Product Development Capabilities Research Articles

What Does Front-End Research Build on? A Cocitation Analysis of the Intellectual Background and Potential Future Research Avenues

The front end (FE) of innovation is critical for a firm's new product success. Since academic interest in this research field has increased significantly, we include 168 FE papers and their 9119 references to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the FE literature. We use cocitation analysis to reduce their risk of researchers' implicit bias. We show that 11 intellectual research bases characterize extant FE literature: new product development (NPD) capabilities, NPD process, knowledge creation and NPD, organizational NPD creativity, externally influenced NPD creativity, external NPD creativity, new process development, social NPD capital, new product success, NPD project performance, and competitive NPD advantages. The citation burst analysis shows that researchers have varying degrees of interests in these topics. A better understanding of FE research's intellectual background and the identification of hot, cold, and evergreen FE topics are valuable contributions. For instance, FE researchers discuss the nature and characteristics of FE activities by referring to NPD process and new-process literature. They call for further assessments of this issue in order to make both the process implementation and the operationalization more flexible.

Probing in Vitro Release Kinetics of Long-Acting Injectable Nanosuspensions via Flow-NMR Spectroscopy.

Novel treatment routes are emerging for an array of diseases and afflictions. Complex dosage forms, based on active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) with previously undesirable physicochemical characteristics, are becoming mainstream and actively pursued in various pipeline initiatives. To fundamentally understand how constituents in these dosage forms interact on a molecular level, analytical methods need to be developed that encompass selectivity and sensitivity requirements previously reserved for a myriad of in vitro techniques. The knowledge of precise chemical interactions between drugs and excipients in a dosage form can streamline formulation development and process screening capabilities through the identification of properties that influence rates and mechanisms of drug release in a cost-effective manner, relative to long-term in vivo studies. Through this work, a noncompendial in vitro release (IVR) method was developed that distinguished the presence of individual components in a complex crystalline nanosuspension environment. Doravirine was formulated as a series of long-acting injectable nanosuspensions with assorted excipients, using low- and high-energy wet media milling methods. IVR behavior of all formulation components were monitored using a robust continuous flow-through (CFT) dissolution setup (USP-4 apparatus) with on-line 1H NMR end-analysis (flow-NMR). Results from this investigation led to a better understanding of formulation parameter influences on nanosuspension stability, surface chemistry, and dissolution behavior. Flow-NMR can be applied to a broad range of dosage forms in which specific molecular interactions from the solution microenvironment require further insight to enhance product development capabilities.

Exploring the Role of Product Development Capability for Transforming Marketing Intelligence into Firm Performance

ABSTRACT Purpose: This study examines the role of product development capability for transforming marketing intelligence activities into firm performance on industrial markets. Methodology/Approach: The authors apply structural equation modeling to analyze survey data from 342 industrial manufacturing companies. Findings: Results reveal that sales integration and holistic macroeconomic view are particularly important features of the marketing intelligence capability on industrial markets to gain additional insights in order to develop products successfully. Results also reveal that product development capability transforms the marketing intelligence activities into firm performance on industrial markets. Research Implications: This study offers new insights on marketing theory by extending and concretizing the concept of market orientation to a broader concept of the marketing intelligence capability for industrial markets. Further, this research reveals that the product development capability serves as a mediator to business performance. Practical Implications: This study’s systematic and tangible outline of the dimensions of marketing intelligence and its link to the product development capability helps firms to better understand how to capitalize on market orientation’s potential values. Originality/Value/Contribution: This research (a) reveals the relevant dimensions of marketing intelligence on industrial markets and (b) shows how the product development capability tranforms marketing intelligence activities into firm performance on industrial markets.

Product Development and Innovation: Dynamic capabilities in BoP off-grid Energy market in India

Dynamic capability is an emerging area in strategic management. It draws its strength from behavioural and evolutionary economics. The importance of dynamic capability in the area of strategy has been realised in multiple contexts. Recently, the authors researching the base of the pyramid (BoP) have been conscious of the need for the special capability to overcome resource scarcity and information opacity to enter and work in BoP markets. The paper through a case-based approach, identifies dynamic capability to be an important strategic management process that fits well with the special capability to overcome BoP barriers. The research traced product development and innovation capability as two important dynamic capabilities in three firms providing decentralised energy access to Indian rural poor. The paper ends with a suggestion on managerial and policy prescriptions and underlines the importance of such dynamic capabilities for firms to sustain business in BoP markets.

Decomposition of fuzzy exponential mathematical quantitative process in industrial manufacturing design

Small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises have the characteristics of large numbers and small scales. Problems such as backward manufacturing technology, lack of talents, small amount of information resources, and insufficient product research and development capabilities have severely restricted the development of enterprises. The backward manufacturing design model cannot adapt to the development trend of modern manufacturing informatization. This paper proposes and designs a fuzzy inference model and fuzzy inference engine algorithm with threshold. In order to describe the numerical multiple input and multiple output variables in the industrial manufacturing design industry, the relevant experience is used to make numerical reasoning decisions. Applying fuzzy sets and fuzzy theory to the expert system, a fuzzy rule model containing the membership function information and thresholds of the corresponding fuzzy sets is proposed and established, and a fuzzy reasoning system suitable for numerical and uncertain reasoning decisions is constructed. The improved grey relational analysis method is used to decompose and evaluate the exponential mathematical quantitative process of manufacturing enterprises. Based on the fuzzy Decision Analytic Network Process (DANP) method to calculate the relative weight of the influencing factors in the evaluation system, the evaluation index of the enterprise is obtained. Starting from the industrial manufacturing design process, this article constructs a relatively comprehensive and reasonable enterprise exponential mathematical quantitative process decomposition evaluation system. Considering that there are complex interactions between the various influencing factors in the system, the fuzzy Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method is selected to process the direct impact matrix of the evaluation system, and the causal relationship between the indicators is obtained. The fuzzy exponential gray correlation method is used to evaluate the quantitative process of industrial manufacturing design, avoiding the shortcomings of traditional methods that only consider ideal values.

Moderating Effect of Customer Engagement on New Product Development Capability and New Product Performance in Baby-Diaper Industry in Nigeria

Purpose: This study assessed the effect of new product development on new product performance of selected manufacturers of baby-diapers in Lagos State, Nigeria, more so, it examined the moderating effect of customer engagement on the relationship between new product development and new product performance. Methodology: This study employed a cross-sectional survey design and a sample of 262 employees of three manufacturers of baby-diapers in Lagos State, Nigeria. The hierarchical regression analysis to test two-way interaction hypotheses was conducted. Findings: The results show that new product development has a positive and significant effect on new product performance (R2 =0.273, F(1,260) =97.409, p =0.000). Further analysis shows that customer engagement explained the increase experienced in new product performance (ΔR2 = 0.168, ΔF(1,559) = 77.565, p =0.000) with the introduction of customer engagement as a moderator. Implications: The findings suggest the need for Product and Marketing managers in the baby-diaper industry to imbibe innovative production management process. This is because such innovative production process can serve as a strategy to manage erratic customer behaviours, disrupt competitive rivalry in new product development, and position the new product development offering to have unique appeal to the customers. Also it is imperative for management to create platforms to reach out to customers particularly during the new product development process; this is because it helps to harvest first-hand information regarding what the consumers will buy repeatedly.

Dimensions of social media marketing capabilities and their contribution to business performance of firms in Thailand

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the contribution of social media marketing capability on business performance of firms in Thailand. The conceptualization of social media marketing capability was developed using five aspects of the spanning capabilities of Day’s strategic framework.Design/methodology/approachQuestionnaire data were collected from business entrepreneurs in Thailand who attended seminar and training courses (N =364). Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to analyze data.FindingsAmong five aspects of social media marketing capability, social media product development capabilities and social media marketing implementation capability were positively and significantly related to customer relationship performance and financial performance; social media marketing communication capability had a significantly positive relationship only with customer relationship performance, whereas social media planning capability was found to have a significantly positive relationship only with financial performance. However, the analysis did not find the significant relationship between social media pricing capability and the two aspects of firm performance.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, the results were obtained using cross-sectional data collection. Second, the data were collected using convenience sampling. Third, the performance variables used in the analysis are perceptual measures. Finally, the study was only conducted in Thailand context and did not lend itself to any general applicability.Practical implicationsThis research suggests that it is important for Thai companies that rely on social media to develop marketing capabilities and learn how to incorporate social media into their marketing activities.Originality/valueThis study built a conceptual foundation of social media marketing capabilities based on Days strategic framework which provided a complete and comprehensive view about social media applications that can be integrated into different areas of marketing activities.

Industry Update: the Latest Developments in the Field of Therapeutic delivery, April 2019

April 2019 was perhaps remarkable for the amount of industry news about gene therapy, and notably the announcement by a global contract development and manufacturing organization, Catalent, that it was creating a capability in gene therapy product development and manufacturing through its acquisition of Paragon Bioservices, Inc (MD, USA). This move followed just a few weeks after another similar major contract development and manufacturing organization gene therapy acquisition. There was other encouraging gene and cell therapy news reported from AveXis (IL, USA), Ajinomoto Bio-Pharma (CA, USA), Kiadis Pharma (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), Fibrocell (PA, USA), Autolus Therapeutics plc (London, UK), ReNeuron (Surrey, England) and Kite Pharma (CA, USA). Also, there was plenty of therapeutic delivery technology innovation announced, including Calixar's (Lyon, France) membrane protein stabilization drug discovery technology, the Eli Lilly (IN, USA)/Avidity Biosciences LLC (CA, USA) deal around antibody oligonucleotide conjugates, ViiV Healthcare's regulatory filing for its long-acting anti-HIV-1 intramuscular injection, Marinomed Biotech's (Vienna, Austria) solubilization technology and an EU approval filing for Novo Nordisk's (Bagsværd, Denmark) oral delivery formulation of glucagon-like peptide-1 analog semaglutide. Diseases and treatment approaches that currently figure strongly in many biotech and big pharma pipelines and portfolios, notably nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and immuno-oncology, were as ever in the news, along with a number of rare disease therapies. As always, information sources employed to provide the materials used in compiling this update included company press releases, conference news and other news websites.

The Fashion Designer’s Evolving Role in the Apparel Value Chain: Perspectives from Sri Lankan Designers

In the South Asian Region, the Sri Lankan apparel industry is transitioning from apparel assembly to providing higher value-added product and services. Fashion designers are key actors in this transition. The purpose of this article is to examine the evolving role of the fashion designer in the Sri Lankan apparel industry. The study adopts a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews conducted with twenty-eight fashion and product development professionals in the Sri Lankan apparel industry. Based on an inductive thematic analysis, the study finds that the Sri Lankan designers take a multidisciplinary approach to their design practice, integrating the key functions of fashion design, product development and manufacturing capabilities, in alignment with the functional and strategic ambitions of the apparel companies. Their approach to design through technical skills extends the conceptual approach of brand designers in fashion design practice. However, the fashion knowledge of Sri Lankan designers varies significantly depending on their familiarity with Western brands and retailers as well as Western consumer culture and lifestyle.

Capability creation: Heuristics as microfoundations

Research SummaryWhile much research suggests that capabilities are critical for firms, little is known about the individual‐level origins (“microfoundations”) of capabilities. Using in‐depth nested case studies, we explore how firms develop an internationalization capability. The setting is six entrepreneurial firms from three culturally distinct countries. Our data show that executives begin byseedingthe process with imperfect heuristics and then managers continue development byelaboratingtheir understanding of what task to perform and how to perform it. Importantly, managers across hierarchical levels support the development of their firm's internationalization capability byabstractingkey heuristics away from any one experience such that the capabilities becomelessroutine over time. Overall, we contribute to the microfoundations movement in strategy and to the literature on organizational learning.Managerial SummaryFirm capabilities are not just important to strategy, but oftenarethe strategy of firms, especially in dynamic markets. Popular examples include Cisco's acquisition capability, Hewlett–Packard's alliance capability, Starbuck's internationalization capability, and Apple's product development capability. Unfortunately, it is often unclear to executives how to build a firm capability. We explore how entrepreneurial firms develop their own internationalization capability over time. Our data show that these capabilities develop through a process of seeding, elaborating, and abstracting key heuristics for internationalization. Importantly, we show that this process is shaped by extensive communication within and across multiple hierarchical levels. In this way, heuristics move from individual‐level “rules of thumb” for action to firm‐level understandings for fueling growth and creating competitive advantage.

Improving operational plant performance in international manufacturing networks: the effects of integrative capabilities and plant roles

This study adopts the resource-based view to examine how two integrative capabilities of a plant embedded in a manufacturing network enhance operational performance: the capability to connect with other plants in its manufacturing network (a networking capability, NC), and the capability to integrate manufacturing processes with new product development processes (a new product development capability, NPDC). Our model tests the indirect effect of NC on cost, quality, flexibility and delivery through NPDC. Furthermore, we test if the relationship between NC and NPDC depends on the strategic role of the plant. Using survey data from a sample of 521 plants, we confirmed the mediating effect of NPDC. However, the moderation effect was not confirmed. Our findings reveal that plants can deploy NPDC capabilities, fostered by NC, independently from their role in the network. This study contributes to the understanding of plant capabilities and plant roles in manufacturing networks.

Gaining competitive advantage through new product development capability in Malaysian Government Linked Companies

A new product development capability can be shown through organisational routines that shape the processes of innovation, which are aimed to reconfigure a firm’s product portfolio. It is aimed to create a concrete physical asset from an idea and this relates to the innovation that is the mechanism by which firms to produce new products, processes and systems that essential in order to adapt market changes, technologies and types of competition. New product development capability aids corporate managers plan and execute strategies successfully while securing sustainable competitive advantages. This paper aims to explore the extent of top management emphasis on the measures of new product development that are deemed important for business survival and sustainability in the context of Malaysian government-linked companies (GLCs). A questionnaire survey was distributed with a response rate of 47%. Findings revealed that design a high quality of product or service is the most important measures. This revealed that it is a common exercise for Malaysian GLCs to put high emphasis on the importance of the quality of the new products or services.

Gaining competitive advantage through new product development capability in Malaysian Government Linked Companies

A new product development capability can be shown through organisational routines that shape the processes of innovation, which are aimed to reconfigure a firm’s product portfolio. It is aimed to create a concrete physical asset from an idea and this relates to the innovation that is the mechanism by which firms to produce new products, processes and systems that essential in order to adapt market changes, technologies and types of competition. New product development capability aids corporate managers plan and execute strategies successfully while securing sustainable competitive advantages. This paper aims to explore the extent of top management emphasis on the measures of new product development that are deemed important for business survival and sustainability in the context of Malaysian government-linked companies (GLCs). A questionnaire survey was distributed with a response rate of 47%. Findings revealed that design a high quality of product or service is the most important measures. This revealed that it is a common exercise for Malaysian GLCs to put high emphasis on the importance of the quality of the new products or services.

The concept supply chain technological capability in case of new product development process

In some industries such as automotive, the supply chain plays a critical role in the firm success. In these industries, the unit of competition has changed to supply chain vs. supply chain. Accordingly, the aim of this paper is to develop the concept supply chain technological capability (TC) in the new product development (NPD) process. We explored the concept TC in the supply chain level, which are different from the firm level. In this paper, we studied last three NPD projects of the IKCO (the largest Iranian manufacturer), from year 2000 to 2015 by focusing on the supply chain coordinator organisation of IKCO enterprise, SAPCO. The results show firm managers are called upon to resolve the tension between supply chain TC and innovation through a NPD project and creating the right context to stimulate individuals to solve problems and to be accountable for their objectives.

Shaping Business Process Agility in Telecommunication 4.0

ABSTRACT The study elaborates the relationship between antecedents and implication of business process agility on the business performance of telecommunication equipment companies in Indonesia. Diverges from prior studies on organizational agility, the study identifies that a complete market orientation of integrated product development (IPD) implementation maximizes organization’s responsiveness toward the dynamics of customers’ requirements and competitors’ activities. Furthermore, exploratory case studies find that as Telecommunication 4.0 brings up new challenges and complexities created by open innovation and hardware-software decoupling, organizations need to leverage networking with partners and exploit organizational structure nimbleness to gain optimal product development capability. The conceptual framework is formed from both the exploratory case studies and systematic literature review. The case studies enable us to gain state-of-the-art views from practitioners in the industry, clarify the fuzziness and broad nature of antecedents, and integrate them into existing theories to acquire managerial insight. Aligned with market-based and dynamic capability theory, the originality of this study lies on how organizations exploit not only internal resource flexibility, but also how to access, configure, and leverage external network capabilities embedded in business partners.

New product development capabilities in China: the moderating role of TMT cooperative behavior

While China is experiencing economic transformation, Chinese firms still lack sufficient new product development (NPD) capability. Such capability is crucial for business innovation. This study examines the impact of operational capabilities on NPD capability of Chinese firms. Acknowledging the importance of top management team (TMT) social interactions in capability development, this study also examines the moderating effect of TMT cooperative behavior (i.e., collaborative and communicative behaviors). Based on a sample of 213 firms from China, we find substantial support for our hypotheses, thus contributing to the capabilities-based view of the firm and providing managerial implications for firms in emerging economies.

Research on product innovation design of modularization based on theory of TRIZ and axiomatic design

Modular design can shorten the product development cycle and enhance the product research and development capability of enterprises. To better solve the problem of module interface coupling after module partition, the present modular product design method has been improved based on the theory of inventive problem solving and axiomatic design theory. This article summarizes the engineering parameters commonly used in modular design based on the requirement analysis and conflict problems of modular structure design. And in the process of dividing the functional modules by fuzzy clustering algorithm, we propose defining and classifying the principle (technical) correlation between parts by these parameters. Then the coupling relation of each module interface is analyzed by the design matrix of axiomatic design and the conflict solving tool of the theory of inventive problem solving is utilized for decoupling. Finally, the high chair is taken as the design object and the design process is used to verify the feasibility of this method.

New Product Introduction Prize (NPIP) and the Market Value of the Firm: An Empirical Investigation into the Computer, Electronic and Communication Industry (CECI)

This research studies the effect of new product introduction prize (NPIP) announcements on firm value, applying event study methodology to 509 NPIP announcements between the period of 2001-2015. Specifically, the study focuses on NPIP announcements made in the computer, electronic and communication industry (CECI). It analyzes the short-term effect of market value caused by NPIP announcements within two-day event window (Days -1 and 0) by using market model. We established that NPIP announcements are perceived by investors as positive news, resulting in significant positive cumulative abnormal returns (CARs). Having controlled for firm-specific effects, (reputation and R&D intensity), we observed that stock market responds more positively to NPIPs attained by small-sized firms than large-sized firms. In addition, stock market reaction to firms that won NPIP from third-party prize schemes is more positive than winning from prize schemes within the firms’ supply chain. Due to the indispensable financial rewards accumulated by firms winning NPIPs, the conclusions of this research are very valuable to managers in the allocation of more resources towards augmenting their firms’ new product development capabilities.

Effects of IT-based supply chains on new product development activities and the performance of computer and communication electronics manufacturers

PurposeSome studies have suggested that a supply chain augmented with information technology (IT) has a positive effect on performance in the marketplace. However, these studies have not explained how the IT-based supply chain achieves this superior performance. This study aims to reveal some of the mediating influences at play: the new product development (NPD) activities of product launch, product innovativeness and product development capability.Design/methodology/approachTaking the electronics manufacturer’s perspective, this study took a resource-based view to propose that NPD activities are affected by IT advancement and that IT-based supply chain architecture is a critical resource that ultimately affects new product performance. Thus study focuses on product launch, because this is the most expensive and risky stage of NPD; product innovativeness, because it plays a substantial role in achieving a competitive advantage; and product development capability, because it leads to superior product performance. A questionnaire was used to collect data from managers of projects, products and supply chains of computer and communication electronics manufacturers; 235 valid questionnaires were returned. These data were subsequently analyzed using a variety of statistical methods.FindingsThe results support that manufacturers’ IT resources enable them to enhance NPD activities effectively with their suppliers, and that NPD activities play a key role in moderating the relationship between IT-based supply chains and new product performance.Originality/valueThis paper provides an empirically tested model of how IT-based supply chain architecture can lead to superior new product performance through product lean launch, product innovativeness and product development capability.

Escaping the Tautology Trap: The Intertwined Effect of Organizational Capabilities on NPD Success

For the past 20 years, strategy scholars have passionately discussed the merits and pitfalls of the dynamic capabilities view, which addresses a central question in strategic management by aiming to explain how firms achieve sustainable competitive advantage in dynamic environments. Despite these discussions, however, the mechanisms through which this effect applies are still not fully understood and are being debated controversially. Only recently, scholars have focused on the distinction between different levels of dynamic capabilities to explain the underlying mechanisms. We contribute to this discussion by developing a research model examining the intertwined performance effects of three distinct levels of organizational capabilities in the new product development (NPD) domain. We test our research model using survey data obtained from 272 medium-sized manufacturing firms to understand how different capabilities directly and indirectly link to new product development success. We find that learning ori...