Radical Product Development Research Articles

TYPE OF KNOWLEDGE SHARING AND ITS IMPACT ON COLLABORATIVE NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

While integrating suppliers into producer new product development (NPD) would appear to be beneficial, there lacks a consensus as to what knowledge should be shared between producers and suppliers, especially within turbulent environments. This paper examines how in-depth and complex the knowledge sharing should be between producers and suppliers, given varying environmental conditions. To this point, we propose that small-scale technical exchanges are generally more effective in collaborative NPD efforts than more complex technology transfers. We also analyze two forms of environmental uncertainty, market turbulence and technology turbulence, as they influence the knowledge sharing measures. A survey of project managers reveals that while technical exchanges positively influence NPD performance, technology transfers have no impact (except in radical product development projects) and thus may not always be appropriate in producer–supplier NPD collaborations. We also find that market turbulence and technology turbulence influence technical exchanges, but in differing manners.

Market, entrepreneurial, and technology orientations: impact on innovation and firm performance

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of market, technology, and entrepreneurial orientations (EOs) on both innovation and firm performance. It analyzes the mediating effects of incremental and radical innovation within the context of entrepreneurial firms in Turkey, an emerging economy.Design/methodology/approachThis study empirically analyses the impact of strategic orientations on firm performance through innovation with a sample of 818 small and medium enterprises in Turkey. To test the proposed model, LISREL is used.FindingsProactive market orientation (MO) and technology orientation (TO) lead to radical innovation, while responsive MO strongly affects incremental innovation. EO impacts performance directly and indirectly via both incremental and radical innovation.Practical implicationsFinding suggests that senior management of firms, especially in emerging economies should encourage marketing managers to focus on key trends of markets, both existing and emerging. These marketing managers should find and work with lead users to improve radical product development. This means that those managing marketing need to be well schooled in technology, and they should also possess a proactive MO.Originality/valueThe present study employs a two-part view of the MO construct (responsive and proactive MO). This conceptualization provides a greater degree of precision in the use of the MO concept which was rarely employed in prior studies. Moreover, this paper views strategic orientations as drivers of innovation and examines how radical and incremental innovation mediate the effects of MO, EO and TO on firm performance. Finally, this is one of the few studies to look at all of these factors simultaneously and to include the two-part view of MO.

Creating a culture for radical innovation in a small mature business

This article describes an approach in organizational development to develop an innovation culture for radical product development in a small mature engineering company. The research took place in a business based in the United Kingdom that designed and manufactured instrumentation and specialized packing machines. An initial study within the company’s new product development team identified key aspects that influenced a radical innovation culture. Nine key themes were found to be pertinent, following an iterative process with the development team. These themes were triangulated using the established Organization Culture Assessment Instrument and the Creative Climate Assessment Tool. A third assessment was developed that gauged the development team culture proximity to an ideal position. Seven interventions were developed in conjunction with the company development team, senior managers, the analysis of previous empirical case research and dialogue with UK companies that promote discontinuous innovation. The results of the interventions were evaluated 4 years after implementation. The culture was re-assessed using the same assessment tools and the changes were identified. The outcomes are described and they indicate the success of the company’s attempt to embed a sustainable radical innovation culture into the product development area.

There Is More to Market Learning than Gathering Good Information: The Role of Shared Team Values in Radical Product Definition*

User feedback is vital to a radical new product development (NPD) effort. However, shared team values (beliefs and possibly ideology) determine whether a development team will act on user feedback. This paper addresses this important issue by investigating the interaction between internal team values and external market feedback or information in radical projects. The underlying logic in investigating NPD team values is that, although user feedback is vital to a radical NPD effort, shared team values may well influence whether a development team will act on user feedback regardless of the team's competences in collecting, integrating, and assimilating the information acquired. Previous research has considered how exploratory market learning processes moderate market and technological uncertainty in radical product development. Scholars argue that NPD teams may increase the chances of success of radically new projects by acquiring, assimilating, and implementing new information from market feedback. They assume that managers and NPD teams' ability to make sound choices along the NPD process and increase learning depends on quality and quantity of information acquired from user feedback. The more and better information acquired, the easier it will be for the team to assimilate and implement it with clear benefits for the NPD project. Therefore, extant research has led to a deeper understanding of what information is important for exploratory market learning. It has not tackled, however, how information is assimilated by the NPD team and to what extent the information from the market is implemented. Given the exploratory nature of the research objective, a longitudinal participant–observation case study research is adopted, in which during a two‐year period a radical project development in the mobility field was investigated. During this period, the NPD team adopted various and sophisticated market research techniques to acquire user feedback from the design to the prototype and test phase. These units of information were collected, and the extent to which shared team values influence the process through which user feedback was assimilated, implemented, and used was analyzed. The findings suggest that information assimilation is not automatic but rather influenced in interesting ways by internal team values. The findings imply that shared team values act as a selective assimilation mechanism determining whether a development team will act on user feedback. Furthermore, the type of information (e.g., functional vs. conceptual feedback) processed by the development team acts as a moderating factor on the relationship between the team values and information processing. In conclusion, this paper highlights how one of the mechanisms for information selection is based on team values and the type of information presented to the team. The topic of selective assimilation and use in exploratory market learning is an important topic worthy of further research. It is important for academic researchers because it provides a better description of how radical product development projects evolve. It is important for managers because awareness of biases and the existence of selective assimilation may lead to better product development outcomes.

Concept Shifting and the Radical Product Development Process

Radical product development projects, which are undertaken to create new categories of products, present significant challenges to development teams. In such settings existing formal processes may be limited or inappropriate, and objectives may be ambiguous and changing. The generation of a novel product concept early in the process can play an important role in guiding development teams, but the process by which teams later change concepts, as may be required within radical contexts, has merited further research. This study investigated how teams change novel product concepts after initial generation, employing an inductive case‐study method drawing from 51 interviews with members of six radical development projects. The empirical results found that concepts were described in terms of concept components—elemental descriptive forms that included verbal stories, verbal metaphors, and physical prototypes. When changes were required to concepts due to new technical or market information, rather than reconsider the overall concept through iteration to earlier product definition stages, teams shifted individual concept components, with a new component replacing a component of similar descriptive form. Over half of concept components observed across cases came after the initial generation of concepts in later elaboration and shifting. Contrary to expectations, development teams maintained reference not only to the revised concept but also to the deferred original concept. The case of a novel electronic book development project is used to illustrate the process, along with evidence of concept shifting across cases. The detailed findings expand our understanding of how formal processes may be augmented in radical innovation settings and how concepts are actually used by development teams in changing circumstances.

Learning from leading-edge customers at The Sims: opening up the innovation process using toolkits

Recently, toolkits for user innovation and design have been proposed as a promising means of opening up the innovation process to customers. Using these tools, customers can take on problem-solving tasks and design products to fit their individual needs. To date, arguments in favor of this new concept have been limited to the idea of satisfying each user's needs in a highly efficient and valuable way. The aim of this empirical study is to extend our knowledge of how users deal with ‘the invitation to innovate’ and how attractive individual user designs might be to other users. In studying the users of toolkits for the immensely popular computer game The Sims, we found that (1) users are not ‘one-time shoppers’– in fact, their innovative engagement is rather long-lasting, continuous, evolving, and intense. We also found that (2) leading-edge users do not merely content themselves with the official toolkits provided by the manufacturer. They employ user-created tools to push design possibilities even further. (3) Moreover, individual user designs are not only attractive to the creators themselves; instead, certain innovative solutions are in high demand among other users. Based on our findings, we discuss how toolkits and their users might add to the process of innovation in general. We argue that toolkits could serve as a promising market research tool for guiding a firm's new product development efforts. Furthermore, toolkits may serve as a creche for interested but inexperienced users who could evolve into leading-edge users over time. These innovative users might then be integrated into more radical product development efforts.

Management of radical innovation and environmental challenges

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the driving forces for taking environmental considerations to a higher level in a project involving radical innovation.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative case study is based on ten in‐depth interviews with respondents from the development team for the DryQ project at ABB.FindingsIn order to achieve substantial environmental benefits, radical product development is essential. Radical product development has attributes that differ from those of incremental product development. It is important that these differences be acknowledged when preparing to manage environmental challenges in development projects. In radical product development, environmental considerations should be taken into account very early on, at the strategic level of the design process. Setting challenging environmental targets and rewarding environmental improvements was crucial to the outcome of the project presented in this paper.Research limitations/implicationsThe research presented here describes one case in one manufacturing company. Readers can, however, learn from this case and apply the insights gained to their own research or use the findings to promote new thinking in their own organisation.Practical implicationsSuggestions are made about how to manage environmental considerations in radical product development.Originality/valueFew studies combine ecodesign and radical innovation theories, as is done here. Yet this is not a theoretical paper but an industry‐based study of eco‐innovation, from which researchers and practitioners can learn.

Managing radical product development in large manufacturing firms: a longitudinal study

AbstractThis study explores and documents the processes by which large manufacturing firms develop and produce radical products. Seven projects from five Fortune 500 firms were analyzed over a 3‐year period. Through the use of these case studies, we found common themes emerging in the way these firms manage their new product development (NPD) process in this turbulent environment. Our observations suggest that these high levels of uncertainty result in several unique challenges in developing the project, especially in the areas of managing functional integration and finding a divisional home for the emerging product.

Listening to the Voice of the Market

Discusses the advantages of different styles of market listening for specific product development activities. Four types of product development activities are considered: routine product development, radical product development, extended product development, and new style product development. Listening both to the external market and to the internal market is shown to be critical to achieving success in each of these activities. Skilful listening allows a business to build effective long‐run relationships with its target markets.