Product Development Practices Research Articles

Repurposing product development after COVID-19 by integrating Industry 4.0 and agile new product development practices in emerging economies

Repurposing product development after COVID-19 by integrating Industry 4.0 and agile new product development practices in emerging economies

Decoding product obsolescence: A taxonomic approach from product design attributes

One challenge that product design has faced is the ongoing threat of obsolescence, where investment in an updated solution can quickly become irrelevant within months or years as technology advances. This phenomenon not only affects consumers, who may find themselves with quickly outdated devices but also poses a dilemma for designers and manufacturers who must balance constant innovation with sustainability and product durability. In this dynamic scenario, there arises a critical need to understand how design attributes impact obsolescence and how this relationship can influence the creation of more sustainable and resilient products. This paper develops a taxonomy of product design attributes influencing different types of obsolescence to address the research gap between product design and obsolescence. It investigates the significance of obsolescence types across product categories, the impact of design attributes on these obsolescences, and the role of design in product sustainability. Employing a theoretical framework combining product design and lifecycle analysis, the methodology includes a literature review and an expert survey to evaluate design attributes against obsolescence types. From the literature review, 21 design attributes were identified and evaluated by 26 industry and academia experts. The findings reveal distinct patterns of obsolescence in various product categories, emphasizing the influence of specific design attributes. The role of attributes such as upgradeability and compatibility in technological, functional, and planned obsolescence was highlighted. Limited familiarity with certain types of obsolescence among experts was acknowledged, underscoring the importance of raising awareness within the design community. These insights are critical to align product design with sustainability goals and challenging traditional product development practices. The study has significant implications for designers, manufacturers, and policymakers, highlighting the importance of understanding design choices in reducing obsolescence and promoting sustainable consumption.

Innovation Inspired by Nature: Applications of Biomimicry in Engineering Design.

Sustainable development is increasingly driving the trend toward the application of biomimicry as a strategy to generate environmentally friendly solutions in the design of industrial products. Nature-inspired design can contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by improving efficiency and minimizing the environmental impact of each design. This research conducted an analysis of available biomimetic knowledge, highlighting the most applied tools and methodologies in each industrial sector. The primary objective was to identify sectors that have experienced greater adoption of biomimicry and those where its application is still in its early stages. Additionally, by applying the available procedures and tools to a selected case study (technologies in marine environments), the advantages and challenges of the methodologies and procedures were determined, along with potential gaps and future research directions necessary for widespread implementation of biomimetics in the industry. These results provide a comprehensive approach to biomimicry applied to more sustainable practices in product design and development.

Dynamic path for green product development: A game-theoretic analysis of product-process innovation with supply chain collaboration

Two contrasting paths are embraced within the practice of green product development: The first involves market entry with high-quality products in the initial phase, followed by a gradual release of mass-market products at reduced prices. The second entails entering the market with low-quality products, followed by step-by-step improvements in quality. The decision-making on path selection is divided into two stages: in the first stage, firms choose green product technologies, and in the second stage, they determine the path for green product development based on the selected technologies. Our research findings highlight the crucial role of efficiency-cost ratios in product-process innovation for green product development. Equilibriums are only achievable when efficiency-cost ratios are relatively low. Given the singular impact of component cost on profit, the path for process innovation consistently trends downward, whereas the path for product innovation can either descend or ascend. Collaboration positively impacts the conditions for equilibrium existence, making it more attainable. When the manufacturer’s efficiency-cost ratio for product innovation is low, collaboration can transition the path from a descending trend to an ascending one, and vice versa. The selection of appropriate technological parameters is important for achieving a win–win relationship between the environment and profitability. Additionally, we have expanded our models to include competition and marketing scenarios. We find that competition primarily influences green product development by altering the motivation for path selection. Marketing and product-process innovation demonstrate a complementary relationship.

An investigation into the extent to which sustainable product development practices are implemented in manufacturing companies

In recent decades, the pressure from regulations and consumers for products with enhanced sustainability performance has escalated the implementation of sustainability actions by companies. For manufacturing companies specifically, Sustainable Product Development (SPD) is a key approach for reducing the sustainability impacts of the developed products, across their entire life cycle. Despite the availability of wide range of management practices for SPD to support embedding sustainability into the product development process, the extent of their application by companies remains underexplored. To fulfil this gap, an industry survey was conducted to investigate the capability of manufacturing companies to apply a consolidated set of 61 SPD management practices. The overall results which comprised 20 companies across 14 sectors revealed that most of the practices are still applied at a low capability level by most companies. This result indicates a large theory-practice gap particularly in understanding the influence of the type of business, variation in capability levels across different business processes and stages of the product development that influence the successful implementation of sustainability actions in companies. Hence, stronger collaboration between the academia and industry sectors are essential to transform new knowledge into actionable strategies.

Developing industry clusters based on 4As to support agritourism competitiveness

Abstract Competitive agritourism thrives on the pillars of the Attraction, Accessibility, Ancillary, and Amenity (4As), serving as fundamental cornerstones in tourism industry. Nonetheless, most agritourism continue to be entrenched in conventional management practices, exposing them to prevalent agricultural risks. Elevating this landscape necessitates a transformative approach. This article aims to analyze the linkages between the 4As and industry clusters in driving sustainable agritourism. The methodology used in this study is a literature review. Industry clusters in agritourism are important due to their ability to utilize shared inputs, optimize business processes through integration and collaboration, and develop outputs through network expansion. Cooperation, coordination, collaboration, and communication are essential for the successful development and competitiveness of agritourism. The arrangement of accommodation in a particular location encourages collaboration, resource sharing, and economies of scale. Increased accessibility improves supply chain management efficiency and reduces costs through collaboration. The availability of well-designed amenities further enhances the attractiveness and competitiveness of agritourism destinations. From the perspective of attractions, collaboration among agritourism contributes to innovation, product development, and sustainable practices. Understanding these linkages can inform strategic decision-making processes and guide the development of policies that leverage the strengths of the 4As to promote sustainable agritourism development.

Generational Differences in Sustainable Consumption Behavior among Chinese Residents: Implications Based on Perceptions of Sustainable Consumption and Lifestyle

To deal with the challenges posed by generational differences in China’s sustainable consumption transition, this study’s pioneers using a mixed-methods approach with data mining and literature research to classify Chinese residents into four generations based on the sustainable consumption perspective. We developed a conceptual model of generational differences and conducted an empirical study using structured interviews with a multi-stage random sampling approach. The results highlight significant differences and distinct influencing mechanisms among the four generations regarding perceptions of sustainable consumption, lifestyle, and sustainable consumption behavior. Based on this, multi-generational differentiated green marketing strategies, green product development and green marketing practices, as well as consumer education systems and strategies for stakeholders including the government, enterprises, and society are proposed. The findings contribute to advancing theoretical perspectives in sustainable consumption research, serving as a valuable reference for sustainable consumption research worldwide.

Toward Sustainable Global Product Development Performance: Exploring the Criticality of Organizational Factors and the Moderating Influence of Global Innovation Culture

In today’s dynamic and global landscape, innovation and globalization are intricately linked drivers that propel modern businesses forward, serving as indispensable pillars upon which organizations heavily rely to maintain their competitive edge. Leveraging innovation within the context of global product development (GPD) practices is imperative for organizations seeking to survive and effectively compete in the rapidly evolving marketplace. While preceding studies have primarily focused on the importance of individual and organizational capabilities, policies, and cultural factors in driving product development (PD) performance, they often overlook their interconnectedness within a global context. To address this gap, this study delves into the relationship between organizational factors and global product development performance (GPDP) while examining the moderating influence of global innovation culture (GIC). These organizational factors encompass technological innovation capabilities (TICs), team creativity (TC), dynamic capabilities (DCA), and competitive advantage (CA). Our hypothesis suggests a positive impact of these factors on GPD performance. Employing a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach through SMART-PLS 3, we analyzed data collected from 480 questionnaire forms distributed among registered global product development (GPD) organizations operating in China. The empirical findings underscore the significant influence of organizational factors on GPD performance, highlighting the critical role of global innovation culture in shaping these relationships. These insights shed light on the importance of establishing a harmonious balance between organizational culture and various factors to enhance interaction among organizational elements and optimize global product development performance. Ultimately, these efforts can lead to improvements in the overall effectiveness and sustained global product development.

Assessing New Product Development Trends and Practices in Manufacturing and Service-Oriented Organizations in Chitwan District, Nepal

Assessing New Product Development Trends and Practices in Manufacturing and Service-Oriented Organizations in Chitwan District, Nepal

Unlocking venture growth: Synergizing big data analytics, artificial intelligence, new product development practices, and inter-organizational digital capability

The current study dеlvеs into thе implications of incorporating Big Data Analytics-Artificial intelligence (BDA-AI) into organizational procеssеs, with a specific focus on its еffеcts on procеss еfficiеncy and product еffеctivеnеss. This study takes into account thе modеrating influеncе of intеr-organizational digital capabilities. Groundеd in thе dynamic capability theory, еmpirical data wеrе collеctеd from 361 Chinеsе еntеrprisеs to validatе thе proposеd thеorеtical framework. Thе outcomеs of this invеstigation rеvеal a favorablе and statistically significant rеlationship bеtwееn thе intеgration of BDA-AI and thе еnhancеmеnt of both procеss еfficiеncy and product dеvеlopmеnt within thеsе firms. Morе prеcisеly, thе study idеntifiеs a notablе intеraction еffеct bеtwееn an agilе IT infrastructurе and BDA-AI, rеsulting in obsеrvablе improvеmеnts in both procеss еfficiеncy and product dеvеlopmеnt. Howеvеr, it is worth noting that thе intеraction bеtwееn IT stratеgy acumеn and BDA-AI primarily influеncеs procеss еfficiеncy, rathеr than affеcting product dеvеlopmеnt. Convеrsеly, whеn combined with BDA-AI, thе digital adoption proficiеncy control variablе was found to еxеrt no significant impact on еithеr aspеct. Nonеthеlеss, furthеr post hoc analysis undеrscorеs thе importancе of ovеrall intеrnal digital capabilitiеs, еspеcially in conjunction with BDA-AI, еmphasizing thе nеcеssity of aligning thеsе capabilitiеs for thе optimization of firm pеrformancе. This study significantly augmеnts thе еxisting litеraturе by offering valuablе insights into thе implications of BDA-AI utilization on procеss еfficiеncy and product dеvеlopmеnt outcomеs, shеdding light on thе critical rolе playеd by intеr-organizational digital capabilitiеs. Thеsе findings еxtеnd pеrtinеnt guidancе to organizations aiming to harnеss thе potеntial of BDA-AI for thе еnhancеmеnt of thеir opеrational pеrformancе.

The role of standardised product terminology in product development and clinical practice

The role of standardised product terminology in product development and clinical practice

Making co-creation operational: A RECONECT seven-steps-pathway and practical guide for co-creating nature-based solutions

Co-creation as a practice of collaborative product or service development is not a novel concept, however its application in the field of nature-based solutions (NBS) requires a certain level of knowledge, expertise and capacity building to ensure a shared understanding and collaborative dialogue. NBS are defined as cost-effective and ecosystem-based solutions to solving sustainability challenges and climate-change pressures through embedding a more citizen-oriented engagement within its implementation. Although some co-creation principles and guidelines are scientifically well elaborated, only a few of them was put into practice. Thus there is still a need for making them clearer and more feasible to a broad range of stakeholders from the non-scientific community. This problem is mostly caused by the lack of easy-to use framework / strategy for organizing a co-creation and selecting the appropriate co-creation activity for the certain purpose of the NBS realization process. It includes making a right decision on what particular tools, how and with what groups of stakeholders can be applied in a certain case and by the availability of particular resources. For this purpose, a stepwise pathway/guide on how participatory approach can be incorporated into the whole process of NBS co-creation was developed within the RECONECT project. The main innovative contribution of this work is to propose the following ready-to-use solutions:•detailed seven-steps-co-creation pathway and practical recommendations for NBS design and implementation;•multidimensional and comprehensive decision-making matrix consisting of 88 tools for selecting the most suitable solution (tool) according to the particular co-creation goal, available resources and capacities;•additional resources to facilitate and operationalise the co-creation process at each stage of NBS development, offered in the form of a Toolbox.

When and how to introduce upstream competition in an innovation supply chain

Considering an innovation supply chain with a primary supplier involvement in the new product development of a downstream manufacturer who sells to consumers, we address when and how to introduce a secondary supplier by applying order commitment besides innovation quality-dependent contract and revenue-sharing contract. Our results show that the secondary supplier should be invited after the new product development is achieved. The innovation quality-dependent order commitment contract can improve the innovation quality of the supply chain. The innovation quality-dependent wholesale price contract warrants the supplier's innovation quality to keep the same level as the single-supplier supply chain and improves the primary supplier's profit. The incentive effect of a revenue-sharing contract on the supplier's innovation quality is more substantial when introducing a secondary supplier after new product development than before. Furthermore, the negative effect of the supplier's competition on innovation quality and profit of the manufacturer can be alleviated by wholesale price decision-making power consignment. We also provide rich managerial insights into supplier involvement in new product development practices by analyzing the equilibrium behaviors and numerically simulating significant decision variables concerning the demand sensitivity to innovation quality.

Green Supply Chain Management Initiatives: A Perspective of Pakistani Automobile Industry

The rising interest in ecofriendly sustainability and green issues is obvious among investigators and professionals in the supply chain field. This study emphasis on examining and empirically evaluating the implementation of Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) practices in the Pakistani automobile industry. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted to validate these green practices and performance outcomes. The survey gathered 25 complete replies from Pakistani automobile organizations, forming the basis for practical analysis. The independent variables for this present study were: Green Product Development and Design Practices, Green Purchasing Practices, Green Production Practices and use of Cleaner Technologies, Green Management Practices, Green Logistics Practices, Green Marketing Practices; while the dependent variable was Environmental Performance Outcome. Descriptive statistics were considered to assess the current status of GSCM practices. Furthermore, multiple regression analysis was also conducted to understand the impact of existing GSCM practices on anticipated organizational performance outcomes. The study's findings indicate that environmental performance exhibit improvement with the adoption of GSCM practices.

AN EXPLORATION OF HEALTHY AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES WITHIN INDONESIAN SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES (SMES)

For the first time, this study aims to comprehensively explore the landscape of innovation and healthy product development within Indonesian Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the food and drinks industry. By addressing existing gaps, the paper provides insights into the context-specific factors, the role of healthy product variants, and the interconnected dynamics that drive innovation. The research employs a thorough literature review. The literature review establishes the foundation by identifying gaps and theoretical frameworks, including the Innovation Ecosystem Theory, to guide the analysis. The findings illuminate several key contributions of this research. First, the study crystallizes the specific new product development practices within Indonesian SMEs, addressing the lack of context-specific insights. It highlights the significance of healthy product development within a changing consumer landscape. The analysis reveals diverse strategies, challenges, and successes, emphasizing the role of networking, creative innovation drivers, and the absence of financial constraints. Furthermore, the introduction of a unified framework for innovation provides a holistic understanding that bridges theoretical constructs and practical applications. This study identifies flaws in the current innovation policy, suggesting actionable recommendations for improvement. In conclusion, this paper fills critical gaps in the literature, offering a comprehensive exploration of innovation and healthy product development within Indonesian SMEs in the food and drinks industry. By integrating context-specific insights, addressing gaps, and providing practical value for stakeholders and policymakers, the research significantly advances our understanding of healthy agricultural product development.

The direct and interacting effects of strategic environmental management and socially responsible practices on new product advantage

A substantial body of literature has shown the relationship between corporate sustainability (CS) and firm performance, but the effects of individual CS practices on new product advantage (NPA) remain ambiguous. Drawing on stakeholder theory and relevant CS literature, the purpose of this study is to investigate the direct and interacting effects on NPA of four CS practices, namely, strategic environmental management (SEM), CS management control, safety climate, and community relationship management. Our study method involved a multi-respondent questionnaire survey of 198 Chinese manufacturers, and we statistically verified the survey data to test the research model with three hypotheses. The findings of this study show that all CS practices can directly improve NPA. We found that, in affecting NPA, SEM interacts positively with CS management control, negatively with community relationship management, and not at all with safety climate. Our findings provide new evidence to prioritize and balance the efforts of CS practices on new product performance. They also primarily clarify the conflicting or unclear relationships among the four CS practices for new product development (NPD).

Examination of common mistakes for successful leveraging the Kano model and proposal for enhancement

The Kano model has been recognised for almost forty years as an effective tool for revealing implicit customer ideas that are often unclear and difficult to describe by relating the fulfilment of offering quality attributes to customer satisfaction. So has the Kano methodology for realising the model in practice in product design and development, strategic thinking, business planning, etc. Despite their success, it has long been reported that the Kano classification of customer requirements needs to reflect the level of customer satisfaction accurately. Researchers have focused on increasing the model’s accuracy throughout the years, especially by introducing much more quantitative approaches to the Kano categorisation. Still, the traditional one remains well-accepted in practice as it is the most straightforward logical procedure that non-experts can follow. Rather than introducing complexity, this research focuses on improving the traditional Kano model without altering its procedure by creating awareness of common mistakes when implementing the model and suggesting incorporating a couple of steps to avoid them. It is crucial to understand the selection of the five answer choices and their compatibility with the Kano evaluation table. Few case studies are available to illustrate how sensitive to common mistakes the outcomes are.

Analyzing Interrelationships and Prioritizing Performance Indicators in Global Product Development: Application in the Chinese Renewable Energy Sector

Today’s global business landscape and intense market competition have heightened the significance of global product development (GPD) practices, making it necessary for organizations to evaluate GPD projects for sustained success. Existing research has primarily focused on independent and tangible performance metrics, neglecting their interdependencies and intangible nature in real-world scenarios. To address this gap, this study seeks to enhance the understanding of GPD performance by establishing a more sophisticated assessment approach. A hybrid decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) and analytical network process (ANP) method, known as DANP, was employed to determine the importance of evaluation metrics and their relationships. This research stands out by integrating financial, quality, time, environmental, and capability dimensions, along with their respective indicators, and presenting their interrelationships and priority weights for evaluating GPD projects. The proposed framework was validated through an in-depth case investigation conducted with a Chinese sustainable energy solutions company, involving extensive discussions with decision-makers. The results indicate that technological, innovation, and environmental indicators are the most critical metrics. The influential network relation map (INRM) derived from these findings offers practical recommendations to enhance GPD project performance, catering to policymakers and researchers in both managerial and theoretical contexts.

The effect of Market Orientation on Export Performance: The Mediating role of New Product Development capability

The aim of this study that titled the descriptive statistics of Market Orientation practice on Export Performance the Mediating role of new product development practice with Positive effect of export performance provides firms with opportunity to grow, and enhance the dynamism in the new product development. In this study, two main strategies that are refer to Market Orientation and new product development is investigated and determines the Export Performance. This study focused in Coffee trading and Factory PLC Ethiopia. The findings showed that the Descriptive effect of Market Orientation on Export Performance the Mediating role of New Product Development Capability. However, the market orientation is much stronger in influence the export performance that affect Market orientation through new product development on Export performance, it designed with Descriptive Statistics to distribute for 384 respondents, and the questionnaires to be distributed from Primary and Secondary Cooperative Union, Coffee supplier, Coffee Collector, Employee of PLC. Hence, this study basically increased the knowledge regarding of the factors that affect the Export Performance, especially in Oromia Regional state West Guji zone Coffee trading and Factory PLC, Ethiopia.

Practical Considerations for Next-Generation Adjuvant Development and Translation.

Over the last several years, there has been increased interest from academia and the pharmaceutical/biotech industry in the development of vaccine adjuvants for new and emerging vaccine modalities. Despite this, vaccine adjuvant development still has some of the longest timelines in the pharmaceutical space, from discovery to clinical approval. The reasons for this are manyfold and range from complexities in translation from animal to human models, concerns about safety or reactogenicity, to challenges in sourcing the necessary raw materials at scale. In this review, we will describe the current state of the art for many adjuvant technologies and how they should be approached or applied in the development of new vaccine products. We postulate that there are many factors to be considered and tools to be applied earlier on in the vaccine development pipeline to improve the likelihood of clinical success. These recommendations may require a modified approach to some of the common practices in new product development but would result in more accessible and practical adjuvant-containing products.