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1 – 10 of over 15000Andrea Sabatini, Federica Pascucci and Gian Luca Gregori
This paper aims to explore how customer involvement unfolds in the development of a smart product. Smart product development poses new challenges to firms. In particular, the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore how customer involvement unfolds in the development of a smart product. Smart product development poses new challenges to firms. In particular, the buyers’ and users’ involvement has shown novel dynamics in smart product development. These peculiarities are linked with the specific characteristics of the digital technology embedded into the smart products. This study’s rationale is to analyse the frictions arising from potential divergent objectives between the focal firm and its customers when digital technologies are embedded in traditional products.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted an explorative and qualitative approach to investigate new emerging dynamics of customer involvement during technological development. A coffee machine producer is selected as a case study to uncover new insights and a novel perspective on the phenomenon of customer involvement in smart product development. Data analysis followed an abductive approach that allowed to identify the dimensions of friction emerging during the technological development process.
Findings
The case study analysis depicts that smart product development presents novel customer involvement dynamics. In particular, this study abductively identifies dimensions of friction emerging between the focal firm and buyers/users. Friction arises in the technological interface between the actors involved. These dimensions of friction address the complexities of developing technology in terms of smart products with customer involvement. This study suggests that embedding of technology into an existing product might change how customers are involved.
Originality/value
Even though customer involvement in product innovation has been extensively studied in management literature, this paper focused on a new type of innovation, smart products. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no previous studies have yet empirically explored customers’ involvement while embedding digital technologies into existing products to create smart products. In particular, this study sheds light on the dimensions of friction emerging between the focal firm and the actors of the business network. This study unfolds novel contributions to the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing literature on technological development.
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Emanuela Conti and Andrea Chiarini
This paper aims to investigate the phases of new product development within the design-driven innovation (DDI) process, the role of designers and collaborators in the process and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the phases of new product development within the design-driven innovation (DDI) process, the role of designers and collaborators in the process and how this process relates to some quality principles.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopted a qualitative approach using Gioia methodology. In particular, four Italian manufacturing companies in the home appliances and furniture industry were selected, and data mainly collected through direct interviews were analysed through content analysis.
Findings
The new product development related to DDI includes the following phases: the company brief, the designer research, the concept of the designer, the design, legal protection, prototyping, production and the market launch. Designers play a strategic role in the above phases of DDI, but other actors also cooperate and some quality principles affect positively on the process. This study proposes a model for a DDI process in the home appliances and furniture sector.
Research limitations/implications
Although this exploratory study was conducted on only four companies, it advances the DDI research in relation to new product development.
Practical implications
This study makes recommendations to entrepreneurs and managers on how to innovate successfully and to effectively manage designers and collaborators to ensure competition.
Social implications
This analysis highlights that design-based innovation contributes to improving the quality of life of consumers.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first qualitative study to examine the phases of new product development in DDI process, the actors involved and relationship to quality principles for the Italian home appliances and furniture sector.
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Mateus Panizzon, Gabriel Vidor and Maria Emília Camargo
Continuous understanding of the best practices associated with new product development is a constant research opportunity to advance knowledge in the field, as far as changes in…
Abstract
Purpose
Continuous understanding of the best practices associated with new product development is a constant research opportunity to advance knowledge in the field, as far as changes in the business environment and the increasing turbulence level in different market segments create and reposition the importance of practices over time.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on a systematic review, the study aimed to analyze the 100 most relevant articles published in international journals on new product development (NDP), identifying new patterns on the best practices for new product development and the types of relationship involved in NPD.
Findings
Among the several practices observed in the literature, the analysis point to a larger group of studies that converge on the identification of a positive and significant relationship in integration – simultaneously – between supplier, company, customers and strategic alliances and the performance of NPD.
Research limitations/implications
These results support integration as a cross-cutting and structural best practice for NPD, as long as it is constituted as a capacity, mainly applied in highly turbulent environments. This approach supported the proposition of a new framework.
Practical implications
Organizations will be able to implement the proposed framework to NPD strategy in order to prioritize resources in best practices, aiming to increase the performance of new product development.
Social implications
The adoption of integration and co-creation practices for the development of new products expands the possibilities of economic and social development, based on the involvement of the actors in this network.
Originality/value
This model had not yet been proposed in the literature, filling a gap in the agenda for future studies.
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Felipe Bastos dos Reis, Leonardo Augusto de Vasconcelos Gomes and PauloTromboni de Souza Nascimento
The Internet of Things (IoT) real-time data collection can help to more efficiently optimize and control companies' internal processes. Prior research analyzed IoT benefits and…
Abstract
Purpose
The Internet of Things (IoT) real-time data collection can help to more efficiently optimize and control companies' internal processes. Prior research analyzed IoT benefits and potential applications. Nevertheless, there is little empirical evidence and theoretical understanding of how IoT impacts new product development (NPD). This article aims at narrowing this gap.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 54 case studies were selected from an IoT database – IoT ONE. IoT ONE has a section on NPD. NPD was divided into three phases: discovery, development and commercialization. The adopted IoT technology maturity level was also analyzed. A content analysis was carried out to identify the impacts of IoT in NPD.
Findings
This study’s findings capture the emerging patterns of IoT adoption and its impact on NPD. Of the total, 33 IoT adoption cases in the sample were in the machinery and equipment sector. Adopted technologies were at least two years old in 85% of the sample. Only 15% adopted cutting edge technologies (less than 2 years old). Key actors (e.g. vendors) facilitate IoT adoption. By a small margin, the larger impacts of IoT were in the commercialization phase, where it was primarily applied to improve and optimize production processes, to better execute and synchronize new products launching, and to increase the factories' productive capacity. In the discovery phase, IoT was mainly used to identify new opportunities in the market and to collect customer data, to generate a better customer experience. In the development phase, IoT allows greater integration across departments, increasing internal collaboration and allowing more flexible NPD.
Originality/value
Many articles studied the impact of information technologies in NPD. Few address the impact of IoT in NPD. IT tells about the impact of better communications with relevant people. IoT tells about machine acquired information and knowledge. This is new, much broader and deals with quite different impacts on NPD.
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Minseo Kim, Ji-eung Kim, Yeong-wha Sawng and Kwang-sun Lim
This study aims to verify the effectiveness and efficiency of corporate technology innovation activities.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to verify the effectiveness and efficiency of corporate technology innovation activities.
Design/methodology/approach
This study empirically analyzes the effects of research and development (R&D) capability on patent and new product development achievements on innovation-type small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by using the “Report on Korean Innovation Survey 2010: Manufacturing Sector” data released by the Science and Technology Policy Institute.
Findings
The results of the study indicate that staffing of the concentration of R&D human resource team and efforts toward open innovation are essential factors for the creation of corporate performance.The number of persons of the concentration R&D team in particular makes up essential resources for patent acquisition and new product development. In addition, in case of an SME’s with relatively poor resources, it is necessary to acquire resources, both material and immaterial, learn from the external R&D activities and internalize those into key corporate capabilities rather than step up the R&D activities on their own.
Originality/value
The results of this study indicate that innovative small enterprises need to secure the number of R&D human resource members for maintaining sustainable competitiveness and securing market share. Therefore, a strategy is needed that would enable employing and raising excellent human resource in the quantitative and qualitative aspects. However, in the circumstances that small enterprises suffer difficulty in securing professional human resource for R&D compared to large enterprises, as there is a limitation for securing human resource for R&D from only the dimension of enterprises, governmental and political support is thought to be necessary for securing good-quality human resource for R&D. Accordingly, the results of this study provide many implications for the necessity of detailed methodology on how to expand professional human resource for R&D among supporting policies for technical innovative enterprises and to establish innovative strategies of enterprises.
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This case study examines the new product development (NPD) process of digital information products (DIPs) and its critical success factors (CSFs) in a small-sized German…
Abstract
Purpose
This case study examines the new product development (NPD) process of digital information products (DIPs) and its critical success factors (CSFs) in a small-sized German enterprise.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study was conducted with a small firm focused on the development of DIPs; data were obtained through semi-structured interviews, direct observation and document analysis.
Findings
The firm uses an informal and cross-functional NPD process (idea generation, idea validation, product creation and product launch) in converting an idea into a sellable product. Peculiar aspects of each stage within the process as well as ten CSFs to NPD projects were verified.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations are attributed to its qualitative nature, which does not allow generalizations, though careful attention was given to validity and reliability issues through the use of data source triangulation.
Practical implications
The paper provides a conceptual process that may benefit further initiatives for developing and launching DIPs, as well as a comprehensive list of CSFs for such projects.
Originality/value
This paper is the first one to schematize the NPD process and practices for DIPs, as well as key capabilities. It contributes to the NPD literature in discussing dynamic aspects that are typical to the firm analyzed and to others operating in a digital context. At the same time, it reinforces other traditional aspects that have become overlooked in digital business debates.
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Yeon-Hak Kim, Sun-Woong Park and Yeong-Wha Sawng
The purpose of this study is to develop an appropriate new product development (NPD) process of Company “T”, a medium-sized firm, by analyzing the existing NPD process and failure…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to develop an appropriate new product development (NPD) process of Company “T”, a medium-sized firm, by analyzing the existing NPD process and failure cases of the Company.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed research framework is as follows: first, prospective studies of the NPD process are performed using the existing literature and preliminary references; second, comparative analysis between the current processes and a NPD process is performed; third, phase-based evaluations upon failed product cases are conducted with a NPD process so as to identify the abridged steps and root-causes of failures; finally, renewed priorities are set forth by utilizing the analytic hierarchy process analysis and questionnaire analysis upon the above identified causes of failures.
Findings
The resulting accomplishments include the establishment of NPD processes that resonates with the current states of Company “T”, which, in turn, ensures the increase of efficiency, the decrease in development duration and the strategy of capacity-concentration and priority-selection.
Originality/value
As Company “T”’s development process is outdated and products are developed without adequate market information research and feasibility analysis, the percentage of failed development project is as high as 87 per cent. Thus, this study aims to develop an appropriate NPD process of Company “T” by analyzing the existing NPD process and failure cases of the Company.
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Kehinde Medase and Laura Barasa
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how specialised capabilities including absorptive capacity and marketing capabilities influence innovation commercialisation in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how specialised capabilities including absorptive capacity and marketing capabilities influence innovation commercialisation in manufacturing and service firms in Nigeria. The authors hypothesise that absorptive capacity measures including openness and formal training for innovation, and marketing capabilities encompassing new product marketing and marketing innovation are positively associated with innovation performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors examine commercialisation of innovation within the profiting from innovation (PFI) and dynamic capabilities (DC) framework and use data from the 2012 Nigeria Innovation Survey to test the hypothesis by means of a Heckman sample selection model.
Findings
The authors find that absorptive capacity measures comprising openness and formal training are positively associated with innovation performance. The authors also find that marketing capabilities as indicated by new product marketing and marketing innovation are positively associated with innovation performance.
Research limitations/implications
The authors acknowledge that firms undergo continuous changes and that there may be the presence of unobserved or unmeasured heterogeneity. Taking into cognisance that Nigeria is a federal state, cultural diversity and economic factors are likely to differ widely between geographical regions. Also, while the proposed conceptual framework offers a deeper understanding of innovation performance, examining how integrating activities of the R&D department, human resource department and marketing department affect innovation commercialisation is likely to provide more meaningful insights.
Practical implications
The role that inter-organisational learning and intra-organisational learning play in driving innovation performance provide managers with a basis for incorporating absorptive capacity building programs that boost employees’ ability to recognise and apply valuable external knowledge to commercial ends. Similarly, firms may benefit from offering marketing capabilities development programs. Furthermore, innovation policies in Nigeria are generally designed to focus on fostering innovation activities aimed at developing innovative output. Accordingly, government support explicitly targeting new product marketing and marketing innovation is likely to play a vital role in the successful commercialisation of innovation in Nigeria.
Originality/value
This study fuses the PFI and DC framework to examine why innovating firms may not necessarily succeed. This area of study has received scant attention in sub-Saharan Africa given that extant literature focusses on value creation as opposed to value capture.
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Christopher Miller, Brychan Celfyn Thomas and Michael Roeller
This study attempts to create new insights into innovation management through the integration of innovation management processes and sustainable, iterative circles. Through the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study attempts to create new insights into innovation management through the integration of innovation management processes and sustainable, iterative circles. Through the exploration of the use of sustainable, iterative circles in a manufacturing environment, this paper explores their role in facilitating customer-focused innovation practices. Other supporting antecedences for innovative behavior are reviewed, and their combined effect upon delivering cost-effective product developments are assessed.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected through semi-structured interviews in manufacturing organizations from the automotive industry. Interviews were conducted with senior functional managers to interpret the application of sustainable, iterative development circles. Analysis of the data was undertaken via thematic analysis based upon pertinent and emergent themes.
Findings
Sustainable, iterative development circles overcame the inherent path-dependency of traditional linear development approaches, whereas, traditional approaches structure the involvement of key business functions, iterative circles facilitate more flexible approaches to product development that more closely met the requirements of the customer, especially when those requirements are in a state of flux.
Practical implications
This iterative, customer-centric approach to product development reflects the increasingly dynamic market environments in which manufacturing organizations operate. Using this approach helps to focus the organization’s attention upon customer requirements rather than the challenges of adhering to the rigid dogma of a chosen development methodology.
Originality/value
This study proposes a new approach toward the development of innovations in manufacturing organizations utilizing the sustainable, iterative circles, and therefore, contrasts with the traditional, linear development methodologies that are usually employed.
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Silvia Massa, Maria Carmela Annosi, Lucia Marchegiani and Antonio Messeni Petruzzelli
This study aims to focus on a key unanswered question about how digitalization and the knowledge processes it enables affect firms’ strategies in the international arena.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to focus on a key unanswered question about how digitalization and the knowledge processes it enables affect firms’ strategies in the international arena.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conduct a systematic literature review of relevant theoretical and empirical studies covering over 20 years of research (from 2000 to 2023) and including 73 journal papers.
Findings
This review allows us to highlight a relationship between firms’ international strategies and the knowledge processes enabled by applying digital technologies. Specifically, the authors discuss the characteristics of patterns of knowledge flows and knowledge processes (their origin, the type of knowledge they carry on and their directionality) as determinants for the emergence of diverse international strategies embraced by single firms or by populations of firms within ecosystems, networks, global value chains or alliances.
Originality/value
Despite digital technologies constituting important antecedents and critical factors for the internationalization process, and international businesses in general, and operating cross borders implies the enactment of highly knowledge-intensive processes, current literature still fails to provide a holistic picture of how firms strategically use what they know and seek out what they do not know in the international environment, using the affordances of digital technologies.
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