New Product Development Framework Research Articles

A Methodological Framework for New Product Development in Fuzzy Environments

New product development (NPD) is crucial for helping companies to maintain competitive advantages. In this study, a methodological framework is presented combining a novel Kano model and fuzzy axiomatic design (FAD) for improving the product development capability in the whole NPD process. In the Kano model, a novel mixed-class classification method is presented to classify each evaluation indicator agreed on by the majority, and to calculate the affiliation value based on category strength (CS) to display the degree to which the indicator belongs to a certain attribute. A new importance ratio is also proposed to adjust the importance of each indicator attribute. This helps to achieve higher customer satisfaction and improve the attractiveness of the product or service. FAD is then used to measure the gap between customer satisfaction and the company’s expected levels of satisfaction in terms of product functions. This enables the company to obtain more comprehensive information for decision-making. A case study is provided to verify the practicability of the proposed method. Sensitivity analysis proves the robustness of the results based on the number of respondents. Finally, comparative analysis with existing approaches demonstrates the strengths of the proposed method.

Synchronizing decisions: A dynamic programming, real option framework for New Product Development with stage-to-stage correlations

Much research has investigated the application of real options to staged, new product development projects. Still, this literature has not addressed an important intuition�that bad projects may stay bad. A new product development project or a technology startup backed venture capital may include stage-to-stage dependencies. Its �state� at one gate may influence the transition probabilities at later gates. We develop a novel real option model that captures this intuition using dynamic programming and serial correlations. In a subsequent paper, we introduce partial derivatives similar to the Greeks that we named �control maps�. These control maps will assist the firm�s management to assess the financial impact of resource reallocations to project success factors. Such reallocations have the intent of turning bad projects into good ones. Thus, the proposed framework enables management to synchronize its management decision with financial ones.

The Role of Marketing Function in the New Product Development Process in the Hotel Industry

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of marketing function in New Product Development(NPD) in the hotel industry.
 Method: In the research, using in-dept interviews with ten hotel managers and executives in the UK and South Korea, data were collected in the area of NPD.
 Results: Overall, this research found that categorization of new products in general in not fully applied to the hotel industry, due to their varied characteristics, including intangibility, heterogeneity, perishability and inseparability. However, the predevelopment stages was emphasized by the entire process and to a perversion of the concept of the product itself. In order to launch a new product successfully, the role of marketing is more than ever vital, leading activities in the commercialization.
 Conclusion: In conclusion, the results of this paper suggest that sophisticated market research is not performed as part of the process, but it is carried out throughout the process to monitoring market changes in the hotel industry. This study, furthermore, require into the specific NPD framework with a specific example of a new product in an organization, which would contribute to setting more systemic behavior for practitioners of NPD in hotels.

An Assembly-Oriented Design Framework for Additive Manufacturing

The shape complexity capability of additive manufacturing (AM) is currently the main thrust of the design for AM (DFAM) research. In order to aid designers embracing that complexity-for-free characteristics of AM, many design approaches have been put forth. However, AM does not only benefit parts’ designs: its capability can be harnessed at assembly level to design performant and innovative products. Most of the few contributions on the topic are concerned with part consolidation of existing assemblies, but other advantages such as assembly-free mechanisms, multi-material components, or even component embedding can also improve product design complexity. This paper aims to put forth a thorough DFAM framework for new product development (made of multiple parts) and which consider all the assembly-related characteristics of AM. It considers what can be called AM-based architecture minimization, which includes, among others, part consolidation and assembly-free mechanisms as well. Within context of an ‘AM-factory’, in which the most appropriate machine(s) is/are selected for easing a whole assembly manufacturing before the detailed geometric definition is committed. For the sake of completeness, a methodology based on functional flows has also been investigated for the parts’ design. A gripper as case study has been introduced to illustrate the framework.

A Scrum-based framework for new product development in the non-software industry

Scrum is an iterative and incremental development framework that, nowadays, is mainly used for software development. In this work, a Scrum-Based New Product Development (SBNPD) approach is introduced. This new framework stems from the basis of Scrum and incorporates tools suitable for being applied to the design and development of physical products. The proposed approach implies that feedback from early adopters is to be gathered throughout the whole project, thereby driving to validated learning within a co-creation process. A case study illustrates how the SBNPD framework is applied for the development of a physical product within the dental industry.

Exploring the Role of Project Management in Product Development of New Technology-Based Firms

This article explores the role of project management in the product development of new technology-based firms (NTBFs). For this qualitative study, we conducted a series of semi-structured in-depth interviews with 36 NTBFs. Consequently, we discovered a set of practices that are applied in the new product development (NPD) process and, based on entrepreneurs’ perceptions, link them to the success dimensions of NTBFs. Our findings indicate that entrepreneurs apply Lean startup and agile approaches to project management to a large extent. Moreover, we identify key contingencies for approach selection and propose a framework for NPD in an entrepreneurial context. The study contributes to the literature by integrating project management, new product development, and entrepreneurial perspectives.

An enterprise centric analytical risk assessment framework for new product development

This research intends to aid product managers at early stages (before detailed design stage) of product development to identify and thus benchmark the minimal risk prone design concept for further ...

New product development: the arch gate to business sustainability - a case of a confectionery brand in Indonesia

New product development (NPD) is an important element for companies. Managing a continuous and successful NPD is a necessity for business sustainability. The research was based on a case study of a confectionery brand in Indonesia. The brand has unique characteristics, i.e., it is a global product serving Asian region, the demand is festive, and the sales channel are mainly impulse. New product development is important for the brand sustainability, and the research was to study the overview of the NPD process for the brand, its driving forces, and key success factors. The study used a qualitative methodology, where key learning derived from in-depth interviews, documentation and observation. The overall process of NPD was summarised as proposed NPD framework for the studied brand.

New product development: the arch gate to business sustainability - a case of a confectionery brand in Indonesia

New product development (NPD) is an important element for companies. Managing a continuous and successful NPD is a necessity for business sustainability. The research was based on a case study of a confectionery brand in Indonesia. The brand has unique characteristics, i.e., it is a global product serving Asian region, the demand is festive, and the sales channel are mainly impulse. New product development is important for the brand sustainability, and the research was to study the overview of the NPD process for the brand, its driving forces, and key success factors. The study used a qualitative methodology, where key learning derived from in-depth interviews, documentation and observation. The overall process of NPD was summarised as proposed NPD framework for the studied brand.

A Risk Management Framework for New Product Development: A Case Study

This research designed and implemented a supply chain risk management platform and applied it to a case study of reduced-fat Lanna pork sausage as a new product development project. The proposed framework has three stages: risk identification, risk assessment, and risk mitigation. Seventeen risk agents with 17 risk events were identified based on SWOT analysis and the Porter Five Forces concept through the process of planning, sourcing, making and delivering, partially captured from the supply chain operations reference model in the first stage. In the second stage, an house of risk (HOR) framework was applied to present the impacts of each risk agent. In the third stage, eight risk agents with high impact were selected to design 21 preventive actions. Finally, three preventive actions with the highest effectiveness to difficulty ratio scores-'sales evaluation of familiar products', 'increasing distribution channels and promotions to improve sales', and 'work flow improvement for work safety'-were then recommended for this new product development.

New Product Development Framework for Multinational Multi-locations based Organizations in South East Asia

The ability of organizations to introduce new products faster, more frequently, and of higher quality is a distinct competitive advantage. To further improves competitiveness, some multinational organizations had relocated their Research and Development (R&D), design and manufacturing activities to South East Asia region in order to gain geographical and economical advantages. Hence, New Product Development (NPD) in the new multinational organizations in South East Asia often involves the coordination of activities across multi-locations teams. Thus, based on Theory of Integrated-Product Development, this paper proposed a new conceptual NPD integrated framework for multinational and multi-locations based organizations in South East Asia. The new integrated NPD framework consists of five NPD phases, namely Opportunity Identification, Concept Development, Design & Development, Product Testing and Product Commercialization. The proposed framework promotes multiple feedback loops, parallel execution and concurrent workflow of NPD activities. The new framework has descriptive value in terms of studying, classifying and defining the relationships that govern process and management aspects of NPD within multinational and multi-locations based organizations in South East Asia.

A Governance Framework for the Idea-to-Launch Process: Development and Application of a Governance Framework for New Product Development

OVERVIEW:Many companies use some form of idea-to-launch process with staged gates for their new product development (NPD). This article reports the development of a governance framework for improving NPD decision making in complex product portfolios with short product life cycles. Refining governance Stage-Gate controls in six brand businesses in the footwear and apparel industry resulted in notable productivity improvement with management better able to find the “sweet spot” that balances creativity and control. A significant development is that cash profit growth is being planned from smaller product portfolios. The six brands reported an aggregate 49 percent increase in cash profit per product. Improving the level of governance controls in NPD can deliver improved portfolio cash margins and build greater confidence and conviction in product selection.

An integrated new product development framework – an application on green and low-carbon products

Companies need to be innovative to survive in today's competitive market; thus, new product development (NPD) has become very important. This research constructs an integrated NPD framework for developing new products. In stage one, customer attributes (CAs) and engineering characteristics (ECs) for developing products are collected, and fuzzy interpretive structural modelling (FISM) is applied to understand the relationships among these critical factors. Based on quality function deployment (QFD), a house of quality is then built, and fuzzy analytic network process (FANP) is adopted to calculate the relative importance of ECs. In stage two, fuzzy failure mode and effects analysis (FFMEA) is applied to understand the potential failures of the ECs and to determine the importance of ECs with respect to risk control. In stage three, a goal programming (GP) model is constructed to consider the outcome from the FANP-QFD, FFMEA and other objectives, in order to select the most important ECs. Due to pollution and global warming, environmental protection has become an important topic. With both governments and consumers developing environmental consciousness, successful green and low-carbon NPD provides an important competitive advantage, enabling the survival or renewal of firms. The proposed framework is implemented in a panel manufacturing firm for designing a green and low-carbon product.

The new product development process in the mechanical industry: evidences from some Italian case studies

New product development (NPD) refers to the process of bringing a new product or service to market and involves several steps. NPD involves cooperating with organizations within and outside the primary manufacturing company, consequently, interaction between NPD and supply chain management (SCM) is understood to be a crucial success factor. The aim of this paper is to explore the relationship between NPD and SCM in the specific context of the Italian mechanical industry. Based on analysis of the extant literature on NPD and SCM, an NPD framework was first developed; then, a case study-based research was carried out, with the purpose of investigating whether the companies analyzed adopt the NPD framework proposed, or at identifying different phases to be included in the framework, as well as phases to be deleted. Findings from this study provide managers with a preliminary picture of the NPD framework that the mechanical companies adopt, as well as with some useful guidelines for companies wishing to perform better in terms of NPD. Keywords : new product development, supply chain management, mechanical industry, Italy, case study.

Alliance market orientation, new product development, and resource advantage theory

PurposeThis study aims to examine the role of market orientation as a relationship property. This property, labeled “alliance market orientation”, is at the inter‐firm level and is related to the new product development (NPD) activities of alliances. The main objectives of this article are: to define the alliance market orientation; to argue that it is a major factor in NPD alliance success; and to argue that the resource‐advantage (R‐A) theory of competition can provide a theoretical foundation for this concept and explain its contribution to alliances' NPD success.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is conceptual in approach.FindingsIn their efforts to strengthen relationships, alliances may tend to focus so much time on the relationship factors that they miss market opportunities. As a spanning process, NPD should be informed by both external and internal activities. alliance market orientation assists alliances in guiding NPD activities from outside to inside and vice versa. As a dynamic and disequilibrium provoking process, the R‐A theory of competition can theoretically ground the concept of alliance market orientation and explain its role in NPD alliance success.Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributes to business marketing theory in three ways: it extends the concept of intra‐organizational market orientation to an inter‐organizational context; the alliance market orientation concept contributes to understanding the role of idiosyncratic resources in alliances; and the R‐A theory of competition can theoretically ground the concept of alliance market orientation and provide insights to develop it further.Originality/valueThis study is the first to extend the concept of market orientation into inter‐organizational NPD framework and to examine the role of alliance market orientation in NPD alliance success.

A Preliminary Strategic Marketing Framework for New Product Development

This article responds to the identified considerations and gaps in existing research on the way a new idea is transformed into a market-accepted new product. Utilizing the findings of an extensive theoretical analysis and empirical investigation on the subject, this research studies new product development within a wider strategic marketing context. The research interrelates three different perspectives: the process-defining perspective, that identifies and refines the managerial implications and theoretical considerations; the value-defining perspective, which investigates the various types and stakeholders of value; and the context-defining (contemporary consumer behavior and strategic marketing) perspective, which positions the entire innovation process within the comprehensive set of environmental and organizational processes and factors. The article concludes with the development of a preliminary Contemporary Strategic Framework for New Product Development. The framework answers the various theoretical considerations on the subject, incorporating the various processes’ stages and interrelationships within a single descriptive system. In addition, it provides constructive functional managerial value through potential practical implementation and prescriptive interpretation.

Green Design Framework for New Product Development

Green Design Framework for New Product Development

An integrated fuzzy QFD framework for new product development

An important source of competitive advantage, survival and renewal for firms is the successful new product development (NPD). Quality function deployment (QFD) aims to facilitate the NPD process from product conceptualization to production requirements; however, conventional QFD has its shortcomings. Even though modified QFD models have been proposed in literature, a comprehensive model is necessary. In this paper, factors in each phase of the QFD is prepared first through literature review and interview with domain experts. Fuzzy Delphi method is adopted to select the critical factors, and fuzzy interpretive structural modeling is applied to determine the relationships among the critical factors. The results are then used to construct houses of quality for QFD, which is incorporated by fuzzy analytic network process. A case study of a thin film transistor liquid crystal display firm is carried out to verify the practicality of the proposed framework.

An integrated framework for new product development using who-when-where-why-what-how (5W1H), theory of inventive problem solving and patent information – a case study

Companies are not expected to compete and survive with their same/similar products in today's dynamic and turbulent market conditions. Therefore, companies are in search of an agile new product development (NPD) approach in order to respond to rapid changes in the market without ignoring innovativeness as well. Beside these considerations, the companies are still calling for a cheap, robust and fast available method which can enhance the whole product development process. The existing NPD capabilities of the companies would be better to be utilised in order to overcome the well-known obstacles. There are a lot of creativity management tools, techniques and sources available without additional charge in order to achieve the above purpose. It should be noted that those tools and techniques are quite similar with special pros and cons of each. In this article, a novel framework is proposed for NPD process that integrates three of those techniques. The proposed framework merges theory of inventive problem solving methodology with a patent alarm system which enables tracking of 'trend changes' in patenting activities. It also introduces a modified idea-generation scheme with who- when- where- why- what- how (5W1H) methodology that helps companies to drive inventions/innovations and inspires ideas that escape from 'ordinary' and 'linear' thinking.

Soft‐system knowledge management framework for new product development

PurposeIn today's knowledge economy, a major challenge for the managers is to effectively link the knowledge management (KM) initiatives with the ever‐changing organizational needs. The problem arises due to disjoint strategic alignment between these two, which is mainly due to inappropriate KM framework and adoption of some quick‐fix solutions to achieve business results. Hence, for effective management and utilization of knowledge assets, KM initiative should be dovetailed to link with key organizational goals like new product development (NPD), customer satisfaction and manufacturing excellence. The purpose of this paper is to propose a suitable KM system.Design/methodology/approachThis paper proposes an approach for KM system development to ensure a fit between the organizational needs during NPD and KM initiatives. Soft system methodology (SSM) has been adopted to design this framework.FindingsThis research identified a list of knowledge‐sharing methods, which help in intra‐level or inter‐level knowledge flow. The proposed framework highlights the hierarchal nature and bi‐directional flow of knowledge. Further, this work observed that there are two additional key enablers to effective knowledge management system – competency and infrastructure.Research limitations/implicationsThis work focuses on an auto‐component supplier in India. Therefore, this work is limited by the organizational culture, location, business model and the sector in which this research was done.Originality/valueThis paper suggests that a technical knowledge driven process like NPD has three strategic enablers – technology, people and process. The sustenance of the NPD process is affected by the balance among these enablers. Fundamentally, a comprehensive and integrative framework not only ensures a structured framework but also helps in better adoption due to stakeholders' buy‐in of the process.