Context Of New Product Development Research Articles

Does Learning Orientation Drive New Product Competitive Advantage and Success? A Conceptual Framework and Research Propositions

Since so many new products fail in the marketplace after their launch, identifying the determinants of new product competitive advantage and performance is critical. New product development (NPD) requires the acquisition, dissemination, and utilization of information that is supplied through organizational learning. Learning-oriented organizational cultures facilitate discovery and creativity processes that go into the NPD. In spite of its significance, the concept of a learning orientation has not been explored sufficiently at the project level in the NPD context. This study aims to fill this void in the literature by articulating a conceptual framework that depicts the direct and indirect relationships between organizational learning orientation and new product competitive advantage. Memory level and memory dispersion mediate the relationship between these two constructs at the project level. The evidence supporting the proposed research framework suggests that learning-oriented organizations create strong organizational memories that lead to higher levels of new product competitive advantage and success. The theoretical and practical implications of this study are discussed and future research suggestions are provided.

Factors influencing knowledge sharing in new product development in high-tech manufacturing firms

Knowledge sharing is considered an important promotor of new product development (NPD) performance. However, studies have shown that making experts share knowledge in new product development (NPD) projects is often a challenging task. Consequently, this topic has attracted substantial attention in academic research. However, although studies have produced valuable insights, more detailed accounts of the mechanisms shaping knowledge sharing processes in NPD projects are sparse. To add to the knowledge on this topic, this study conducts a series of interviews with NPD professionals at manufacturers of high-tech industrial products to identify ‘factors influencing knowledge sharing’ (FIKS). The identified FIKS are explained through the socio-physiological theory, the ‘reasoned action approach’ (RAA). This involves several contributions. First, the study provides a detailed explanation of the role of FIKS by describing how they affect the behaviour of knowledge providers and receivers in NPD processes. Second, by identifying 161 FIKS in NPD processes, organised under 18 categories, the study offers the so far most extensive account of FIKS in NPD processes. Third, the findings suggest a special characteristic of knowledge sharing in NPD contexts concerning the relatively high importance of knowledge receiver behaviour.

Exploring the Benefits of Remanufacture during Product Prototyping: A Cost and Time Based Analysis

AbstractWhilst remanufacture is identified as a key enabler for sustainable manufacture in future industry, its role within the context of new product development remains unclear. Where prototypes often go through multiple iterations with varying degrees of change, could remanufacture be adopted to reduce the time and cost components of design iteration? This paper presents a computational study to explore the potential savings afforded by remanufacture across stages of a rapid prototyping process. Results suggest significant reductions to development time and cost can be achieved.

The Effect of Role-Based Product Representations on Individual and Team Coordination Practices: A Field Study of a Globally Distributed New Product Development Team

The investigation of the appealing indication that a modular product architecture is best associated to a loosely coupled organizational structure—that is, the mirroring hypothesis—has produced contradictory evidence, especially in the dynamic and ambiguous context of new product development. By integrating modularity theory and product-representation theories, we investigate how individual agency affects coordination in teams developing modular products. We conducted a field study of Flower-Net, a globally distributed team in a major IT company, engaged with the development of a modular software using agile practices. Our grounded model shows that, whereas top managers defined the product as modular and coordinated work accordingly, individuals developed different representations of the product’s architecture and conflicting individual coordination practices. We traced the individual development of product architecture representations back to the individual interpretations of organizational roles as more or less “segmented.” Conflicting individual practices, associated to different role-based product representations, were not addressed by the team—that developed a state of illusory concordance—and impaired the functioning of the team. This study contributes to the literature on modularity and the mirroring hypothesis by proposing individual role-based representations as an underexplored level of analysis for the matching between product and organizational modularity (Mirroring Hypothesis II). It also contributes to the debate on how representations affect team coordination, by detailing how role-based product representations can influence team members’ divergence and sustain illusory concordance.

THE EFFECTS OF INNOVATION IMPLEMENTATION AND SPEED TO MARKET ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEAM SENSE-MAKING, TRUST, AND NPD SUCCESS

New product development (NPD) has long been regarded as an important issue for the success of business operations. One of the key determinants of NPD is innovation, which is highly related to innovation implementation. Both innovation implementation and NPD success require team sensemaking and trust. The purpose of this study is to examine the antecedents of innovation implementation and its mediating role through which it influences NPD success. A causal model was developed to examine relevant variables for innovation implementation on NPD success. A survey was conducted using the responses from 286 NPD team leaders in the Taiwanese high-tech industry. The results indicated that team sensemaking and trust can influence innovation implementation, which further promotes NPD success. The influences of team sensemaking capability and trust on NPD success can be mediated through the mediating role that innovation implementation plays. This report sheds light on the relevance of innovation implementation in a NPD context.

Unlocking value through an extended social media analytics framework

PurposeTo unlock social media’s value, this study aims to integrate insights from several theoretical perspectives and the relevant literature, developing an extended social media analytics framework. It identifies the stages underlying the social media analytics process and tests the framework in three important and interconnected areas: social media (Twitter), new product adoption (iWatch and Google Glass) and social media analytic techniques (text mining and sentiment analysis).Design/methodology/approachBased upon a systematic review of different research approaches, theories and media types, this paper presents and tests an extended framework in three important and interconnected areas mentioned above.FindingsThis paper offers a theory-driven social media analytics framework. It validates the framework by providing concrete processes, examples, evidence and insights related to three chosen areas mentioned above, thereby helping managers create effective and efficient social media and new product development strategies.Originality/valueThis paper integrates insights from theories of the middle range (Merton, 1949), Campbell’s (1965) model of sociocultural evolution and Fan and Gordon’s (2014) social media analytics framework, developing its own extended social media analytics framework and validating it in three important and interconnected areas mentioned above. This paper demonstrates not only how the proposed framework can be applied to the context of new product development, but also how social media are transforming research approaches (qualitative, quantitative and mixed method) and the very nature of business itself (increased importance of digital business).

Accounting and new product development

PurposeThe traditional view of accounting as something that constrains innovation and conflicts with creativity is giving way to a more contemporary belief that accounting can enable innovation and support the innovative process. This paper aims to examine this evolving relationship between accounting and new product development (NPD) by exploring how interactions between NPD participants at various stages of the NPD process help to achieve the appropriate balance between firmness and flexibility which is necessary for NPD success.Design/methodology/approachA case study method is adopted. Strong structuration theory (SST) is used to examine the complex interactions that take place between managers at various stages in the NPD process, while the concept of minimal structures is drawn upon to explore how these interactions influence the role of accounting in NPD and help to achieve the desired balance between firmness and flexibility.FindingsThe findings of the study reveal that the use of accounting information in NPD is not necessarily prescriptive or normative but is embedded in the everyday interactions taking place throughout the organisation. Formal accounting information, which could be characterised as “push” information, is prepared and presented by the accountant as a formal requirement of NPD, where it is relied upon by the NPD Steering Committee to make stage-gate decisions in the latter stages of the process. This formal accounting information supports the technical structures within the minimal structures framework. Informal accounting information, which could be characterised as “pull” information, is prepared and used by the NPD team to make decisions from the early stages of NPD, often before the formal process has even begun. This information is regarded as a language or given understanding, and is often not even recognised as accounting information by those using it. This type of internalised language formulates the social structures discussed within the minimal structures framework. Together, the formal and informal use of accounting information, and the interactions implicated therein, provides the organisation with the appropriate balance of firmness and flexibility required to effectively govern the NPD process.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to accounting and innovation literature by using SST and minimal structures to explore interpersonal interactions in an NPD context.

UNDERSTANDING INTERNATIONAL PRODUCT STRATEGY IN MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS THROUGH NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT APPROACHES AND EVOLUTION

International product strategy regarding global standardisation and local adaptation is one of the challenges faced by multinational corporations (MNCs). Studies in this area have tested the antecedents and consequences of standardisation/adaptation, but lack a new product development (NPD) perspective. In this study, we explore how product standardisation/adaptation is determined in the NPD context. Through a qualitative case study of four MNCs, we found three NPD approaches: multi-local, adaptation-based and platform-based. We analysed the advantages and challenges of each approach. In addition, we reveal how the factors (development of information and communication technology, competition pressure, brand awareness and technical capability) could influence the choice of a certain NPD approach. We draw implications on the paths to ensuring full leveraging of the benefits of a platform-based approach.

Global Standardisation Strategy and New Product Development in MNCs: Approaches and Evolution

Global product strategy regarding global product standardisation and local product adaptation is one of the challenges faced by multinational corporations (MNCs). Studies in this area have tested the antecedents and consequences of standardisation/adaptation, but very few have explored this issue in the context of new product development (NPD). In this study, I explore how product standardisation/adaptation is determined in the NPD context. Through a qualitative case study of four MNCs, I found that although the platform-based approach is superior to other approaches in terms of competition, not all firms are able to adopt this approach. I reveal how certain factors could influence the choice of a certain NPD approach. I draw implications on the importance of the NPD context to standardisation/adaptation of products.

Team Foresight in New Product Development Projects

In today’s uncertain business environments, management tools, originally designed for more stable environments, no longer serve the purpose of the organization because high levels of uncertainty make the future difficult to predict entirely. In this sense, foresight, which implies both anticipating and designing the future in a proactive manner, seems to be a rising concept. Despite growing awareness of the importance of foresight capability in terms of predicting and enacting the future, empirical research on team foresight is scant. Based on sensemaking theory, this research explores the antecedents and consequences of team foresight within the context of new product development. In studying the data from 255 new product development projects using the partial least squares structural equation modeling, this study discovers that team flexibility—in terms of operational flexibility, task autonomy and resource flexibility—is a significant antecedent of team foresight. Moreover, the results particularly emphasize that new product development teams, with a proficiency in visualizing the future through making sense of technology-, market-, and project-related information, can successfully produce new products of quality in a timely manner. Managerial and theoretical implications of the study are discussed.

Searching for Active Learning Methods for New Product Development Purposes

Individual learning is the base of the company learning. And learning on product development contexts is related to product success [1] [2]. Improving effectiveness of individual learning in a new product development (NPD) context could bring results to the company. Active learning (AL) is largely studied in literature and shows promising results to improve learning. Its objective is to increase learner engagement [3], having its fundamentals based on cognitive aspects of humans, as attention [3]. But what are the existing approaches? Could they be used in NPD contexts to increase efficiency of learning? The objective of this article is to address the first question (i) identifying approaches considered AL from literature. This article presents the list of approaches found and its descriptions. This descriptions will be used for the next steps of this research to be presented in future articles (i) identifying AL approaches already used in industry and (ii) suggesting a method aiming to increase learning in NPD context.

A knowledge sharing framework for black, grey and white box supplier configurations in new product development

Managing supplier collaboration is increasingly cited as a key success factor in new product development (NPD) performance. Knowledge sharing between customer and supplier is a critical issue to manage collaboration but one which has only been partially investigated in the inter-organisational NPD context. This means that the specific characteristics of knowledge sharing according to the three classical supplier involvement configurations (black box: design is supplier driver, grey box: joint design and white box: design is customer driven) are still largely unknown. This research proposes to fill this gap by presenting a conceptual framework for knowledge sharing according to the supplier involvement configuration. Knowledge sharing integrates knowledge transfer, translation and transformation. A qualitative methodology based on cross-case comparisons of six projects in two companies is used. This research shows that the dynamics of knowledge sharing depend on each configuration. Thus, for black box projects, knowledge translation is a prerequisite for knowledge transfer. For grey box projects, knowledge transfer and translation are initiated simultaneously in a continuous loop. For white box projects, knowledge transfer is the key activity and potentially generates knowledge translation. The results suggest that managers should pay attention to translation activities which are critical for the success of co-development projects.

Ambidextrous Ambidexterity: Two New Worlds of Exploration and Ambidexterity

In recent years, practitioners and scholars alike have been left in the dark about the performance implications of the joint implementation of exploration and exploitation in the phenomenon called ambidexterity within the context of new product development. While some scholars advocate its benefits, others argue for a negative outcome on innovativeness. This study resolves this long-lasting debate by conceptually untangling the existing concept of exploration into two new forms: product-based and market-based exploration. By combining these two forms with exploitation, this study offers two new distinct conceptualizations of ambidexterity with opposing effects on innovativeness: While market- based ambidexterity is expected to be beneficial for companies’ product program meaningfulness, we expect a negative impact of product-based ambidexterity. Based on longitudinal data of 224 executives from multiple industries, the empirical results derived using structural equation modeling confirm the theorized effects of product-based and market-based ambidexterity on product program meaningfulness, which in turn leads to product program performance and firm performance. These findings unite advocates of different effects of ambidexterity and offer important implications that can guide managerial practice and decision-making.

Integrating Multiple Stakeholder Issues in New Product Development: An Exploration

Addressing the interests of a wide set of stakeholders is important because it may have positive effects on financial performance. At the same time, however, it is also very complex because managers may face conflicting stakeholder issues, much more so than organizations that listen to only one stakeholder. Little is known about how multiple stakeholder issues are dealt with in the context of new product development (NPD). The objective of this study is to delineate the elements of stakeholder integration in the context of NPD. A combination of insights from stakeholder theory and market information processing serves as a theoretical perspective to guide the empirical exploration in this study. The authors take the development of green (ecological) products as an empirical context for their qualitative multiple case study. Specifically, they selected four case studies with different expected levels of stakeholder integration, based on literature about green NPD. Data were collected through in‐depth interviews with key informants, collecting documents, and obtaining artifacts. In total, 28 informants from various domains were interviewed. Transcribed interviews were coded using qualitative analysis software. The results show that a distinction needs to be made between market and nonmarket stakeholders, and that not all organizations are equally capable of identifying issues that are important to both categories of stakeholders. Organizations that identify issues that are relevant to both market stakeholders and nonmarket stakeholders are more likely to face tensions between stakeholder issues in NPD. Organizations manage these tensions using several, sometimes redundant, coordination mechanisms and using multiple prioritization principles in conjunction. Based on the results, the authors conceptualize stakeholder integration capability in an NPD context as the combination of stakeholder issue identification techniques, coordination mechanisms, and prioritization principles. They propose that stakeholder integration capability is the result of a learning process. Moreover, they propose that proactivity of environmental management and environmental impact of the industry help to explain why stakeholder issue identification techniques are developed, and that the identification of more stakeholder issues leads organizations to develop coordination mechanisms and prioritization principles. Finally, the authors propose that stakeholder integration capability leads to competitive advantage through organizational identification by stakeholders. The study implies that integrating multiple stakeholder issues is not just a matter of feeding additional information into NPD processes, but of changing the nature of these NPD processes.

A Problem-Oriented Design Method for Product Innovation

This article proposes a systematic innovation approach by integrating the function analysis and trimming method into the conceptual design activities of new product development (NPD). Concept design is considered to be one of the pivotal phases in NPD process, which has a significant impact on downstream NPD activities such as ideas selection and detail design. Despite the recognized importance of concept design, there is a lack of a systematic and effective problem-solving process that covers all concept design activities. To address this gap, the authors develop a systematic approach to product concept design based on the problem-oriented concept. Also, the authors provide a case example to demonstrate the effectiveness of using this method in NPD context and further illustrate some implications through the managerial perspective.

Formalizing a Workflow-Net Implementation of Design-Structure-Matrix-Based Process Planning for New Product Development

Many new product development (NPD) projects fail. The NPD context, which incorporates knowledge about the product, requirements, technology, and other factors, is dynamically evolving during the process. Simulations of NPD processes using their specific contexts can provide project managers with decisions-making methods to test their planning. The design structure matrix (DSM) can be used to model the product knowledge; then, reordering algorithms are used for process planning. However, interpretation of the DSM-based plan is not unique, and its translation to a process workflow (WF) model may lead to implementation inconsistencies. WF nets, being a subclass of Petri nets, provide formal tools for verifying process properties. Well handled with Regular Iteration (WRI)-WF nets are a subclass of WF nets that are sound by construction and, therefore, enable an automated process-build approach. This paper presents a formal translation of the DSM-based plan to a process-scheme model, the DSM net, which can be executed and simulated. Using several translation stages, it is proved that the resulting DSM net is equivalent to a WRI-WF net. Therefore, the proposed translation is inherently sound and can be automated, becoming an enabler of implementing evolving product knowledge into a sound changing-process model required for NPD simulations. The presented approach bridges an identified gap between the process-planning community (DSM) and the process-implementation community (Petri net).

A Taxonomic Classification of Visual Design Representations Used by Industrial Designers and Engineering Designers

ABSTRACTIn the context of new product development (NPD), research has shown that not having a common understanding of visual design representations (VDRs) has affected collaboration between industrial designers and engineering designers. The aim of the research presented in this paper was two-fold. Firstly, to identify the representations employed by industrial designers and engineering designers during NPD from a literature survey. Secondly, to define and categorize these representations in the form of a taxonomy that is a systematic organization of VDRs that are presently dispersed in the literature. For the development of the taxonomy, four measures encompassing orthogonality, spanning, completeness and usability were employed. It resulted in four groups consisting of sketches, drawings, models and prototypes. Validation was undertaken by means of an interview survey and further, presenting the taxonomy at an international conference. The results showed that no issues were raised by the respondents concerning the structure of the taxonomy or its components.

Improvement of CSCW software implementation in NPD: the CAM mechanism for a better adoption by users

Cooperation between disseminated actors is a key factor in improving new product development (NPD) performance. In the last years, numerous CSCW software applications have been introduced in the industry to support NPD with a low success rate. This is partly due to the limited insight of the organisational and human factors influencing user motivation during the first stages of CSCW software implementation. This research suggests that users adopt more rapidly those features of CSCW software with whom they are more familiar and that the adoption of other features of the application is reinforced by the various links connecting them with the preferred feature. We propose a CSCW integration protocol called the 'catching module mechanism' (CAMM) which exploits user's inclination towards a particular feature of a CSCW application by training them on that same feature. The CAMM was tested in the NPD context of Saint-Gobain Glass.

Investigating the Impact of Knowledge Management Factors on New Product Development Performance

Knowledge is recognized as an important weapon for new product development (NPD) performance, and many firms are beginning to manage the knowledge detained by their new product development processes. Researchers have investigated knowledge management factors such as enablers, creation processes, and performance. However, very few studies have explored the relationship between these factors in the context of new product development (NPD). To fill this gap, this article develops a research model which applies the knowledge management factors to the NPD context. The model includes five enablers: collaboration, trust, learning, team leadership characteristics, and t-shaped skills with an emphasis on the knowledge creation processes such as socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization. The results confirm the strong support of the research model and the impact of the independent variables (knowledge management enablers) on the dependent variables (knowledge creation and NPD performance). In light of these findings, the implications for both theory and practice are discussed.

New product development projects and project manager skill sets in the telecommunications industry

PurposeThis paper summarises a doctoral research study. The purpose is to provide a summary of the scope, literature review, main issues raised in the thesis, the application of case study research methodology, key research findings and potential areas for future research.Design/methodology/approachResearch reported here is based on a case study methodology for a better understanding of new product development (NPD) projects in the Australian Telecommunications service provider (Telco) industry, and what makes their project managers successful. Theoretical conclusions from the literature review were tested using empirical data from one‐on‐one interview with experienced project management professionals and major stakeholders (i.e. unit of data collection). Sample projects (i.e. units of analysis) were analysed to gain a better understanding of Telco NPD projects and the skill sets required for their success.FindingsA theoretical skill set framework of technical, leadership, managerial and administrative skills, has been proposed and summarised with clear definitions grounded in the recent management and leadership literature and with a rationale of how they contribute to project management success that this thesis fleshes out. This framework was empirically proven to define successful Telco NPD project managers.Practical implicationsThe research study advances knowledge of projects and their practices in a specific Telco industry NPD context, and proposes a better description of successful project managers. Its results have important implications for hiring, developing and assigning project managers to projects in different phases. Generic project manager competency standards need to be complemented and adjusted in accord with the findings from this research.Originality/valueThis paper alerts academicians and practitioners to this research work on Telco industry NPD projects, and their project managers. It presents an up‐to‐date status of this industry, and requirements for project managers.