Sales Of New Products Research Articles

Retailer-run resale market and optimal returns and resale policy

This study investigates a retailer's motivation for running its own resale market, and derives the optimal returns and resale policy for the retailer. Consumers often make purchase decisions without complete information on the product, and may not buy the product unless they can dispose of it to recover some of the cost after purchase. A retailer's provision of returns allowance functions as a form of insurance, encouraging consumers to purchase the product from the retailer; however, the size of consumer returns has soared and is eroding the manufacturer's and retailer's profits significantly. In this study, we consider consumers’ resale decisions, as well as returns decisions, concurrently in disposing of the product after purchase. The findings suggest that a retailer should offer resale service and give all the revenue from selling a used product to the consumer who demands the resale. By so doing, the retailer induces consumers to resell their product instead of engaging in more costly product returns. Therefore, the retailer-run resale market not only increases the price and sales of new products but also decreases the size of consumer returns. The resale market benefits the manufacturer as well, due to the increase in order quantity.

The Use of Regulatory Power by U.S. State and Local Alcohol Control Agencies to Ban Problematic Products

ABSTRACTBackground: Alcohol is responsible for 4,300 deaths a year in the U.S. among persons under 21. Alcohol companies innovate rapidly and produce new products, some of which prove popular among young people. The 18 “control jurisdictions” in the U.S. – those that exercise monopoly control over some aspect of alcohol distribution – have the ability to govern which products become available within their borders and have, at times, exercised that authority to block particular products from sale. Objectives: This paper is an exploratory study examining how states use regulatory authority in control jurisdictions to restrict the sale of new alcohol products within their borders, and the reasoning used to justify those decisions. Methods: The authors, collaborating with the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association, surveyed control state officials regarding procedures and policies governing the sale of new products in their jurisdictions. Results: Control jurisdictions have banned/restricted different products (e.g., grain alcohol and alcoholic energy drinks) for a variety of reasons (e.g., flavorings/packaging appealing to underage drinkers, blurring of distinctions between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, and judgment that the product was not socially responsible). Conclusions/ Importance: Although U.S. control jurisdictions universally have the authority to limit access to problematic alcohol products; they vary in the degree to which they use it. These states need to take action, and as of now, there is no systematic reasoning behind when and how states make decisions to ban/restrict these products. Greater exploration of regulatory authority in this arena could be protective of public health.

Technology-enabled community data for gaining pre-release brand insights

In the past, studies have investigated brand equity only in the ‘post-launch’ context, hence missing opportunities to make early corrections in cases of negative favourability. Using technology-enabled online community data, this study examines whether ‘pre-launch’ brand favourability can predict community's post-launch purchase decisions, by introducing a new construct called community-based brand equity (CoBBE). This study also investigates whether CoBBE can predict future sales of new products. Weekly data are collected for eight weeks before and after product launch from a movie-based online community for a period of 16months. The results show that community-based variables such as pre-launch brand awareness level, brand favourability and brand strength have a significant influence on 1) community members' post-release purchase decisions both in the opening week as well as the entire lifetime of products, and 2) satisfaction level. The study also finds that CoBBE is a significant predictor of future market sales, thus showing the usefulness of CoBBE as an early warning diagnostic tool which will enable movie studios to gain early brand-related insights as well as to make early corrective actions when needed.

The impact of R&D sources on new product development: Sources of funds and the diversity versus control of knowledge debate

We build on the knowledge-based view to study the relative impact of alternative R&D sources on innovation performance. We contrast two arguments that have created a debate in the literature: One is that diversity of knowledge is better for innovation, because the integration of a larger variety of knowledge helps create new products that can fulfill unmet customer needs; another is that control of knowledge is better, because the incentives and contextual system of the firm facilitate employees' experimentation, which supports the creation of new products. We provide one solution to this debate by arguing that the relative importance of diversity and control of knowledge on innovation depends on the sources of finance. Hence, we find that, in general, control of knowledge has a higher impact than diversity of knowledge on the sale of new products. We also find that alternative sources of finance moderate the relationships: internal funds strengthen the impact of R&D sources with more diversity of knowledge on the sale of new products, while external funds strengthen the impact of R&D sources with more control of knowledge on the sale of new products.

Gamified Information Presentation and Consumer Adoption of Product Innovations

This research examines the effect of gamified information presentation—conveying information about a product innovation in the form of a game—on consumer adoption of that innovation. The key hypothesis is that gamified information presentation promotes consumer innovation adoption and that it does so through two parallel psychological processes—by increasing consumer playfulness, which stimulates curiosity about the innovation, and by enhancing the perceived vividness of information presentation, which increases the perceived advantage of the innovation relative to (less innovative) competing products. Evidence from seven studies, including two field experiments, supports this theorizing. The results also show that for gamified information presentation to increase innovation adoption, it is essential that the information is integrated into the game. These findings advance the understanding of the psychological forces that govern how consumers respond to receiving product information in the form of games, and they have important practical implications for how firms might use gamified information presentation to promote sales of new products.

Strategic Remanufacturing under Competition

We investigate firms’ re-manufacturing strategies in the case of a Cournot duopoly. On one hand, re-manufactured products cannibalize sales of new products by the same firm and hurt its profits. On the other, re-manufacturing can be a profitable marketing strategy to target different customer preferences, and provide a larger number of alternative choices to customers. The trade-off between these effects is influenced by competition. We use a model where the demand functions are derived from utility maximization by a representative consumer. This captures preferences and substitution between new products and re-manufactured products. The re-manufacturing strategy is affected by different exogenous factors, such as competition, substitutability, production cost as well as re-manufacturing cost.

The productivity of knowledge mobilisation, knowledge capitalisation and product-related firm transmutation: exploring the case of small-scale garment-makers in Nairobi, Kenya

Highlighting the limitations of R&D, this paper champions design activity as the phenomenon that captures knowledge mobilisation at the firm level, especially amongst small firms in developing countries. Still, knowledge becomes a capital (factor input) proper when employed in production. Volumes of new products sold could suggest the market value of utilised knowledge capital the same way the resale value of plant and equipment often approximates the stock of physical capital. Conversely, shares of sales of new products arguably capture an altogether different phenomenon: product-related firm transmutation. Findings suggest that the deeper utilisation of knowledge has significant productivity effects and supersedes mere mobilisation of knowledge. Further, undergoing transmutation towards the production of more of new products relative to incumbent products has no significant relationship with labour productivity. Firms should therefore prioritise the deeper exploitation of given new knowledge rather than potentially prodigal shifts in production towards new products as such.

Plug and play firms in the TNCs’ virtual value chain

IntroductionComputerisation and informatisation of various fields of economy and society have significantly changed the conditions of the business' functioning in recent years. Companies are no longer viewed as single entities, but as a part of an integrated network of organisations, where information and communication environment plays a key role.The growing virtualisation of a value chain is a manifestation of the implementation of ICT solutions in international business represented by TNCs. This creates new possibilities for enterprises to enter the value creation chain [Porter 1985, pp. 33-61]. Companies integrating the value chain, known as plug and play, are a reflection of this. Although a growing number of researchers are interested in virtualisation of economic activity, its analysis from the perspective of units integrating a value chain, i.e. plug and play, is not widespread, especially in Polish literature. An article is thus an attempt to present a new approach to value chain virtualisation - through the prism of its new integrators and connections. Given the above considerations, the objective of the study is to identify the role of plug and play firms in the transnational corporations' virtual value chain and their influence on the TNC's strategic decisions within the framework of value creation by the chain's new units.The undertaken issues have a general character, systemising the research area and in no way deal with all its aspects. It is the introduction to the discussion on the role of plug and play companies in the TNC's value chain, focused on creating competitive advantage in the conditions of activities' fragmentation and its integration in the international scale.The study involves a deepened literature analysis, basing the conducted research on the genetic method used for explaining the reasons of a studied phenomenon within the range of economic activity digitisation and value's creation chain virtualisation combined with literature analysis systemising theoretical approach to the discussed problematics. The analysis was based on foreign sources and to the smaller degree on Polish ones (due to their limited character).1. Digitisation of the economy - implications for international business1.1. Digitisation of the economy - conditions, symptomsThe information revolution entails a number of consequences that create a specific environment for the growth of the New Economy, involving the creation of knowledge, innovation and creativity and the use of information technology for the development and sales of new products and services. Physical distance is no longer as important as in the era before the IT revolution and the death of time leads to the emergence of new market segments. This creates new opportunities for development of trade and distribution of products through the digitisation of products and the development of the service sphere.The turn of the XX and XXI century witnessed a massive development of self-organising techno-human networks due to information technology popularisation. Thanks to the Internet a user has an access to a complex infrastructure that enables him the so-called cloud computing, i.e. using the network without the knowledge about the necessary technology [Kotler & Caslione 2009, p. 34]. With this type of networks, companies can reach the customer regardless of his place of residence, meet his needs and enable him to actively participate in the co-creation of the final product. At the same time there is a growing pressure from the client, who wants to have easy-to-use applications that allow them to compare the products' characteristics, their prices, transactions' execution and distribution. As a result companies operating on the international level, need to handle the following problems:* increased price competition,* the need to adapt to international standards in terms of the presentation of products, forms of payment (e-payment), distribution, after-sales service, etc. …

Strategic and operational decisions under sales competition and collection competition for end-of-use products in remanufacturing

Abstract Providing incentives to customers for recycling their end-of-use products is a commonly adopted strategy by remanufacturers for achieving economic scale of remanufacturing. However, the entrance of remanufacturers threaten the sales of new products that are produced by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Thus, OEMs may also take back end-of-use products by providing incentives to restrict the capacities of remanufacturers. Consequently, OEMs and remanufacturers compete not only on prices in sales market but also on incentives in recycle market. Therefore, we formulate a closed-loop supply chain model consisting of an OEM and a remanufacturer to investigate their equilibrium prices and incentives. Moreover, we consider that the remanufacturer can strategically focus the economies of scale on the sales market or on the recycle market. We derive the equilibrium decisions and profits under each of the remanufacturer׳s strategies, and identify the characteristics of these equilibrium results. We further derive the conditions to determine the firms׳ behaviors toward the competition. We also find that the higher competitiveness in the sales market will encourage the remanufacturer to focus the economic scale on the recycle market instead of the sales market, which is also beneficial to the OEM.

Competitive ability research of emulsion type sauces enriched with selenium

Competitive ability indicators of emulsion-type sauces (ETS) with added dietary supplements (DS) «Syvoselen Plus» and «Neoselen» were investigated and identified. Indicators of quality models of ETS enriched with organic selenium compounds were calculated, and a comprehensive quality assessment of new products with the emulsion structure was carried out. Competitive ability, prospects for production and sales of selenium-enriched emulsion sauces were determined. It was found that the practical implementation of the proposed method for qualimetric calculation of competitive ability indicators of new recreational ETS, which meet the requirements of time and consumers, shows the feasibility of its application for assessing the prospects for production and sales of new products. So, mayonnaise «Selenoviy» with DS «Neoselen» is a highly promising product which has the highest integrated quality indicator, cost-effective level of cost, patent protection and consumer satisfaction compared to the control sample and mayonnaise «Selenoviy» with DS «Syvoselen Plus». The aforesaid causes particular scientific interest as one of the possible ways for obtaining recreational products is the enrichment with protein-mineral complexes that form the basis of DS. «Syvoselen Plus» and «Neoselen» contain organic selenium compounds, which are the product of chemical adsorption of selenium ions Se 2- by globular whey proteins. DS can be used not only as a source of the above nutrient but also as an emulsifier of dispersed systems such as mayonnaise. Their introduction to the ETS recipe does not adversely affect the organoleptic quality indicators, enhances emulsion stability, increases the amount of organic selenium. Therefore, research of competitive ability of selenium-enriched ETS is important.

Strategic and operational decisions under sales competition and collection competition for end-of-use products in remanufacturing

Providing incentives to customers for recycling their end-of-use products is a commonly adopted strategy by remanufacturers for achieving economic scale of remanufacturing. However, the entrance of remanufacturers threaten the sales of new products that are produced by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Thus, OEMs may also take back end-of-use products by providing incentives to restrict the capacities of remanufacturers. Consequently, OEMs and remanufacturers compete not only on prices in sales market but also on incentives in recycle market. Therefore, we formulate a closed-loop supply chain model consisting of an OEM and a remanufacturer to investigate their equilibrium prices and incentives. Moreover, we consider that the remanufacturer can strategically focus the economies of scale on the sales market or on the recycle market. We derive the equilibrium decisions and profits under each of the remanufacturer׳s strategies, and identify the characteristics of these equilibrium results. We further derive the conditions to determine the firms׳ behaviors toward the competition. We also find that the higher competitiveness in the sales market will encourage the remanufacturer to focus the economic scale on the recycle market instead of the sales market, which is also beneficial to the OEM.

An effect analysis of regional research and development support policies: focused on Gyeongbuk province in Korea

Regional industry policies, including regional research and development (R&D) policies, have been initiated since 1998 in Korea. Despite the need for performance evaluation, the evaluation studies of the regional R&D support policies are lacking. This study analyses the effect of regional R&D support policies on firm's innovative and economic performance, focusing on Gyeongbuk province and adopting the propensity score matching (PSM) method to deal with the problem of selection bias. The characteristics that influence the participation of the firm in the regional R&D support were analysed as age, R&D department, exports, and the electronics/information appliances industry. The government needs to encourage the firms to have an absorptive capacity by establishing R&D departments. Regional R&D support was analysed to have no significant effects on the commercialization of developed technology, patent applications, new employees, and sales of new products. Though the effect is not statistically significant, it is nonetheless not meaningless, considering the short elapsed time. We can expect that the performance will improve in the future considering the fact that the outputs of the R&D programmes are generated over many years. The regional R&D support policies are expected to contribute to strengthening the regional innovation system by improving the regional firms’ innovative capacity in the long term. By adopting the PSM method, the study could potentially eliminate estimation error resulting from the simple comparison between the treatment group and the control group. It is necessary to take special note of the design of the survey in order to adopt the PSM method.

Open innovation: Are inbound and outbound knowledge flows really complementary?

One novel implication of the open innovation paradigm is that inflows and outflows of knowledge are complementary. We argue that engaging simultaneously in buying and selling knowledge should allow firms to increase innovation outcomes. At the same time, we identify some of the relevant costs (cognitive, transaction, and organizational costs) that “open” firms can reduce by combining knowledge inflows and outflows. Empirically, however, we find no evidence for such complementarity in a sample of Belgian manufacturing firms. Firms buying and selling knowledge do increase their sales of new products, but at the same time theirR&Dcosts increase more than proportionally. Our findings, therefore, indicate the need for research into a better understanding of the drivers of actual costs of organizing for open innovation. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Assessing complementarity in organizational innovations for technological innovation: the role of knowledge management practices

We empirically investigate the pattern of complementarity among four organizational practices. Firm-level data were drawn from the Community Innovation Survey, carried out in Luxembourg. Supermodularity tests confirm the crucial role of organizational innovation in raising firms’ technological innovation. The pattern of complementarity across organizational practices differs according to the type of innovation (i.e. product or process), as well as according to whether the firm is in the first stage of its innovation process (i.e. being innovative or not) or in a later stage (i.e. sales of new products).

In-season retail sales forecasting using survival models

A large South African retailer (hereafter referred to as the Retailer) faces the problem of selling out inventory within a specified finite time horizon by dynamically adjusting product prices, and simultaneously maximising revenue. Consumer demand for the Retailer's fashion merchandise is uncertain and the identification of products eligible for markdown is therefore problematic. In order to identify products that should be marked down, the Retailer forecasts future sales of new products. With the aim of improving on the Retailer's current sales forecasting method, this study investigates statistical techniques, viz. classical time series analysis (Holt's smoothing method) and survival analysis. Forecasts are made early in the product life cycle and results are compared to the Retailer's existing forecasting method. Based on the mean squared errors of predictions resulting from each method, the most accurate of the methods investigated is survival analysis.

Determinants for innovation implementation at SME and inter SME levels within peripheral regions

Purpose– Innovation efforts of small- or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in peripheral regions are limited both by innate resource limitations and by location factors such as excessive distance from key markets and higher cost bases for new technology. However, the emergence of the knowledge economy may enable leveraging of knowledge to address such innate limitations. The aim of this study is to twofold. First, the study explores how SMEs in peripheral areas, i.e. challenging regions, seek to implement innovation from a path perspective by examining the contributions from antecedent and mediator variables or constructs, including knowledge-based factors identified in the literature, using a cross-sectional survey of SMEs at firm level. Second, to further examine how these path model constructs and relationships contribute in a causal manner to innovation implementation at an activity level of analysis based on knowledge-based view and dynamic capability theory, using a case study analysis.Design/methodology/approach– A sequential mixed method approach is used. In relation to the first aim a hypothetical path model is tested using structured equation modelling techniques based on a cross-sectional survey of SMEs in peripheral regions (n=604). For the second aim, to further examine how the path model constructs and relationships contribute to innovation implementation in a causal manner at an activity level of analysis, an explanatory case-based approach is used based on dynamic capability theory.Findings– The findings show that at a firm level knowledge factors influence innovation implementation as mediating factors through knowledge acquisition and assimilation which is consistent with potential absorptive capacity, and knowledge sharing linkages. Antecedent factors of lifecycle, leadership, culture and historical propensity to innovation were found to interact with the mediating variables of knowledge acquisition and assimilation, TQM/business improvement and knowledge sharing linkages (external), to produce a range of innovation outputs, including knowledge transformation and sales of new products and services from innovation activities. Based on the case study findings the underlying knowledge-based dynamic capabilities which contribute to the relationships within the path model were identified and further research agendas established.Originality/value– There is a relative paucity of studies on innovation implementation within SMEs in peripheral regions using a knowledge-based perspective at firm level, as opposed to regional level (e.g. regional innovation studies). In this context unique resource limitations and the contribution of knowledge-based factors need to be addressed. This study seeks to compliment regional level studies by making a contribution at both a cross-sectional SME or firm level and at an activity level of analysis in this area and to identify areas for further research.

Impact of product acquisition on manufacturing and remanufacturing strategies

Companies can gain a competitive edge by managing closed-loop supply chains efficiently. This requires the joint consideration of forward and reverse logistic processes. The acquisition of used products is an important factor within the closed-loop context, as the availability of acquired used cores has a direct effect on the manufacturing–remanufacturing disposition strategy. Thus, the acquisition process and the production disposition are highly interrelated. In further consequence, the linked view on an active acquisition process combined with manufacturing–remanufacturing decisions is essential. In this paper, the optimal strategies concerning the acquisition of used cores, manufacturing of new products, and remanufacturing are studied analytically in a two-period model with stochastic, newsvendor-like demands. Given the closed-loop setting, the quantity acquired and remanufactured in the second period is limited to the sales of new products in the first period. An extensive numerical study provides insights into the influence of an active acquisition process on quantities and profit.

Remanufacturing and the Component Commonality Decision

Firms often determine whether or not to make components common across products by focusing on the manufacturing and sales of new products only. However, component commonality decisions that ignore remanufacturing can adversely affect the profitability of the firm. In this article we analyze how remanufacturing could reverse the OEM's commonality decision that is based on the manufacturing and sales of new products only. Specifically, we determine the conditions under which the OEM's optimal decision on commonality may be reversed and illustrate how her profit can be significantly higher if remanufacturing is taken into account ex ante. We illustrate the implementation of our model for two products in the Apple iPad[Formula: see text] family.

Experiential Learning in Joint Product Development Activities

We analyze the impact of different types of experience on sales of new products. We extend prior research on organizational learning in new product development projects by differentiating not only between experience depth and breadth but also between the sources of experience. As most products are created by more than one firm we distinguished between the experience that is gained within a dyad and the experience that the individual members of the dyad gathered with other partners. Following the literature on learning by doing we hypothesize that experience depth has a positive impact on the product development outcome. We further suggest that experience breadth may harm its success as a negative transfer might occur. Drawing on the relational view of the firm and the literature on alliance learning we suggest that both the positive impact of experience depth and the negative impact of experience breadth are reinforced through repeated interaction of the firms. Using a sample of 6,635 electronic games developed and published between 1995 and 2009 we find empirical evidence for all four hypotheses. The study contributes to the existing literature in several ways.

Hospice Practices, Perceived Satisfaction, and Entrepreneurial Opportunities: Strategic Insights across Geographic Settings

Introduction(Dame) Cicely Saunders, founder of the first real hospice, was clearly an entrepreneur (Thompson, 1999: 209).As the U.S. population continues to age, an increasing number of patients and families will be facing end-of-life care. Hospice and palliative care programs are uniquely designed to offer a continuum of care to serve the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of patients and families in the last months of life. According to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), hospice care is a model for quality compassionate care for individuals who are medically defined as terminally ill or facing life-limiting illnesses. Hospice services are directed towards caring versus curing in a variety of settings to include the patient's home, freestanding hospice centers, hospitals, nursing homes, as well as other long-term care facilities (NHPCO, 2010). As a larger proportion of the U.S. population continues to age, clearly the need and demand for hospice services in all settings will continue to accelerate over the next decade. Indeed the magnitude of this challenge is significant and growing, and has important implications for healthcare recipients, providers, and policymakers alike. A fundamental question of interest across various stakeholders is how prospective entrepreneurs and strategists in established organizations can leverage various sources of entrepreneurial opportunities these dynamic changes represent and, innovate to meet the challenge of the changing hospice care landscape (Carr, Topping, Woodard, & Burcham, 2004).This study seeks to inform both members of the hospice community and broader healthcare reform discussions by examining family perceptions of the overall satisfaction with service quality in hospice care in contrasting geographical settings. Prior research suggests there are specific factors that contribute to the patient and family members' perceptions of service quality provided during the hospice episode of care. This study extends that prior work by theoretically developing and empirically testing the central thesis that geographic disparity of services and resources (i.e., urban versus rural) influences family members' perceptions within the delivery areas for hospice services differently in urban versus rural settings. Further, it extends prior work by suggesting that the type of setting in which hospice patients are treated (and ultimately die) may also influence the perceptions of the quality of care provided. It also suggests other factors such as the lapse of time between identifying the need for hospice services and the actual delivery of the hospice services can affect the perceptions of quality care. Finally, it suggests the length of time the patient receives hospice services may also influence the perceptions of care delivered during the hospice episode.Literature ReviewEntrepreneurial OpportunityThe notion ?? entrepreneurial opportunity is at the heart of entrepreneurship theory (Stevenson & Gumpert, 1985). Entrepreneurial opportunity is defined as external environmental conditions suggesting the introduction and sale of new products, services, raw materials, and/or organizing methods at prices in excess of their production costs will be feasible (Casson, 1982; Shane & Venkataraman, 2000). Such conditions change over time, impacted in part by large shifts in attitudes, government policy, economic conditions, and technology (Hills & LaForge, 1992). Environmental conditions also change as a function of the competition. Hitt, Ireland, Camp, and Sexton (2002) observe that a new competitive landscape began to develop in the 1990s, emerged in earnest in the 21st century, and is characterized by substantial and frequently frame-breaking change, a series of temporary, rather than sustainable competitive advantages for individual firms, short product life cycles, and new forms of competition. As a result, they argue an entrepreneurial mindset is required that emphasizes carefully selected and implemented entrepreneurial strategies to compete successfully. …