Involvement In Product Development Research Articles

The ambiguous impact of supplier involvement in product development on supplier relationship resilience and company performance

PurposeI aimed to obtain a deeper insight into the link between supplier involvement in product development (SIPD), supplier relationship resilience and company performance.Design/methodology/approachTo collect data, a survey among 500 Polish manufacturing companies was conducted. I used quantitative methods (structural equation modeling) to test several research hypotheses referring to a single supplier–customer relationship. Thanks to the use of multi-construct measurement of SIPD and supplier relationship resilience, the study provides detailed research results on the topic.FindingsCollaborative practices implemented during SIPD increase procurement flexibility and decrease redundancy in the relationship with the involved supplier. Communication during SIPD increases supplier flexibility and procurement flexibility. Increased supplier flexibility and increased procurement flexibility in the relationship with the involved supplier as well as collaborative practices during SIPD positively impact company performance. I confirmed the indirect effect between communication during SIPD and company performance when the mediators are supplier flexibility and procurement flexibility. Decreased redundancy in relationship with involved supplier does not impact company performance.Practical implicationsSupply chain managers need to rethink SIPD practice to effectively ensure supply chain resilience (SCRES), especially in the face of the contemporary global crisis and black swans affecting the supplier base. My article provides important managerial insights into drivers of SCRES and company performance.Originality/valueTo the best of my knowledge, this research is among the first to conclude that SIPD does not have an unequivocally positive or direct impact on supplier relationship resilience. The research fills the gap by analyzing the impact of SIPD on two main SCRES elements. The study examines supplier relationship resilience, understood as flexibility and redundancy elements, in a single supplier–buyer relationship perspective. Thus, the presented considerations go beyond the traditional understanding of flexibility and redundancy in supplier relationship management, that is through the prism of double or multi sourcing and having back up-suppliers.

Strengthening Puspa Lebo Sidoarjo Development Through Pentahelix Collaboration: A Qualitative Analysis


 
 
 
 
 
 This study analyzes the development of Puspa Lebo Sidoarjo by employing the pentahelix approach, fostering cooperation among government, industry, academia, society, and the media. Using a qualitative approach with in-depth interviews, direct observation, and documentation, the study demonstrates that the pentahelix approach effectively enhances the area's development. The local government provides policy and regulatory support, enabling East Java agribusiness growth, while industry contributes to product development and marketing networks. Academics play a role in product research, development, and human resource improvement. Communities offer support and active involvement in product development and marketing, while the media provides positive coverage and promotions. The implications of this research underscore the significance of collaborative efforts among multiple sectors in regional development, showcasing the potential of the pentahelix model in fostering sustainable growth.
 Highlight:
 
 Pentahelix Collaboration: The study explores the effectiveness of the pentahelix approach, emphasizing the cooperation between government, industry, academia, society, and the media in advancing the development of Puspa Lebo Sidoarjo.
 Multisectoral Contributions: The research highlights the significant contributions of different sectors in the development process, including the local government's policy support, industry's involvement in product development and marketing, academics' role in research and human resource improvement, community support, and the media's positive coverage and promotions.
 Sustainability and Growth: The implications suggest that collaborative efforts among multiple sectors are vital for achieving sustainable regional development, showcasing the potential of the pentahelix model in fostering continued growth in the area.
 
 Keyword: Puspa Lebo Sidoarjo, Pentahelix Approach, Regional Development, Collaboration, Qualitative Analysis
 
 
 
 
 

The effects of the fuzzy front end and cross-functional interfaces in the NPD process

PurposeAs the start of a new product development (NPD) process, the front fuzzy end (FFE) is believed to determine new product performance to a large extent. However, its effects on new product performance, particularly in terms of quality and cost, lack empirical evidence in the extant literature. Moreover, the joint performance effects of the FFE and cross-functional interfaces in later NPD stages (i.e. product development and product launch) are largely overlooked and deserve further investigation. Therefore, this study aims to explore the direct effects of the FFE and later stages’ joint moderating effects on new product performance (i.e. quality and cost) from a holistic process view.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual model is proposed to hypothesize the FFE–new product performance relationships and the joint performance effects of cross-functional interface management. A sample of 196 firms from an international survey is used and hierarchical linear regression is employed to test the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThis study finds that FFE implementation contributes to both new product quality and cost performance. Moreover, interface management in multiple NPD stages has synergistic performance effects. Specifically, the FFE, customer involvement in product development and manufacturing flexibility in product launch jointly improve new product quality performance, while the FFE, supplier involvement in product development and manufacturing flexibility in product launch jointly improve new product cost performance.Originality/valueThis study extends the NPD literature by deepening the understanding of the key roles of the FFE on new product performance and evidencing the synergistic effects of cross-functional interfaces in multiple NPD stages. Further, this study also highlights the differential joint moderating effects of interface management in later NPD stages on new product quality and cost performance. This study also offers insightful implications to NPD managers.

Survey for Government Policies Regarding Strategies for the Commercialization and Globalization of Digital Therapeutics.

PurposeThis study was conducted to build a direction for government policies regarding strategies for the commercialization of digital therapeutics in Korea, as well as its globalization.Materials and MethodsThe study included 37 participants from the Korea Digital Health Industry Association (KODHIA). The data was based on a survey conducted in 2020 targeting employees of companies engaged in the digital health industry in Korea. Participants were asked about their involvement in product development of digital therapeutics and their opinion about the growing motivator for digital therapeutics in Korea and the global market.ResultsAccording to our data, among subjects not involved in making digital therapeutics products, the main reason for not being involved was the lack of experts (73.9%) and difficulty in licensing (73.9%). Responses concerning the priority area in need of national support were R&D funding (43.2%), and the next was licensing guidance and simplifying regulations (24.3%). Possible difficulties of overseas market expansion were the unfamiliarity in digital therapeutics technology verification and licensing structures of foreign countries (73%), and concerns regarding the level of recognition of clinical trials and technology in Korea from overseas (70.3%). Overall, respondents were hesitant in starting a related business due to the lack of government support and the complexity of the regulation process. Moreover, concerns about global market entry were similar. Being unfamiliar with the novel process and worrying about the achievement despite existing challenges were the biggest drawback.ConclusionFor the digital therapeutics industry to evolve domestically and internationally, government support and guidance are essential.

Supplier involvement in product development: Challenges and mitigating mechanisms from a supplier perspective

This article explores challenges that suppliers experience when being involved in customers’ product development projects, and how these challenges can be mitigated. It presents a framework of supplier involvement in product development involving four dimensions: People-Process-Tools/Technology-Interaction. The framework consists of 24 challenges and associated mitigating mechanisms. The article concludes that suppliers must be aware of the challenges to ensure that proper internal capabilities are in place within their organizations. It also argues that customers should be aware of the challenges to provide best possible prerequisites for suppliers to ensure successful project outcomes.

A Customer Integration Framework for the Development of Mass Customised Housing Projects

Mass customisation is a business strategy that aims to deliver a variety of products that fulfil customer requirements and, at the same time, keep price and delivery time within acceptable limits. It has been adopted in different sectors to increase value generation, including house building. A major challenge in mass customisation is customer integration, i.e., how to improve value generation by understanding and considering requirements from different customers, and defining their involvement in product development. Most studies on this topic tend to be technology-focused, often being limited to methods and digital tools to generate and display product alternatives. The aim of this paper is to propose a framework of decision categories for customer integration and for devising the scope of customisation to support the definition of mass customisation (MC) strategies. Design science research was the methodological approach adopted in this investigation. It was based on a literature review about mass customisation practices and also on an empirical study developed in a residential building company from Brazil. The main contribution of this paper is a framework for customer integration, which contains a set of decision categories related to the definition of the scope of customisation and customer integration, and a list of practices that are applicable to house building. A secondary contribution of this investigation is a set of constructs that have been used to describe the decision categories and their relationships.

The Impact of Supplier Involvement in Product Development on Supply Chain Risks and Supply Chain Resilience

The Impact of Supplier Involvement in Product Development on Supply Chain Risks and Supply Chain Resilience

Identification of international opportunities: A study of mature firms in mature industries

This study seeks to gain a better understanding of how small late internationalising (mature) firms operating in mature industry contexts, which seem largely ignored in international entrepreneurship research, identify primary and subsequent international opportunities. Integrating international opportunity and network literature, as well as adopting a multiple case study design, we build on the evidence obtained from two Swedish and two Norwegian late internationalising firms operating in medium-technology industries. Our findings highlight the vital importance of business ties for identification of both primary and subsequent international opportunities by mature firms operating in mature industries. We find that such firms may identify their primary international opportunities by both discovery and creation. Furthermore, the firms’ reputation in the domestic market, accumulated technological knowledge and needs for product customisation and/or customer involvement in product development, may indicate whether the firms tend to discover primary international opportunities or create them either by strengthening existing business ties or by forming new ones. With regard to subsequent international opportunities, creation is found to be a more likely way to identify opportunities. We show that ‘false’ (identified but not pursued) international opportunities, apart from generating a beneficial learning experience for both entrepreneurs and firms, prompt the entrepreneurs to (i) realise the urgency of needed strategic changes and (ii) identify future learning content, i.e. knowledge which should be acquired by the firm for successful pursuit of subsequent international opportunities.

Customer involvement in product development

PurposeBeing innovative and bringing new products to the market fast is important for firms to stay competitive. Customers are important for providing input to product developments in industrial markets. The purpose of this paper is to increase understanding of how firms use Voice of the Customer (VoC) in product development and how VoC can complement other customer involvement methods.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is based on a qualitative case study of a global leading and innovative firm, a maker of tools for the automotive industry. The study provides detailed insight into the implementation of VoC for product development.FindingsThe process of customer involvement in product development through VoC is explored. The study shows that by using the VoC method, firms can gather knowledge for input to product development projects while developing relationships with a larger number of customers. The findings point out that VoC can be modified to focus on customer needs related to product development as well as marketing efforts requiring cross-functional collaboration. The VoC method is suitable for combining with other customer involvement methods such as project involvement and pilot testing. Through VoC, firms have the chance to benchmark across industries and regions.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper provides insights into the VoC process of customer involvement aimed at product development. The case study provides an illustration of how an industrial firm uses VoC in product development. The paper points out the importance of managing external (customer) involvement in product development and internal (cross-functional) collaborations.Practical implicationsA set of questions that firms can ask themselves before embarking on customer involvement has been developed. The paper shows that customers can be involved at a number of points in time, have a wide range of roles and contribute different knowledge. VoC is suitable for combining with other customer involvement methods.Originality/valueThe contribution of the paper consists of a case study illustrating how customer involvement in product development can be achieved through VoC. A number of customer involvement methods for product development are discussed for combining with VoC, showing how different methods are complementary in product development.

Challenges with Supplier Involvement in Product Development: A Supplier’s Perspective

AbstractStudies of supplier involvement in product development have revealed potential benefits including faster time to market, reduced cost and increased quality. However, existing literature has mainly focused on the customer's perspective on advantages, disadvantages and factors to be considered when involving suppliers in product development. This paper addresses the supplier's perspective by answering following research question: How do challenges that originate from involvement in customer's product development affect a supplier? The question is answered through a single case study at a supplier that develops and manufacture products primary used in capital goods. Thirteen challenges are identified, classified as being internal or external, and categorised into five areas: (A) Customer requirements, (B) Information exchange between customer and supplier, (C) Product variety management, (D) Design- manufacturing integration and (E) Processes and work instructions. The findings suggest that internal challenges need as much attention as external ones that originate from the customer. Also, an indication of when the challenges affect the supplier during product development is presented.

Customer involvement, fashion consciousness, and loyalty for fast-fashion retailers

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how customer involvement in product development creates an emotional connection, satisfaction, and subsequent loyalty toward fast-fashion retailers across high vs low fashion-conscious consumers.Design/methodology/approachBoth qualitative and quantitative methods were used to gain understandings of the impacts of customer involvement. To explore customers’ general perceptions of fast-fashion retailers, a focus group interview with 11 US students was conducted. Data for a hypothesis test were obtained from 306 US female consumers and analyzed through structural equational modeling.FindingsThe findings underscored the relational benefits of involving customers in product development and the substantial moderating impact of female customers’ fashion consciousness.Practical implicationsThe study’s findings support that the customer-brand relationship can be solidified by proactively involving customers in product development. This is beyond benefits derived from leveraging customers’ operant resources in product innovation. Thus, apparel retailers should take such interactive opportunities to build relationships with customers. Also, involving customers in product development can be a critical way for fast-fashion retailers to establish an emotional bond with and loyalty from consumers with a low level of fashion consciousness. Thus, any digital opinion platform designed to foster customer involvement should be managed with the customer-brand relationship in mind.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the emerging body of literature on customer involvement in product development in fast-paced retailing by elucidating the psychological process through which their participation strengthens the customer-brand relationship manifested in emotional, evaluative, and behavioral responses to the brand, and by identifying a consumer attribute that fortifies this process.

The role of supplier relationships in the development of new business ventures

New business ventures have rather limited resources, generally suffer from liabilities of smallness and newness and rely on external business relationships, typically with suppliers, for developing and acquiring necessary resources. Yet, to date, research on how new ventures develop initial relationships with suppliers and how these affect the nascent business has been limited. Taking the business network perspective and relating it to studies of supply chain and supplier involvement in product development, our study contributes to the rather limited body of knowledge on new ventures' supplier relationships. Empirically, we draw on a longitudinal, in-depth single-case study of the first two years of operation of a start-up. Our study shows that the development of the key initial supplier relationships starts from open-ended expectations of mutual future relational benefits and involves a stepwise ‘inter-definition’ of solutions in interaction between the parties. We observe that interdependences arise between the new venture and its key suppliers and these enable but also limit, the development paths of both partners. We argue that the key initial supplier relationships extend a new venture's resource and capability base and are an integral part of a new venture's business model.

Post Processing Methods used to Improve Surface Finish of Products which are Manufactured by Additive Manufacturing Technologies: A Review

The Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes open the possibility to go directly from Computer-Aided Design (CAD) to a physical prototype. These prototypes are used as test models before it is finalized as well as sometimes as a final product. Additive Manufacturing has many advantages over the traditional process used to develop a product such as allowing early customer involvement in product development, complex shape generation and also save time as well as money. Additive manufacturing also possess some special challenges that are usually worth overcoming such as Poor Surface quality, Physical Properties and use of specific raw material for manufacturing. To improve the surface quality several attempts had been made by controlling various process parameters of Additive manufacturing and also applying different post processing techniques on components manufactured by Additive manufacturing. The main objective of this work is to document an extensive literature review in the general area of post processing techniques which are used in Additive manufacturing.

Customer Involvement in the Game Development Process

The creative industry is a fast developing sector of economy in many countries. Growing competition in this area has led many companies to implement strategy of users' involvement in product development in order to deliver products that are more aligned with customers’ needs. On the other hand, the attempt to align the customers’ expectations with artistic creativity may create tensions. Therefore, the aim of the research is to examine the methods of users’ involvement in product development and real impact of the users on project design. The obtained findings are based on two-year qualitative research project conducted in game development companies.

Customer Involvement in Product Development: An Industrial Network Perspective

Purpose: In business markets, working with customers and users has become increasingly important to get knowledge about customer needs and to develop new products. The purpose of this article is twofold: (1) to develop a framework for analyzing customer involvement in product development in a business market context, and (2) to apply this framework to a particular company to describe and analyze how it practices customer involvement.Methodology/approach: The article takes its main theoretical starting point in the industrial network approach, but also uses other literature from the innovation and product development field. The empirical study applies a qualitative case study approach and focuses on one company in the truck business.Findings: The suggested framework deals with four key aspects of customer involvement: Why, when, how, and who. The observed pattern of the truck manufacturer shows how dealers, hauliers, and truck drivers are all part of the overall understanding of the customer. These actors are involved for different, typically very clear, purposes at different points in time through surveys, product clinics, and field testing. The pattern, referred to as mixed facilitative, is not one of close collaboration with individual customers, but one of broad involvement of several customers through business intelligence and direct involvement.Research implications: First, the article provides researchers with a framework and method for studying customer involvement in product development. Second, the case study provides an illustrative example of the customer involvement pattern pursued by a leading company in a major industry. This enhances the understanding of the focal phenomenon, leads to managerial implications, and gives ideas for future research.Practical implications: There are several managerial implications related to the why, when, how, and who questions. For example, it is pointed out that managers should consider involving customers more extensively than what seems to be common today—for example, by using customers as codevelopers, working with them throughout the entire development process (i.e., not only early and late), and including different types of users (with different requirements and wishes).Originality/value/contribution of the article: The contribution lies in the development of a framework centered on the four key questions of customer involvement inproduct development and using this framework for observing a pattern, and finding explanations and relating this pattern to how other firms are doing.

Involving children and elderly in the development of new design concepts to become active together

Designers need to have an empathic understanding of their intended users if they are to design products that fit. This holds especially strong for elderly and children as user groups, because they are very different from the designer. However, it might be harder to obtain this information from children and elderly. This paper describes a research project that explored new approaches to involve children and elderly as a combined user group in the context of user involvement in product development. The research took place in a design setting; the development of an intergenerational movement park. We describe the role these two user groups played in the design process in order to develop new products that help them to be physically and socially active together. The process is examined on two aspects: the combination of the two user groups and the influence of the users on the project. We will discuss the methods used, the outcomes and give recommendations.

Activity Monitoring Technologies and Older Adult Users

Older adults may benefit from using activity monitoring technologies to support health and wellness management. However, adoption of such technologies is contingent upon ease of use considerations. Age-related changes in cognitive and physical capabilities impact usability. Heuristic evaluation of two such technologies revealed important ease of use design issues that may be particularly problematic for this user group. Case studies of four older adults’ usage experiences over a two-week period revealed additional usability challenges. Human factors involvement in product development should address these issues to enable older adults to use these potentially beneficial technologies.

Identification of constructs typifying virtual consumer involvement in product development

The subject of virtual consumer involvement in product development has been addressed by different fields of research. The use of different terminologies and concepts, employed by distinct areas, concurs to a fragmented literature lacking in consistency that hinders understanding. This paper identifies key constructs that typify virtual consumer involvement in the field of new product development. To this end, this study conducts an exploratory literature review and identifies seminal and relevant literature on the subject. Then, it identifies and describes seven constructs, e.g., participating entities, motivation mechanisms, and process-supporting tools.

Six Sigma Methodology for Addressing Employability Issue of Engineering Graduates

Higher Educational Institutions in general and more specifically Professional Institutions like Engineering Institutions under the Globalised Industrial Scenario, advancements in Technology, multi domain involvement in product development, demanding expectations from customers and stake holders, face multiple challenges of delivering Quality Students as their output, who are employable, able to apply their learnings from academics either to the real life applications of new product development or apply their knowledge in solving some of the quality issues in the product or process or carry forward their learnings towards Research. This trend results in employability issues, low graduation rates and survival of the Institutions themselves.Quality of outputs from the academic Institutions in the form of students and their lower level of employability not only raises the question on very existence of academic Institutions and formal educationsystemitself for common good of the society. Most of the Educational Institutions have adopted and Implemented ISO Standards like ISO 9001:2008 and is found to be extensively useful and delivered its benefits on educational curriculum and process. But the employability has not increased amongst students, as focus of the ISO standard is Quality System process and not to act as a measurement metric for quality to Bench Mark current levels and to set target goals for improvement like Six Sigma, one the popular Quality Initiative embraced by Industries. This paper brings out Six Sigma model to address the “Employability” issues more specifically to Engineering Graduates. It has been included within the scope of the paper to critically review the published literatures on Six Sigma Implementation to educational systemsand attempts have been made to make value additions to the existing work as appropriate.

In pursuit of control: involving suppliers of critical technologies in new product development

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore the dynamics of management and control in collaborations with suppliers of critical technology.Design/methodology/approach– Three collaborative product development projects at a system integrator in the telecom industry were studied. The data was collected through 22 semi-structured interviews and a workshop at the studied company and its suppliers.Findings– The paper shows that in situations of high dependence on suppliers of critical technologies, control may be pursued by complementing black-box development with appropriate checks and balances in the collaboration, i.e. using combinations of control mechanisms, disconnected development and joint problem solving, contracts and trust, and alignment efforts on project and strategic levels. Further, the paper demonstrates that this involves several trade-offs related to the advantages of increased monitoring and disadvantages of decreased levels of freedom for the supplier and consequently decreased prerequisites for supplier creativity.Research limitations/implications– The qualitative approach of the research limits generalizability. Our study is limited to three projects at one firm.Practical implications– Technological roadmaps can be used as an important tool to facilitate alignment with suppliers of critical technologies. Limited influence on project level can be supported by influencing the supplier on a strategic level. By collaborating on a strategic level, firms can gain alignment for future projects and diminish the need for direct project control within the projects. Long-term collaborations facilitate control in projects with powerful suppliers of critical technologies.Originality/value– While many studies suggest simplified responses to complex situations of supplier involvement in product development, this study provides insight into the complex responses to control suppliers of critical technologies.