter Williamson.

New product development benchmarks: The Japanese, North American, and UK consumer electronics industries

This paper presents the results of a study into new product development (NPD) in the high-end audio industry in Japan, North America, and the UK. A total of 38 companies were visited and interviewed, and detailed benchmarks of product development performance and practice were obtained from 21 companies and 31 NPD projects. Performance was gauged by several measures including lead times, cost and schedule adherence, internal and external quality, and product profitability. The organization of the development process was assessed through measures of project team composition, linkages between key constituencies of the development process (e.g., development, manufacturing, and suppliers), and processes of information capture and exchange. UK projects were generally executed more quickly than those in Japan and North America, but displayed a higher incidence of postlaunch problems. Japanese lead times were the longest, and Japanese companies performed relatively poorly on measures of development productivity. However, their manufacturing performance was vastly superior to that of Western companies. The paper concludes that organizational and national context significantly shapes NPD practice and that this is reflected in patterns of product development performance.

Use of Taguchi method to develop a robust design for the magnesium alloy die casting process

This study applies the Taguchi method to optimize the process parameters for the die casting of thin-walled magnesium alloy parts in computer, communications, and consumer electronics (3C) industries. The objectives of the Taguchi method for robust parameter design are to establish the optimal combination of design parameters and to reduce the variation in quality from a minimum number of experiments. This study investigates the effects of various die casting control parameters, including the die temperature, injection velocity, and cooling time upon the surface warping of magnesium alloy die cast components. The present results concerning the die casting of magnesium alloy personal data assistant (PDA) cover surfaces confirm the effectiveness of this robust design methodology.