Involvement In New Product Development Research Articles

Structuring Supplier Involvement in New Product Development: A China–U.S. Study

ABSTRACTBuying and supplying organizations rely on each other for developing better products in an efficient manner, which explains the popularity of involving suppliers in new product development (NPD). However, such involvement is not always successful, partially due to the challenges of structuring a buyer–supplier team to manage joint dependence and dependence asymmetry. This study adopts an organizational dependence view to examine how three types of intergroup structures—administrative (formalization and centralization), task (task interdependence), and physical (colocation)—influence project performance and buyer learning in NPD projects. Furthermore, adopting a contingency theory perspective, we study whether the national context moderates the effects of intergroup structures on project outcomes. We adopt a two‐group structural equation modeling approach to test hypotheses with survey responses from a sample of NPD projects in the United States (US) and China. Results show different ways in which intergroup structures influence project performance and buyer learning in the two culturally, economically, and institutionally distinct countries. We discuss the implications of these new findings and present directions for future research.

Top Management Involvement in New Product Development: A Review and Synthesis

Established literature on new product development (NPD) management recognizes top management involvement (TMI) as one of the most critical success factors. With increasing pressure to sustain competitive advantage and growth, NPD activities remain the focus of close interest from top management in many organizations. TMI in the NPD domain is receiving increasing academic attention. Despite its criticality, there is no systematic review of the existing literature to inform and stimulate researchers in the field for further investigation. This paper introduces the current state of literature on TMI in NPD, synthesizes important findings, and identifies the gaps and deficiencies in this research stream. The contents of the selected articles, which investigated TMI in NPD, are analyzed based on the type of the study, level of analysis, research methodology, operationalization of TMI, and main findings. Additionally, other studies, which did not directly investigate TMI and support in NPD, but were sufficiently related, are briefly summarized. As a result of this detailed literature review, it can be stated that both exploratory and relational studies provide rich evidence on the critical role of top management in NPD. However, the identified gaps and deficiencies in this research stream call for a better theoretical understanding and well‐defined constructs of TMI in the NPD domain for different levels of analysis for future studies.

External involvement and firm performance: is time-to-market of new products a missing link?

External involvement in new product development (NPD) has received increasing attention from both academicians and practitioners in recent years. While external involvement has been studied extensively, the academic understanding on how external involvement influences firm performance and the role of time-to-market of new products is still very limited. Drawing on the literature on innovation search and knowledge-based view, we develop a conceptual framework in which external involvement is linked to time-to-market of new products and firm performance. We tested this model using data collected from 176 manufacturing companies in China. The results indicate that both customer and supplier involvement can contribute to the reduction of time-to-market of new products. We also show that time-to-market of new products completely mediates the relationships between two types of external involvement and two dimensions of firm performance. These findings have important implications for research and practice in both the external involvement and the NPD areas.

Don't Trust Trust: A Dynamic Approach to Controlling Supplier Involvement in New Product Development

Prior literature stresses the importance for manufacturers to use formal and informal controls to coordinate collaborative new product development activities with suppliers. In doing so, the existence of trust between manufacturers and suppliers is believed to play a key role because it enables manufacturers to reduce investments in formal controls and rely more on less costly informal controls. Manufacturers and suppliers don't suddenly trust each other though: trust typically grows over time as the partners get to know each other. Trust may also decrease if manufacturers overuse formal controls or if suppliers underperform. These fluctuations in trust over the course of supplier–manufacturer relationships complicate the so‐called trust–control nexus and raise important questions about the impact of trust on the efficiency and effectiveness of formal and informal controls as coordination mechanisms. Therefore, this study examines how manufacturers should balance formal and informal controls over time to reap the full benefits of collaborative product development with suppliers. For that purpose, a conceptual and system dynamics model are developed, which incorporate the links among formal and informal controls, trust, and the supplier's development performance. In an empirical validation in the context of the shipbuilding industry, the results reject the notion that manufacturers must lessen formal controls and increase informal controls with trust. Instead, it is most efficient and effective to invest always in formal controls, particularly process control, to coordinate supplier involvement in new product development. These results have important theoretical and managerial implications: Informal controls are not as profitable as expected.

Direct and Mediated Effects of Product Modularity on Development Time and Product Performance

Product modularity is often considered a crucial driver for the improvement of new product development (NPD) performance, in terms of NPD time and product performance, especially in those contexts characterized by a high product variety and constantly changing demand. However, quantitative studies demonstrating these links are scant and an increasing amount of anecdotal evidence suggests that there is a need to develop a more complete theory on the effects of product modularity on NPD time and product performance by examining the potential mediating effect of supplier involvement in NPD. To meet this need, we analyzed the impact of product modularity on NPD time and product performance, and whether supplier involvement in NPD can mediate “modularity-NPD time” and “modularity-product performance” relationships. Data from a sample of 201 manufacturing plants demonstrate that product modularity significantly affects NPD time and product performance. In addition, the impact of modularity was partially mediated by the involvement of suppliers in NPD. A better understanding of this effect can contribute to clarifying the mechanisms by which product modularity affects NPD time and product performance and thus could give guidance to managers on how to lever product modularity in order to improve the NPD process.

Open innovation and user s involvement in new product development: a case study in the automotive sector

Innovation is an essential factor for obtaining competitive advantages. The search for external knowledge sources for product creation, which can contribute to the innovation process, has become a constant among companies, and users play an important role in this search. In this study, we aimed to analyze user's involvement in the product development process based on open innovation concepts. We used the unique case study research method. This study was carried out in an automotive company that has developed a project of a concept car involving user's through the Web 2.0. With such scope, the research demonstrates that users can contribute not only with generation of ideas but also with the innovation process itself.

Performance impact of new product development processes for distinct scenarios under different supplier–manufacturer relationships

Although supplier involvement in new product development (NPD) projects has become increasingly important for strengthening a firm's competitive position, few studies have investigated the impact of changing research and development (R&D) workloads in NPD. According to the level of design-related characteristics including design-related communication and design-related nature, we identify four types of supplier–manufacturer relationships: sequential mode, passive supplier involvement, active supplier involvement, and strategic development. Differing from qualitative and survey-oriented research, this study proposes a system dynamics model for the quantitative exploration of workload impacts on R&D-system equilibrium under different supplier–manufacturer relationships. We justify experimentally the NPD performances of these supplier–manufacturer relationship configurations under workload impacts and provide managerial insights.

PREDICTING NEW PRODUCT SALES: THE POST-LAUNCH PERFORMANCE OF 215 INNOVATORS

New product sales are hard to predict. Our analysis of sales performance two years after market launch reveals that three groups of factors do not increase the accuracy of predicting new product sales: (1) A firm's general experience and experience with innovation; (2) High technological competences and strong knowledge networks; (3) Customer involvement in new product development. R&D managers should realise that experience with innovation as well as high technological competences, while possibly helpful during the development stage, do not necessarily enhance an accurate prediction of new product sales. Moreover, other than intuitively expected, networking can be ambiguous: It reduces uncertainty about future sales performance by providing information; but it may also enhance knowledge leaking to competitors, thus increasing probabilities of unexpected failure.

Value for value—The dynamics of supplier value in collaborative new product development

Suppliers are recognized as an important source of innovation. Research into supplier involvement in new product development has shown that benefits can potentially be reaped by customers. However, a relatively unexplored precondition is the willingness of suppliers to invest in their customers’ innovative efforts. In this exploratory, theory-extending research, we investigate the value that a supplier can experience from being involved in high tech firms’ new product development. We find that value comes in three forms for suppliers: (1) financial payment for sales volumes and product development services, (2) technological knowledge and product designs, and the (3) reputation of doing business with leading-edge firms Additionally, we place this in a dynamic, long-term perspective, and find indications for a positive or negative feedback effect, depending on the emphasis the buyer puts on collaborative innovation with the supplier and the extent to which suppliers can use competences, knowledge and reputation resulting from the collaboration in subsequent business development activities. The positive effect results in added value for both parties in the dyad, and the negative effect leads to the opposite.

Users Involvement in New Product Development Process: A Designers' Perspectives

The purpose of this paper is to study user's involvement in new product development (NPD). It seeks to identify the factors involving user and design practices in the design process of new product development. A survey was conducted on 20 respondents consisting of designers involved in product development from various industries. The study focused on the early activities of the product design process which is called product specification. The analysis performed considers the importance of involving users in design decision. The outcome of this research is the significance of involving users and its effect on product development activities. The research also provides a model for an integrated user, designer and product knowledge activity in the product development process.

Supply network delegation and intervention strategies during supplier involvement in new product development

PurposeThis paper proposes and empirically investigates two strategies that companies can employ to involve indirect suppliers in new product development (NPD): supply network delegation; and supply network intervention. The implications of the two strategies are explored.Design/methodology/approachThe paper brings together the traditional NPD literature, organizational behaviour and organizational economics literature, and reports on three in‐depth case studies of NPD projects, involving 39 semi‐structured interviews across three supply networks.FindingsThe findings reveal different manifestations of the two strategies of supply network intervention and delegation, when applied as part of supplier involvement in product development, and positive and negative indications of delegation and intervention, depending on the actor perspective: manufacturers perceive a need to control the product development process across several supply network tiers through intervention in supplier selection and communication, but these actions are likely to “tie the hands of the suppliers”.Practical implicationsManagers are advised to explicitly delegate decisions to suppliers, for example, by issuing parts approval lists and encouraging communication and problem solving amongst suppliers, and to exercise caution in applying the intervention strategy.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to a better understanding of how to involve indirect (sub‐) suppliers in product development, and the implications of these actions for multiple supply network actors.

An empirical study on the influencing factors of supplier involvement in new product development

This research identifies six driving factors and twelve enabling factors for supplier involvement in new product development (SINPD) in China via a meta-analysis of the extant literature and a survey of over 100 Chinese manufacturing enterprises. Results show that most suppliers of Chinese manufacturing enterprises engage in new product development at middle or later phase, and the degree of involvement is usually high. Moreover, there are differences in the implementation of SINPD in enterprises of different sizes, types, and industries. The impact of different driving factors and enabling factors on SINPD implementation also varies with enterprise types.

Supplier involvement in new product development and innovation: Taking stock and looking to the future

This paper provides a comprehensive and critical review and synthesis of the current state of empirical research into supplier involvement in new product development (NPD). The paper begins by defining supplier involvement in NPD and evaluating the rationale for supplier involvement in NPD. This suggests that early and extensive supplier involvement in NPD projects has the potential to improve NPD effectiveness and efficiency, however, existing research remains fragmented and empirical findings to date show conflicting results. The paper takes stock of the research on supplier involvement in NPD, tracing the origins of the literature to the late 1980s, and evaluating the development of the field up to the present day. From this broad base of empirical research the analysis identifies a set of factors affecting the success of supplier involvement projects. The paper concludes with a discussion of two emerging themes: (1) supplier relationship development and adaptation; (2) supply network involvement in product innovation.

Key strategies for the successful involvement of customers in the co‐creation of new technology‐based services

PurposeThe aim is to propose a conceptual framework consisting of research propositions concerning the key strategies required for the successful involvement of customers in the co‐creation of new technology‐based services.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology involves a single case study from which data are derived and analyzed using the grounded theory methodology of “constant comparative analysis.” User‐generated ideas for future mobile phone services are collected from four user involvement projects and analyzed at several workshops attended by senior managers from telecommunications firms.FindingsSeven key strategies are identified as being essential for successful user involvement in new product development. Each strategy is described and illustrated in relation to existing theory and presented as a research proposition.Research limitations/implicationsThe exploratory nature of the research means that the findings are tentative and need to be confirmed in other settings by other researchers, including quantitative large‐scale studies.Practical implicationsThe results of the study provide management with guidelines for organizing successful user involvement projects with a market‐oriented approach.Originality/valueDespite the increasing popularity of user involvement, little research has examined the conditions required for successful user involvement in new product development. This study makes an original contribution by proposing strategies critical for a successful outcome.

Supplier involvement in new product development projects: dimensionality and contingency effects

In contrast to previous literature, we hypothesize supplier involvement in new product development (NPD) projects to be multidimensional in nature and test this assumption using data from a large sample of NPD projects. We also test the contingent influence of supplier involvement on NPD project performance. The results supported the claim of multidimensionality of supplier involvement. Three distinct factors–communication and information sharing, design involvement and infrastructure–comprising supplier involvement were found. These factors were significantly related to one or more measures of NPD project performance. The study also found support for the contingent influence of market stability on the supplier involvement–NPD project performance relationships. The results suggest that managers ought to consider adopting different bundles of supplier involvement practices that depend on the level of stability in markets and also on the type of NPD performance objective that is being considered.

Managing Supplier Involvement in New Product Development: A Multiple‐Case Study*

Existing studies of supplier involvement in new product development have mainly focused on project‐related short‐term processes and success factors. This study validates and extends an existing exploratory framework, which comprises both long‐term strategic processes and short‐term operational processes that are related to supplier involvement. The empirical validation is based on a multiple‐case study of supplier collaborations at a manufacturer in the copier and printer industry. The analysis of eight cases of supplier involvement reveals that the results of supplier–manufacturer collaborations and the associated issues and problems can best be explained by the patterns in the extent to which the manufacturer manages supplier involvement in the short term and the long term. The results of this study reveal that the initial framework is helpful in understanding why certain collaborations are not effectively managed yet conclude that the existing analytical distinction among four different management areas does not sufficiently reflect empirical reality. This leads to the reconceptualization and further detailing of the framework. Instead of four managerial areas, this study proposes to distinguish between the strategic management arena and the operational management arena. The strategic management arena contains processes that together provide long‐term, strategic direction and operational support for project teams adopting supplier involvement. These processes also contribute to building up a supplier base that can meet current and future technology and capability needs. The operational management arena contains processes that are aimed at planning, managing, and evaluating the actual collaborations in a specific development project. The results of this study suggest that success of involving suppliers in product development is reflected by the firm's ability to capture both short‐ and long‐term benefits. If companies spend most of their time on operational management in development projects, they will fail to use the leverage effect of planning and preparing such involvement through strategic management activities. Also, they will not be sufficiently able to capture possible long‐term technology and learning benefits that may spin off from individual projects. Long‐term collaboration benefits can only be captured if a company can build long‐term relationships with key suppliers, with which it builds learning routines and ensures that the capability sets of both parties are aligned and remain useful for future joint projects.

Strategic and Operational Management of Supplier Involvement in New Product Development: A Contingency Perspective

This paper examines how firms succeed to leverage supplier involvement in product development. The paper extends earlier work on managing supplier involvement by providing an integrated analysis of results, processes, and conditions at the level of both the individual development projects and the overall firm. Following a multiple-case study approach with theoretical sampling, the study is carried out by examining eight projects in which four manufacturers from different industries involve multiple suppliers. The findings suggest that successful supplier involvement is dependent on the coordinated design, execution, and evaluation of strategic long-term processes and operational short-term management processes and the presence of enabling factors such as a cross-functional oriented organization. The required intensity of these processes and enablers depends on contingencies such as firm size and environmental uncertainty. In contrast with previous research, we find no indications that managing supplier involvement requires a different approach in highly innovative projects compared to less-innovative projects.

An in-process customer utility prediction system for product conceptualisation

Customer involvement in new product development, especially in the early stage of product conceptualisation, plays an important role for a successful product. In this study, a customer utility prediction system (CUPS) is proposed. The system comprises two modules, namely design knowledge acquisition module and customer utility evaluation module. In the design knowledge acquisition module, a knowledge acquisition technique called general sorting is utilised to establish a design knowledge hierarchy (DKH), in which design options can be generated. In the same module, customer voices towards diverse design options called customer-sensitive design criteria are solicited from customer requirements. Subsequently, in the customer utility evaluation module, a measurement for customer desirability, i.e. customer utility index (CUI), is formulated using conjoint analysis (CA) technique. Finally, the rated criteria are also used as inputs to a radial basis function (RBF) neural network for in-process customer utility prediction. A case study on cellular phone design is used to illustrate the proposed approach.

THE ROLE OF LOGISTICS IN NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

For many firms, a program of successful new product development (NPD) projects is critical to overall company strategy. However, the role of logistics in NPD has rarely been researched. The purpose of this paper is to empirically test the relationship between logistics involvement in new product development and improvements in NPD project performance and NPD logistics performance. Senior logistics managers in manufacturing firms in the United States were surveyed to test these relationships. The analysis demonstrated NPD project performance and NPD logistics performance improved with the involvement of logistics in NPD.

Customer involvement in new product development

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to create an increased understanding of new product development processes concerning customer involvement. A relationship marketing perspective has provided the theoretical basis, allowing a new perspective.Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative, multiple case study, based on in‐depth interviews in three small companies and three large, multinational enterprises has been carried out.Findings – The findings indicate the value of cross‐functional teams and customer involvement. The use of formal methods for customer involvement, however, is found to be limited. Some creative ways of using cross‐functional teams in small companies are described.Research limitations/implications – A framework for customer involvement in new product development, based on the levels of relationships, is proposed. This framework conceptualises the customer‐involvement options identified in earlier research, based on the levels of relationship as defined in relationship marketing theory....