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The paper provides an overview of research published in the innovation and operations management (IOM) literature on 15 methods for cost management in new product development, and it provides a comparison to an earlier review of the management accounting (MA) literature (Wouters & Morales, 2014).

This structured literature search covers papers published in 23 journals in IOM in the period 1990–2014.

The search yielded a sample of 208 unique papers with 275 results (one paper could refer to multiple cost management methods). The top 3 methods are modular design, component commonality, and product platforms, with 115 results (42%) together. In the MA literature, these three methods accounted for 29%, but target costing was the most researched cost management method by far (26%). Simulation is the most frequently used research method in the IOM literature, whereas this was averagely used in the MA literature; qualitative studies were the most frequently used research method in the MA literature, whereas this was averagely used in the IOM literature. We found a lot of papers presenting practical approaches or decision models as a further development of a particular cost management method, which is a clear difference from the MA literature.

This review focused on the same cost management methods, and future research could also consider other cost management methods which are likely to be more important in the IOM literature compared to the MA literature. Future research could also investigate innovative cost management practices in more detail through longitudinal case studies.

This review of research on methods for cost management published outside the MA literature provides an overview for MA researchers. It highlights key differences between both literatures in their research of the same cost management methods.

A whole‐systems approach, which seeks to optimize an entire system for multiple benefits, not isolated components for single benefits, is essential to engineering design for radically improved sustainability performance. Based on real‐world applications of whole‐systems design, the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) is developing educational case studies to help engineers expand their whole‐systems thinking. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of these case studies in multiple sections of a first‐year engineering course.

The comprehension of whole‐systems principles by 165 first‐year engineering students at Clemson University was evaluated through surveys and open‐ended questionnaires, before and after introducing the educational case studies.

The pilot study results show that introducing the case studies improves students' consideration of several essential whole‐systems design concepts. The case studies were particularly effective in strengthening student consideration of the clean sheet approach, integrative design, design for multiple benefits, optimization of the entire system, and the possibility of drastic efficiency increases with current technology.

This study was conducted at a single institution and with a fairly homogeneous group of students. These factors should be considered when interpreting the implications of the findings for other groups.

This preliminary research shows that case study examples like these can help increase consideration of the whole‐systems design approach that leads to improved sustainability performance.

This exploratory study, a Ph.D. dissertation completed at the University of Western Ontario in 2013, examines the materially embedded relations of power between library users and staff in public libraries and how building design regulates spatial behavior according to organizational objectives. It considers three public library buildings as organization spaces (Dale & Burrell, 2008) and determines the extent to which their spatial organizations reproduce the relations of power between the library and its public that originated with the modern public library building type ca. 1900. Adopting a multicase study design, I conducted site visits to three, purposefully selected public library buildings of similar size but various ages. Site visits included: blueprint analysis; organizational document analysis; in-depth, semi-structured interviews with library users and library staff; cognitive mapping exercises; observations; and photography.

Despite newer approaches to designing public library buildings, the use of newer information technologies, and the emergence of newer paradigms of library service delivery (e.g., the user-centered model), findings strongly suggest that the library as an organization still relies on many of the same socio-spatial models of control as it did one century ago when public library design first became standardized. The three public libraries examined show spatial organizations that were designed primarily with the librarian, library materials, and library operations in mind far more than the library user or the user’s many needs. This not only calls into question the public library’s progressiveness over the last century but also hints at its ability to survive in the new century.

While qualitative work has a long tradition in the strategy field and has recently regained popularity, we have not paused to take stock of how such work offers contributions. We address this oversight with a review of qualitative studies of strategy published in five top-tier journals over an extended period of 15 years (2003–2017). In an attempt to organize the field, we develop an empirically grounded organizing framework. We identify 12 designs that are evident in the literature, or “designs-in-use” as we call them. Acknowledging important similarities and differences between the various approaches to qualitative strategy research (QSR), we group these designs into three “families” based on their philosophical orientation. We use these designs and families to identify trends in QSR. We then engage those trends to orient the future development of qualitative methods in the strategy field.

The essential investments in new product development (NPD) made by industrial companies entail effective management of NPD activities. In this context, performance measurement is one of the means that can be employed in the pursuit of effectiveness.

Industrialized construction (IC) leverages manufacturing principles and innovative processes to improve the performance of construction projects. Though IC is gaining popularity in the global construction industry, studies that establish the best practices for implementing IC projects are scarce. This study aims to benchmark practical lifecycle-based best practices for implementing IC projects.

The study used a qualitative research design where nine IC cases from Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong were analysed to identify best practices. The methodological framework of the study followed well-established case study research cycle and guidelines, including planning, data collection, data analysis and reflection on findings.

The study identified and allocated key considerations, relevant stakeholders, best practices, typical deliverables and best indicators to the different construction lifecycle phases of IC projects. It also developed a lifecycle-based framework of the best practices for IC projects.

The study provides practitioners with practical insight into how best to effectively implement, manage and evaluate the performance of the IC project lifecycle phases. The proposed framework can serve as a practical diagnostic tool that enables project partners to evaluate the performance upfront progressively and objectively in each project lifecycle phase, which may inform timely corrective actions.

The study’s novelty lies in developing a framework that identifies and demonstrates the dynamic linkages among different sets of best practices, typical outputs and best practice indicators across the IC project lifecycle phases.

The main purpose of this paper is to address the impact of product design changes on supply chain risk, and to identify the supply chain risk dimensions in the Chinese special‐purpose vehicle (SPV) industry in the context of product design change.

Case study methodology is adopted to describe the current situation of supply chain risk management in the Chinese SPV industry. Data are mainly collected from in‐depth semi‐structured interviews, and a cause‐effect diagram is used to identify and summarize the internal and external risk dimensions of supply chain risk.

This paper identifies both the internal and external supply chain risk from the perspective of the focal manufacturer in the SPV supply chain. At the level of the external supply chain, customer‐required design change normally leads to risk in supply, delivery, and policy. Internally for the manufacturer, the risk dimensions are R&D, production, planning, information, and organization. All of these risk dimensions have their respective causes.

The risk identification of product design change in this paper is only meant to lay a foundation; further case studies should focus on the best practices and approaches of risk management and extend them to other industries.

The current identification of the risk dimensions and their respective causes will help both practitioners and researchers to better understand supply chain risk in the context of product design change. The identified risk dimensions and cause‐effect diagram provide practitioners with a risk framework and useful tools to recognize and identify their potential supply chain risks.

This paper shows the “big picture” of supply chain risk from product design changes in the Chinese SPV industry.

Proper definition of level of development (LOD) is one of the significant issues in building information modeling (BIM) applications; however, it is still not adequately addressed during BIM implementations. The purpose of this paper is to investigate and describe the current practice in defining the LOD in large-scale BIM-based projects and identify the challenges and solutions that were provided.

Four case studies were performed at four different types of large-scale projects to depict the current practice in determining the LOD and the required properties of elements that are going to be included in a BIM model. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were performed to collect information from six professionals from four international firms.

The findings of the case studies revealed that defining LOD is an ambiguous process and requires high-cumulated experience. The results provide the challenges, adopted solutions and lessons learned. It was highlighted that the cost of including an element or related information in the model should be compared to the benefit of having that information in the model from the perspective of defined BIM uses.

The findings are based on the projects that were performed in three developing countries. However, the main contractors were international companies and the construction management firms were well-known companies in the USA. In the future, additional case studies can be performed in other countries to identify similarities and regional differences.

The results of this study can be used to highlight the current needs in determining the LOD and guide the efforts for developing standards and policies in the AEC sector to streamline BIM adoption process in practice. The practitioners can utilize the findings of this study to increase their efficiency in adopting BIM and to decrease the time loss and cost overruns.

Most of the previous studies investigated the benefits and challenges when adopting BIM, and few of them considered LOD definition as a core part of this process. This study specifically investigated the current practice in determining the LOD and the required properties of elements that are going to be included in a BIM model. It also described the applied solutions and lessons learned in the case studies.

There is significant potential for adding value by involving customer in the design process and delivery of logistic services. In order to add value to the overall logistic system, the purpose of this paper is to apply an integrated systems approach for the design of forward and reverse logistics services in order to build a self-organising service that can maximise efficiencies and in particular reduce reverse logistics costs.

Two exploratory case studies were conducted in the logistics systems of housing repair and maintenance sector in the UK. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews, observations, and documented evidence.

The findings of the cross-case analysis suggests that systems approach expressed as the Vanguard Method (Seddon, 2008) has a direct impact on enhancing forward logistics performance and reducing reverse product flows by nourishing three dimensions for learning from demand-driven analysis; capturing customer clean information, demand predictability and categorisation, and failure demand analysis.

Findings from exploratory case studies cannot be easily generalised. Hence, further case studies are needed to enrich the findings, and to facilitate their industrial applications. Further, the paper explores the utilisation of the Vanguard Method only in the area of housing repairs and maintenance logistics services. It would be valuable for future studies to further investigate the utilisation of the Vanguard Method in other logistics services settings.

The paper demonstrates an important dynamics of how logistics services can incorporate customer demands into the logistics design process.

Draws heavily on previous established research in an attempt to distil the key aspects of case study research in such a way as to encourage new researchers to grapple with and apply these. Explains when case study can be used, research design, data collection and data analysis, offering suggestions for drawing on the evidence in writing a report or dissertation. Briefly reviews alternative perspectives on the subject.