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Focusing the Fuzzy Front-End in New Product Development

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Abstract

Effectively managing the "upfront or fuzzy front-end" (FFE) of the product development process is one of the most important, difficult challenges facing innovation managers. In this paper, we define the FFE as the period between when an opportunity is first considered and when an idea is judged ready for development. We classify the outcomes of the FFE into product definition, time, and people dimensions. We suggest several strategies to manage the FFE by assigning a FFE manager or team; by providing organizational support for FFE activities; by understanding the sources of FFE ambiguity; by building an information system; and by developing relationships with supporters, partners, and alliances.

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... The existing influential studies on manufacturing firms' fuzzy front-end (FFE) innovation activities mostly concern the new product development (NPD) stage of firms' growth process [1][2][3][4][5][6][7], stating that FFE activities are the momentous initial phase of NPD and that these activities prompt NPD success [8][9][10][11][12]. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped the world of business, disrupting firms' sales activities and international trade and supply chains, especially for small startups [13,14]. ...
... A lack of top management engagement makes startup's FFE process relatively uncertain [7], which suggests that experienced startup CEO leadership could be useful in determining startups' direction under the cloud of uncertainties they face. The FFE process requires mindful leadership to guide product completion procedures for good consumer acceptance, as FFE activities are usually ambiguous and unclear [9]. Moreover, effective leadership is the engine of the FFE process that initiates FFE activities [21]. ...
... The FFE innovation of a manufacturing startup is initiated with the hope of producing as output a primary product prototype that can be substantially replicated and successfully launched into the market during subsequent stages of the NPD process [8,28]. The FFE process usually starts when an opportunity is first recognized and ends when the corresponding firm has decided to either develop or terminate the product [8, 9,12]. Therefore, FFE activities are the most fundamental initiatives for a startup aiming to set up a product's market commercialization blueprint by decreasing NPD duration and costs. ...
Article
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Fuzzy front-end is the research frontier of manufacturing industry. This study investigates the relationship between market-oriented FFE activities and manufacturing startup growth performance by adopting an open innovative ancient Chinese Taoism Yin-Yang approach under this post-pandemic circumstance. This study also examines the moderating behavioral effect of Chinese Zen-originated CEO mindfulness between market-oriented FFE activities and manufacturing startup growth performance. Data for this study were gathered from 343 Chinese manufacturing startups’ CEOs across different manufacturing industries, including both high-tech and conventional manufacturing industries. The collected data were analyzed by using structural equation modeling and Bootstrap method. The quantitative analysis results show that most market-oriented FFE activities have positive effects on manufacturing startup growth performance and the Chinese Zen-originated CEO mindfulness positively moderates the relationship between most FFE activities and startup growth performance.
... However, based on the extra-role behavior of vertical stakeholders on a daily necessity manufacturer's value chain (Autry et al., 2008;Wuyts, 2007), we propose that the functions of distributors on a daily necessity manufacturing firm's value chain should not be limited to boundary spanners of logistic channels between manufacturers and the terminal retail markets in this research. Firms should also utilize distributors' strategic orienting potential (customer orientation and technology orientation) in the initial product innovation phase of the fuzzy front-end (FFE) for the purpose of product commercial strategy formulation at the beginning of the NPD process (Kim & Wilemon, 2002a;Kim et al., 2011;Ling-Yee, 2010;Pan et al., 2021). FFE is the very first stage of a manufacturing company's NPD procedure (Andriopoulos et al., 2018;Brentani & Reid, 2012;Sakellariou et al., 2017;Verworn, 2009;Zhang et al., 2019). ...
... FFE is the very first stage of a manufacturing company's NPD procedure (Andriopoulos et al., 2018;Brentani & Reid, 2012;Sakellariou et al., 2017;Verworn, 2009;Zhang et al., 2019). The execution quality of FFE innovation will determine a new product's commercial success when the product is on market for sale (Khurana & Rosenthal, 1998;Kim & Wilemon, 2002a;Koen et al., 2014;Zhang et al., 2019). Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that the appropriate initial product strategy is implemented at the FFE stage when the product concept is first being formed to place the optimal product prototype into the massive production line (Khurana & Rosenthal, 1998;Oliveira et al., 2022). ...
... The Extra-Role Behaviors of Strategic Orientation from Distributors in Daily Necessity Manufacturers' FFE Innovation of the NPD Process FFE innovation is the earliest product strategy formulation phase of a manufacturing firm's NPD process, which contains a set of different FFE activities (Khurana & Rosenthal, 1998;Kim & Wilemon, 2002a;Koen et al., 2014;Markham, 2013;Zhang et al., 2019). The FFE activities accumulated through FFE product strategies for shaping a very first product prototype will determine whether the product should be invested in a massive production line for subsequent product market commercialization (Christiansen & Gasparin, 2019;Cooper, 2021;Khurana & Rosenthal, 1998), hence deciding a firm's NPD success, as NPD performance is related to the product's market performance and scientific management performance (Cooper, 1994;Dolfsma et al., 2022). ...
Article
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This study intends to investigate how the extra-role behavior of distributors’ FFE strategic orientation affects daily necessity manufacturers’ NPD (New product development) performance. This study also probes the moderating effects of FFE external environment uncertainties and CEOs’ alertness on this relationship. Data for this study were collected from different categories of daily necessity manufacturing companies, such as daily hygiene firms, food and beverage firms and daily electronics firms. The collected data were analyzed by structural equation modeling. The results show that distributors’ customer orientation has a positive impact on daily necessity manufacturers’ NPD performance. Furthermore, the results also show that FFE market uncertainty and FFE economic policy uncertainty negatively moderate the relationship, while CEO alertness has a positive moderating effect. This study indicates that the extra-role behavior (behavior that beyond one’s normal business duty) of distributors should utilize daily necessity manufacturers’ FFE customer orientation to help build greater NPD performance. It also shows that CEOs’ alertness is vital for daily necessity manufacturers to defend against FFE external environment uncertainties. This study closes the gap between FFE strategic orientation and daily necessity manufacturers’ NPD performance. This study also explores extra-role behavior and CEOs’ role in daily necessity manufacturers’ FFE innovation.
... The interaction between engineering and marketing teams with VWB board and VW headquarters contributes to saving time and build up solutions to the problems faced by the project of the new product. As affirmed by Kim and Wilemon (2002), the efforts for risk prevention carried out in the early stages of the OPIP maintain in lower level the possibility of occurrence of risks since then. ...
... As pointed out by Kim and Wilemon (2002), the VWB efforts to prevent risks have contributed to maintaining the possibility of occurrence of risks low, excepting the enterprise risks involving the corporate relation with the federal government. As observed by Federico Neto et al. (2018), companies have a low level of control over the federal government's decision making. ...
... Research results strengthen the concepts of innovation environment embodying external agents of the OPIP (Gomes et al., 2016;Pittaway et al., 2004;Oliva, 2016), the open innovation paradigm (Chesbrough, 2003;Ferraris et al., 2017) and corroborates to the findings on risks affecting the OPIP (Federico Neto et al., 2018;Kim and Wilemon, 2002;Oliva et al., 2014;Reeves et al., 2013). Moreover, the findings of this research contributes, in what concerns to a case study, to the literature on identification and analysis of enterprise risks (COSO, 2012(COSO, , 2017ISO, 2018) affecting the stages of the OPIP (Cooper, 2014), particularly on those raising from the corporate relations (Oliva, 2016;Xue et al., 2018) with external agents (Chesbrough, 2003;Gomes et al., 2016). ...
Article
Purpose The problem statement is how to identify and analyze the corporate risks involved in the relationships with external agents involved in the open product innovation process (OPIP)? Seeking to extend this investigation, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the enterprise risks identified in corporate relations with external agents of the OPIP. This study proposes the systematization of the process of identification and analysis of the enterprise risks involved in the process of open product innovation. Design/methodology/approach The case explored in this study is the OPIP of Volkswagen do Brasil (VWB), one of the most important subsidiaries of the Volkswagen Group. Criteria were selected to both assessing corporate relations with external agents of the open innovation of VWB and analyzing the enterprise risks identified in these relations. Data collection included interviews with management-level professionals engaged in the OPIP activities and technical visits to a VWB’s industrial plant. Findings Results demonstrate that the enterprise risks mostly affecting the OPIP have a critical impact on the manufacturing process and initial sales of the new product. Originality/value The originality of the study focuses on the proposal of a systematization of how to identify and analyze the corporate risks involved in the process of open product innovation. The study focuses on the theoretical frontier on the open innovation and enterprise risk management (ERM) in the open innovation process.
... What is project front-end, and what are its key characteristics? Project front-end is the first phase of any project comprising a series of activities, the generation of project concepts first, then their assessment to determine which one passes the "money gate'' i.e., the critical stage at which the best concept is selected, then funded for development in the project implementation phase (Alam, 2006;Berghaus & Back, 2016;Gassmann & Schweitzer, 2014;Kim & Wilemon, 2002). More explicitly, it is a project phase situated between the expression of an idea about a need/opportunity and its translation into an operational concept i.e., the possibility of a tangible solution in different forms of innovation i.e., product, service, process, and business model innovation. ...
... More explicitly, it is a project phase situated between the expression of an idea about a need/opportunity and its translation into an operational concept i.e., the possibility of a tangible solution in different forms of innovation i.e., product, service, process, and business model innovation. Regardless of the type of project, project front-end is characterized by a high level of uncertainty (Kim & Wilemon, 2002;Samset & Volden, 2016), and as such it requires a qualitative, informal, and approximative approach, centered on learning, creativity, experimenting, and information flow rather than a quantitative, formal, and precise approach (Berghaus & Back, 2016;Kim & Wilemon, 2002;Stevens & Burley, 2004). ...
... More explicitly, it is a project phase situated between the expression of an idea about a need/opportunity and its translation into an operational concept i.e., the possibility of a tangible solution in different forms of innovation i.e., product, service, process, and business model innovation. Regardless of the type of project, project front-end is characterized by a high level of uncertainty (Kim & Wilemon, 2002;Samset & Volden, 2016), and as such it requires a qualitative, informal, and approximative approach, centered on learning, creativity, experimenting, and information flow rather than a quantitative, formal, and precise approach (Berghaus & Back, 2016;Kim & Wilemon, 2002;Stevens & Burley, 2004). ...
Conference Paper
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In any human undertakings, success requires a sound strategy. Based on a narrative review, this conceptual paper discusses the concept of strategy, its manifestations in digital transformation, and a strategy for managing project front-end activities in this change process. Concretely, based on the underlying rationale, we highlight the multidimensional nature of strategy first, then its various manifestations in digital transformation. Finally, we present a strategy for managing project front-end activities in this process, some relevant tools, and techniques in addition to a metaphor meant to creatively generate supplemental insights into this strategy. Overall, this essay contributes to knowledge in information systems by enhancing two types of theory in this area, namely, the theory for analyzing and theory for design and action.
... Hence, organizational learning (OL) is a way of involving different external stakeholders in FFE to acquire and absorb knowledge in an open innovation environment, create innovative concepts and thus realize innovation outcomes and commercial success [9][10][11]. Moreover, involving external groups deeply at the FFE stage provides valuable and innovative information and ideas in addition to internal FFE activities that decrease FFE fuzziness and uncertainty [12][13][14]. Moreover, regarding the current VUCA age, studies have shown that a high level of collaborative innovation activities with external stakeholders during the COVID-19 pandemic positively influences a firm's overall performance and even guides firms through the crisis [15,16]. ...
... According to previous research findings, the common external collaborators at a firm's FFE stage are customers, suppliers, competitors, universities and governments [12,17]. However, competitors, universities and other external stakeholders do not share the same economic and sustainable development interests for achieving a common goal with focal firms in the NPD process, whereas customers and suppliers are the most important players in the vertical value chain of a firm's economic returns and social responsibilities [13,14,18,19]. ...
... Successful NPD output requires a detailed and formal FFE process that comprises many available resources and much interdisciplinary work input [6]. Many influential studies have emphasized the importance of involving external stakeholders during firms' FFE stage [2,[12][13][14][50][51][52]; hence, it is clear that firms should combine different external resources, knowledge sources and stakeholders in a boundaryless system to co-innovate during the FFE stage and improve organizational performance, as FFE openness and competence brings both financial and nonfinancial success to innovations [28,30]. Moreover, Menguc et al. [33] suggested that knowledge and resources from inside an organization do not facilitate open-boundary innovation but that the utilization of external customers and suppliers for fusion innovation helps firms improve NPD performance. ...
Article
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Fuzzy front-end (FFE) innovation is the important initial phase of manufacturing companies’ new product development (NPD) process, which can be a factor that determines manufacturers’ NPD performance and sustainable growth. This study seeks to investigate the role of FFE vertical external involvement (FFE customer involvement and FFE supplier involvement) in advancing firms’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) and NPD performance in the COVID-19-influenced age of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA). This study adopts an organizational learning (OL) perspective as its theoretical foundation in constructing a comprehensive framework by developing a series of hypotheses. In addition, we test the mediating effect of CSR on the relationship between FFE vertical external involvement and firm NPD performance. We use the structural equation modeling method to examine our hypotheses empirically based on data collected from 548 Chinese manufacturing companies. The findings illustrate that FFE customer involvement and FFE supplier involvement are vital drivers of a firm’s CSR engagement. Furthermore, we find that FFE supplier involvement plays a more significant role than FFE customer involvement in contributing to NPD performance. Finally, we find that a firm’s CSR engagement positively mediates the relationship between FFE vertical external involvement and NPD performance.
... We reviewed literature about front-end activities [e.g. Khurana and Rosenthal (1998); Koen et al. (2001); Kim and Wilemon (2002); Rubenstein (1994); Verganti (1997); Zhang and Doll (2001); Schröder and Jetter (2003); Ayag (2005); Reid and de Brentani (2004)] and developed a standardized questionnaire to assess front end related activities in Japanese companies. Figure 1 shows our frame of the fuzzy front end phase within a model of the new product development process. ...
... The involvement of upper management in the assessment of new product ideas may prove supportive to success inasmuch as upper management is likely to be more involved and offer greater support for ideas of which they approved during assessment in order to insure their success. Therefore, involvement of upper management in the assessment of new product ideas may result in support and championing for a project which has repeatedly been identified as contributing to new product success [Kim and Wilemon (2002)]. Consequently, we propose that P2: Upper management involvement in the assessment of new product ideas contributes positively to success. ...
Article
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In this paper, we report on the results of a large-scale study about typical front-end-related innovation practices in 553 Japanese mechanical and electrical engineering companies. We explore typical activities concerning the generation and assessment of new product ideas, the reduction of technological as well as market uncertainty and front end planning. Finally, we report on the differences between successful and unsuccessful companies. Our study confirms earlier findings about the frequent use of creativity techniques in Japan during the process of idea generation. We also find companies to be intensively involved in upper management and customers on NPD projects. While integrating upper management is of vital importance for assessing new product ideas, integrating customers and users is primarily used to developing product ideas and concepts. We further find evidence that successful companies integrate their customers more frequently in the process of developing and assessing new product ideas than non-successful companies. In addition, the former integrate customer requirements into their product definitions more often and also translate these requirements into technical specifications more frequently than non-successful companies. Finally, successful companies more often systematically plan a project prior to its start than unsuccessful ones.
... Therefore, the outcome of this phase constitutes the product idea where companies concentrate their design efforts and resources (Montagna, 2011). The literature concentrates on the initial phases of product planning, which are considered critical to carry out innovation initiatives successfully (Kim & Wilemon, 2002;Reid & DeBrentani, 2004) (Reil, Neumann, & Tichkiewitch, 2013). Several researchers note that a great percentage of product failures can be directly attributed to inefficient planning activities up-front (Cooper, Edgett, & Kleinschmidt, 1999;Shinno & Hashizume, 2002). ...
... Successful execution at the beginning of design and product planning cycles reduces problems in later product development stages (Cagen & Vogel, 2001;Flint, 2002), drives revenues and increases firms' profitability (Dahl & Moreau, 2002;Reid & DeBrentani, 2004;Alam, 2006;Kahn, 2011). In short, well-managed and executed initial design phases are required to create successful new products (Kim & Wilemon, 2002;Ernst, 2002;Gou, 2012). As claimed by Pahl et al. (2007), formal processes for the front-end phases help execute the whole product development cycle effectively. ...
... Today, organizations can easily accumulate myriads of solution-related content from large official patent or internal product databases, crowdsource ideas from diverse internal and external knowledge sources, or crawl the Internet to find valuable product reviews or online documents. This access to broad pools of information can be particularly useful at the front-end of innovation, where uncertainty is high and the costs of changing direction are low (Cooper and Kleinschmidt, 1988;Kim and Wilemon, 2002;Verganti, 1997). ...
... It passes several stages, from the preparation of relevant knowledge, through the generation of new ideas, the development and testing of products and services, to market-ready solutions. The early stages of the innovation search process, also known as the fuzzy front-end of innovation (Kim and Wilemon, 2002), involve the period between the first consideration of an opportunity and the final judgment of whether an idea is ready for development. It includes critical stages such as opportunity identification, opportunity analysis, idea generation and enrichment, idea selection, and concept and technology development (Khurana and Rosenthal, 1998;Koen et al., 2001;Takey and Carvalho, 2016). ...
... Consisting of a cross-functional effort that engages different participants and organisational domains (Feeney & Pierce, 2016;Feeney & Pierce, 2018), the NPD process in the management accounting (MA) literature is defined as a structured, multi-phased, and iterative process with the objective to transform an idea into a product (Davila, 2000). Early stage NPD activities, also known as the 'fuzzy frontend' phase of NPD (Kim & Wilemon, 2002), form the uncertain, dynamic, but fundamental stage of the NPD process that begins when a business opportunity is first deemed worthy of further consideration, exploration and assessment, and ends when a firm decides to invest in the idea and launch the project (Kim & Wilemon, 2002), thus recognising it as a new source of value creation (Davila et al., 2009). After this phase, the NPD project usually goes through a process of constant growth that likely ends in the commercialisation of the new product and the concretion of value creation. ...
... Consisting of a cross-functional effort that engages different participants and organisational domains (Feeney & Pierce, 2016;Feeney & Pierce, 2018), the NPD process in the management accounting (MA) literature is defined as a structured, multi-phased, and iterative process with the objective to transform an idea into a product (Davila, 2000). Early stage NPD activities, also known as the 'fuzzy frontend' phase of NPD (Kim & Wilemon, 2002), form the uncertain, dynamic, but fundamental stage of the NPD process that begins when a business opportunity is first deemed worthy of further consideration, exploration and assessment, and ends when a firm decides to invest in the idea and launch the project (Kim & Wilemon, 2002), thus recognising it as a new source of value creation (Davila et al., 2009). After this phase, the NPD project usually goes through a process of constant growth that likely ends in the commercialisation of the new product and the concretion of value creation. ...
Article
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This paper systematically reviews the existing literature at the crossroads of management accounting and new product development. At present, the accumulated knowledge on this topic is fragmented. Different research settings, diverse research focuses, and the use of different research methods are amongst the main reasons for the existing fragmentation and lack of an overall, conceptually coherent view of the knowledge gained on the management accounting phenomenon in new product development environments. As a response to the current knowledge fragmentation, the purpose of this paper is to consolidate existing evidence, provide an overview of the literature’s state-of-the-art, and propose paths for its future development. As a result of the systematisation attempt, this paper recognises the threefold identity of management accounting research in new product development and proposes a conceptual framework that collocates existing contributions along a research spectrum that gradually shifts the focus from the more technical-oriented aspects of management accounting to the more sociological-oriented aspects. Accordingly, this paper identifies the following research paths and systematise their relative contributions: (1) management accounting techniques and calculations; (2) management accounting information types and roles; (3) management accountants’ involvement and roles in new product development environments. Besides allowing the systematisation of previous investigations, this paper’s three research avenues provide a ‘lighthouse’ to those who, in future, aim to contribute to the current debate and knowledge creation at the intersection of management accounting and new product development. In this regard, the final part of the paper advances nine research propositions that emanate from the literature review and outlines a research agenda with directions for future research.
... However, the recent steps are vital to product development and 80 of production costs are spent in this process. This leads to spend more cost and time significantly (Kim and Wilemon, 2002). The primary objective of this paper is to examine how a successful new product development. ...
... A Model of Direct and Indirect Effects ... 3 to the structural model. Then experimental results are discussed in section 6 and we provide a summary of key and managerial findings. ...
... Specifically, enterprises can use digital technology to observe, record, and analyze users' behaviors and habits during the fuzzy front-end stage. Digital technology, which relies on cumulative affordance, can accurately analyze extensive homogenized data produced in the interaction process [18], assist enterprises in analyzing the unsatisfied demands of the mainstream market, and then accurately identify market opportunities [61,62]. This provides conditions to realize disruptive innovation. ...
Article
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In the context of increasingly fierce global competition, utilizing digital technology to realize disruptive innovation is an effective way for enterprises to gain access to the mainstream market and form long-term competitive advantages. From the perspective of affordance, this study classifies digital technology affordance into cumulative affordance and variant affordance and explores the influence mechanism of digital technology affordance on enterprise disruptive innovation according to three core innovation phases: “fuzzy front-end–development–commercialization”. Based on 241 data points from different industries and types of enterprises, this empirical study found that (1) cumulative affordance and variant affordance have a significant positive impact on disruptive innovation and its “fuzzy front-end—development—commercialization” phases; (2) dynamic capabilities play a mediating role between digital technology affordance and disruptive innovation; and (3) the three aspects of dynamic capabilities—sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring—are greatly enhanced by cumulative affordance and variable affordance. These findings contribute to the research on the relationship between digital technology affordance and disruptive innovation and provide a micro-level perspective on how firms realize disruptive innovation through digital technology affordance.
... A lack of idea creativity, or misjudgment of an idea's commercial potential, frequently results in product failures (Thomke & Fujimoto, 2000). Firms thus emphasize the importance of these steps before any idea receives full commitment (Kim & Wilemon, 2002). ...
Article
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Firms increasingly leverage idea markets, where participants (such as employees) generate, improve, and evaluate ideas on a collaborative digital platform. Different participants contribute differently to the ideation process, some generating high quality ideas while others initiating discussion threads and commenting on the ideas to further enhance the ideas’ quality. Such diverse contributions may be importantly influenced by the participants’ diverse social capital— resource access and status —in their pre-existing network. We theorize this relationship and further test our hypotheses by conducting two idea market studies, one involving only a firm’s employees (Study 1: closed innovation) and the other further incorporating non-employees (Study 2: open innovation). We show that the higher quality ideas are generated by the participants with greater resource access , whereas continued engagement , including contributing larger quantities of ideas, discussion threads, and comments, stems from those with higher status . These findings have important implications for ideator recruitment and idea market design.
... In most business organizations, the question of technological uncertainties is a strategic one, as it is linked to managerial decisions on technology investments and gaining added value (Berawi, 2021). Due to the accelerating level of digitalization and turbulent global environments, many scholars (Gassmann and Schweitzer, 2014;Kim and Wilemon, 2002;Cagan and Vogel, 2002) emphasize the importance of gaining knowledge related to the front-end phase. In order to make successful investment decisions and overcome various uncertainties, such as being able to scope which technologies are the most fit-for-purpose for specific products, managers will be required to gather perceivable experiences to support the decisionmaking (Schweitzer, 2014;Cagan and Vogel, 2002). ...
... For instance, "seeking to reduce uncertainty" has been identified as one of the cultural barriers that hinders co-design and open innovation in the Western context. To counteract this barrier, many suggest that co-design activities in the early stages of open innovation should remain open to all possibilities and opportunities (Kim and Wilemon, 2002). Additionally, one of the reasons for utilizing design games is to address Western individualism through the rules of the game. ...
Article
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Innovation-driven firms must adopt an open design strategy for competitiveness. Co-design games are recommended to foster an open, equal, and collaborative culture. However, most studies focus on the West. East-Asian countries, notably China, face unique challenges due to cultural disparities and inertia. This paper explores design games in the Chinese context through a case study with traditional workshops, revealing participants' perspectives and the potential impact on cultural inertia.
... Within conventional product development, Ernst et al. [71] indicate that entrepreneurs exhibit greater adaptability and receptiveness to recommendations during the initial stages of product creation. Entrepreneurs at the earlier stages of product development are more likely to gain from this type of social interaction because they emphasize honing their ideas utilizing suggestions from future users and clients [72]. Contrarily, because entrepreneurs in the later stages of development have a more established product, they might find it more expensive and complex to add new ideas to alter the current product, potentially harming the product's success when commercialized [71]. ...
Article
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Despite the growing body of research on crowdfunding, there is still a critical need to clarify the essential elements of its connection to sustainability. This study explores how various constructs, such as green product co-design, green market insight, environmental legitimacy, and the stage of product development, bear on the success of crowdfunding endeavors intended to finance eco-friendly products. We employed a questionnaire to gather insights from 113 campaign initiators, deviating from the predominant focus on web-based data collection found in much of the existing literature. The collected data were then examined through the application of structural equation modeling techniques. The findings indicate that, with the exception of environmental legitimacy, all the examined constructs exhibited a positive effect on the campaign's success. Furthermore, it was observed that the stage of development subtly diminishes the positive relationship between green product co-design practices and the success of a crowdfunding campaign. Our study offers valuable theoretical insights in light of these findings. Additionally, the paper proffers pragmatic suggestions for more effective crowdfunding of sustainable products.
... Vidal et al. (2011) believed that project complexity is an attribute of a project, and even when complete project system information can be obtained, it is difficult to predict and control the project as a whole. Meanwhile, Kim (2002) and Larson (1979) defined project complexity from different perspectives, and Dao et al. (2017) summarized more than 30 definitions of complexity through the literature review. ...
Article
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Purpose This study aims to obtain governance strategies for managing the complexity of megaprojects by analyzing the impact of individual factors and their configurations using the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) method and to provide references for project managers. Design/methodology/approach With the continuous development of the economy, society and construction industry, the number and scale of megaprojects are increasing, and the complexity is becoming serious. Based on the relevant literature, the factors affecting the complexity of megaprojects are determined through case analysis, and the paths of factors affecting the complexity are constructed for megaprojects. Then, the fsQCA method is used to analyze the factors affecting the complexity of megaprojects through 245 valid questionnaires from project engineers in this study. Findings The results support the correlation between the complexity factors of megaprojects, with six histological paths leading to high complexity and seven histological paths leading to low complexity. Originality/value It breaks the limitations of the traditional project complexity field through a “configuration perspective” and concludes that megaproject complexity is a synergistic effect of multiple factors. The study is important for enriching the theory of megaproject complexity and providing complexity governance strategies for managers in megaproject decision-making.
... Most of the managers and policymakers rarely delay in investment regarding R&D because doing so may damage the value of a firm and country governance system in the long term (Bushee, 1998). In addition, the work of Banerjee and Siebert (2017) and Kim and Wilemon (2002) described that it is generally accepted that investment regarding R&D is risky at micro and macro levels and different aspects of this investment may be affected by uncertainty. In short, innovation regarding firm and country level may confront uncertain situations at any stage. ...
Article
This study aims to explore the empirical relationship between climate policy uncertainty (CPU) and regional innovation performance. The empirical analysis was conducted on 36 years of available data over the period 1987 to 2022 in the United States (US). By using an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model for regression analysis, we examine the impact of CPU on two crucial indicators of innovation, namely, research and development (R&D) expenditures and patent applications (PTA). The empirical analysis reveals a significant negative effect of CPU on both R&D expenditures and PTA, suggesting that higher levels of climate uncertainty may hinder innovation activities in the regional context. A high CPU introduces hesitancy and risk aversion, impacting the allocation of resources, confidence in markets, and the willingness of businesses to pursue innovative endeavors. The negative effect remains consistent even after the inclusion of several control variables and robustness checks. The findings underscore the significance of a stable and supportive policy environment and economic conditions in promoting innovation. Overall, this research provides valuable empirical evidence on the interplay between CPU and innovation outcomes, offering insights for policymakers, businesses, and researchers seeking to navigate the complexities of climate‐related challenges and their impact on innovation. We did not find any study exploring the comparable impact of CPU on innovation.
... Among the various stages of the innovation process, the preparation for product development stands out as one of the most difficult challenges (Lower & Heller, 2014;Kim & Wilemon, 2002). A central question arises: how can organizations effectively identify the most promising product or improvement ideas? ...
Article
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In the dynamic landscape of the automotive industry, innovation is the key driver of success. Companies that actively engage in idea generation and have efficient idea management systems in place often gain a competitive edge. This article explores the importance and necessity of idea generation in the context of the automotive industry in Romania, shedding light on the economic effects it can have. Based on a review of scientific literature, the paperwork adds value by filling in a gap on continuous improvement process, idea management and idea management system concepts, by describing in detail how Idea Management System can be introduced, and by performing a quantitative analysis, using complex statistical methods and machine learning on big data collected to observe the effects of Idea Management System use on the results and the level of employee involvement, as well as finding out a predictor of potential savings for automotive company. Very few academic papers take into consideration the economic effect of Idea Management System especially for the company’ performance (KPIs), focusing rather on performance metrics for idea management.
... However, digitalization has introduced disruptive changes to businesses, characterized by increased external volatility, shorter product life cycles, intensified global competition, and exponential technological advancements (Edmondson and Nembhard 2009;Huang Micus & Weber 2023, Wellington Customer Usage Data in Product Development et al. 2022Kagermann 2015;Nijssen and Frambach 2000). These changes have heightened the uncertainty and unpredictability of product development, particularly regarding idea generation and evaluation (Kim and Wilemon 2002;Van Rijmenam et al. 2019). ...
Conference Paper
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Automotive manufacturers are pressured to integrate customers into product development effectively to foster innovation and remain competitive. While traditional approaches to customer integration have relied on market research and the customer's intention to use, the digital transformation of the automotive industry increasingly enables manufacturers to leverage customer usage data for product development. However, we lack insights into how customer data influences automotive productive development. To close this gap, we investigated the role of customer usage data for product development at a leading car manufacturer. Drawing on 20 expert interviews, we derived three key dimensions that explain how customer usage data influence product development in automotive: "data-driven product evaluation," "data-driven product development," and "data-driven product innovations." Our findings shed light on the transformative role of customer usage data for product development and provide valuable guidance for practitioners to effectively leverage customer usage data as part of the automotive digital transformation.
... According to academic consensus(Kim and Wilemon, 2002;Edkins et al., 2013), the front-end is a crucial stage in configuring and designing project value. This unanimity, however, could not be mirrored in actuality. ...
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The present study aimed to examine the diffusion of evolving project management practices in context of value management, especially in Indian Project Based manufacturing industry. This paper aims to investigate for requirement of enhanced role of Project Manager in the context of establishing value management processes in organisation. With evolving research in project and simultaneously in value management, emerges with key recommendations for enhanced role of project manager. This paper attempts to identify and compile key research recommendations and put the two checks on it. One is whether project industry accept that these recommendations are required for their implementation or practicing and two, to what extent, these recommendations really implemented that means diffused in practice. These findings, presented statistically, give macro-view of acceptance of value management practices by practitioners and gap indetification of more penetration of these practices into organisation is evidend. This also indicates the strength of link in between researcher and practitioner and provokes for mutual dialogues for practicing value management.
... In the product development process, one way to mitigate the risks and uncertainties associated with consumer behavior is to develop a deeper understanding of users' perceptions and needs (Kim & Wilemon, 2002;Kuwashima, 2012;Lüthje & Herstatt, 2004). Consequently, companies often seek user involvement during product development through market surveys, crowdsourcing, online communities, and similar methods. ...
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Identifying and gaining access to lead users (LUs) in the market is very costly and time-consuming. To enable more efficient access to LUs, this study examines how the proportion of embedded lead users (ELUs) of the organization as employees differs from that of LUs in the market as consumers. An organizational survey and a survey of consumers were conducted in the travel market, and differences in the distribution of lead userness were examined based on the samples obtained from these surveys. The results indicate that the proportion of individuals with high lead userness is higher within the organization than in the market. However, no significant differences in lead userness within the organization was found according to employment type.
... Ideally, engineers need to generate a diverse number of novel concepts in the initial stages of design to create innovative solutions (Zenios et al. 2009). These initial ideas need to be developed to have the potential to succeed; thus, engineers need to combine and iterate on these early ideas by adding new features and transforming aspects of their design ideas (Kim & Wilemon 2002). After rounds of development, ideas can be evaluated according to important criteria of the problem and context, and a narrowed collection of ideas can be further refined and evaluated until engineers arrive at their final solution (Rietzschel, Nijstad & Stroebe 2006). ...
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Developing effective design solutions requires successful idea generation, development and selection. Studies have demonstrated that engineering students face challenges in these idea phases and may struggle to implement recommended practices, hindering the potential for an innovative outcome. The first part of the study investigated student practices in idea generation, development and selection through think-aloud experimental sessions and post-session interviews. Data analysis from mechanical engineering students’ sessions, with think-aloud and interview data, revealed that students focused on existing ideas, assumed requirements that constrained their divergence, limited their development of ideas and did not engage much in idea selection. Then, in the second phase of the study, we implemented a learning intervention that leveraged research-based education practices to examine student adoption of recommended practices. After engaging with the learning blocks, students generated unconventional ideas, abstained from requirement assumptions early in ideation, generated a larger quantity of ideas, developed ideas intentionally and used more rigorous idea selection methods. These outcomes demonstrated that a relatively short and targeted intervention can support students in leveraging recommended approaches to idea generation, development and selection.
... Initiation at the Project Planning stage is recognized as a key driver of project success and ultimately, business success. Uncertainty should not be an excuse in predicting output [31], but companies need to gather as much information as needed [10]. Determining the strategic focus should appear in this phase related to the company's business goals [20]. ...
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Due to their aging, refinery facilities face the threat of suffering from incidents and accidents. Even fatal injury may be caused if running without proper maintenance planning. The revitalization project is performed intended to replace, repair, or increase production capacity at an existing refinery. Like other projects in the construction sector, the revitalization project tends to experience the same common flaws in their performance; project delay, cost overrun, scope creeping, operational mishaps, and canceled or stopped. The best time for a project to experience idea development, conduct scope changes, prepare excellent project engineering, etc., is at the Front-end Planning stage. This paper focused on project selection and prioritization at the Front-end Planning. The focus is then zoomed in to the sub-stage of Front-end Planning (initiation, conceptual, and basic engineering design). The aim is to eliminate the infeasible and unpromising projects that cannot meet the requirement. This focus is necessary before more resources are expended, which can ignite catastrophic events in the organization, primarily financial. The literature reviews have been done on the references to develop a comprehensive framework that decomposes the front-end planning into three sub-phases, providing the platform for project selection in each stage with its different focus and objectives. The new framework is proposed emphasizing the gate review and decision gates for those three sub-stages under the Front-end planning phase. The framework also provides the windows of having different selection criteria at each stage; hence the proper criteria will be efficiently used at the right time. Project proposals must go through a prioritization process since the organization's resource is not unlimited. Project proposals would experience the evaluation and selection as an individual project and, at a subsequent level, would be evaluated as part of the project proposals pool where the Project Management Office will prioritize the suitable projects worth execution.
... Information is usually approximate and incomplete during CAD modeling. Fuzziness comes from the uncertainty about customer requirements, production technologies to process the product, evolving markets and demands, company fit, and capabilities (Kim and Wilemon, 2002). To improve the likelihood of successful CAD modeling for NPD, it is necessary to determine the main specific requirements of the product and reduce uncertainty step by step during CAD modeling. ...
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Improvements in product development can increase the competitiveness of firms. However, new product development in CAD systems involves difficulties and uncertainties that increase along with the pressure to develop the products. A distinct characteristic of CAD modeling for new product development is its uncertainty. This is because the information is usually approximate and incomplete during CAD modeling. Thus, the main objective of this paper is to propose a robust and flexible CAD approach to reduce uncertainty and accelerate new product modeling in the context of design for manufacturing. This methodology permits the convergence towards different product forms depending on the selected manufacturing process. Application of this approach has shown that when uncertainty is high, approving a complete CAD modeling results in a delay in product development. In contrast, CAD modeling using fuzzy models results in a gain of valuable development time because the model is completed when knowledge about manufacturing technologies, company fit and capabilities, and markets is available.
... From an IPT perspective, there is an inherent uncertainty in NPD tasks that determines the information processing requirements; however, there are differences in the nature of the uncertainty throughout the five stages of the NPD process (Kim & Wilemon, 2002). During the early stages of NPD, portrayed as the fuzzy front end (Wagner, 2012), the processes regarding concept development (e.g., idea generation) are less formalized and defined. ...
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Supplier involvement (SI) for new product development (NPD) entails multiple relationships between buyers and their suppliers, demanding appropriate coordination mechanisms for successful NPD collaboration. This study proposes that supplier salesperson behaviors act as coordination mechanisms in the SI setting for NPD information regulating and process regulating behaviors. Drawing on information processing theory and using survey data matched with archival data, this study unravels the role of supplier salesperson behaviors in the relationship between the timing of SI and supplier performance, which is the precursor to the buyer's NPD performance. Our results indicate that although information regulating behaviors positively moderate the timing of SI-supplier performance linkage, process regulating behaviors weaken this linkage across multiple NPD stages. This study contributes to the literature by highlighting a new salesperson's role in the SI setting (i.e., salesperson as coordinator), which has been previously overlooked.
... O processo de inovação pode ser dividido em três partes: sua etapa inicial, denominada Front End, o processo de desenvolvimento do novo produto e comercialização (SMITH; REINERTSEN, 1991;CLARK;WHEELWRIGHT, 1993). O Front End é crítico para os resultados do processo de inovação, pois as escolhas feitas nessa etapa determinarão quais opções podem ser consideradas para desenvolvimento e posterior comercialização (KIM; WILEMON, 2002). ...
... Defined as "the period between when an opportunity is first considered and when an idea is judged ready for development" [27], the FFE approach assumes that significant value can be derived from properly understanding the contexts, stakeholder needs and problem definitions of a new product before investing heavily into its development. This is reflected in the first half of the British Design Council's Double Diamond model for a structured design approach (Figure 1) [28], a widely utilized model in the Industrial Design Engineering industry. ...
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The European Space Agency (ESA) has a clear mission to go forward to the Moon in preparation of human presence on Mars. One of the technologies looked at to increase safety and efficiency of astronauts in this context is Augmented Reality (AR). This technology allows digital visual information to be overlaid onto the user's environment through some type of display or projector. In recent years separate studies have been conducted to test the potential value of AR for astronauts by implementing a few functionalities on an AR display followed by testing in terrestrial analogue environments. One of the groups contributing to these investigations is Spaceship EAC (SSEAC). SSEAC is a group of interns and trainees at the European Astronaut Centre (EAC) focusing on emerging technologies for human space exploration. This paper presents an outcome of SSEAC's activities related to AR for lunar extravehicular activities (EVAs), in which an approach similar to design thinking was used to explore, identify, and structure the opportunities offered by this technology. The resulting categorization of AR use cases can be used to identify new functionalities to test through prototyping and usability tests and can also be used to relate individual studies to each other to gain insight into the overall potential value AR has to offer to human lunar exploration. The approach adopted in this paper is based on the Fuzzy Front End (FFE) model from the innovation management domain. Utilising a user-driven instead of technology-driven method resulted in findings that are relevant irrespective of the hardware and software implementation. Instead, the outcome is an overview of use cases in which some type of AR system could provide value by contributing to increased astronaut safety, efficiency and/or efficacy.
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The rapid adoption of generative AI powered by large language models like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude promises to disrupt innovation for the consumer Internet of Things (IoT). To understand potential consumer behaviors and marketing strategies, we use an assemblage theory framework to analyze the coevolution of consumer and marketer roles in shaping consumer IoT ecosystems like the smart home. Our framework investigates how different consumer‐ and marketer‐driven territorialization and deterritorialization strategies work to stabilize and destabilize the smart home assemblage. We contrast highly territorialized smart homes characterized by preprogrammed behaviors and clear boundaries, with highly deterritorialized DIY smart homes exhibiting unpredictable behaviors and fuzzy boundaries. Our analysis evaluates how consumers territorialize through habit formation, personalization, and sharing experiences, while marketers territorialize by emphasizing reliability, integration, and clear use cases. Consumers deterritorialize by modifying and hacking devices, and integrating nonstandard products, while marketers deterritorialize by disrupting compatibility or targeting new segments. We also integrate flow theory as an interpretive framework for understanding consumer motivations to territorialize and deterritorialize and argue that the oscillation between states of consumer anxiety and boredom create dynamic smart home identities. Our assemblage theory perspective permits a novel strategic framework that can be applied to anticipate consumer and marketer impacts on smart home evolution.
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The fuzzy front end is the critical initial step of an innovation process during which new ideas emerge. This step's functioning is well understood when the ideas produced are in line with the organisation's directions or roadmap. In that case, there are a variety of managerial methods available to guide, filter and control the development of ideas while reducing the associated risks. However, we know considerably less about the emergence and development of orphan ideas, that is ideas that are not aligned with the firm's strategic roadmap. Such orphan ideas are beyond the scope of managers because they are not consistent with the orientations and needs identified by the firm. The aim of this article is to start to fill this gap through the qualitative study of three unexpected ideation processes at Hydro‐Québec's research institute. Our data reveal a process characterised by a complicated intertwinement of formal and informal mechanisms and relationships. In particular, our results show that informal groups, which can be assimilated to epistemic communities, play a major role in the orchestration of the first stages of the journey of orphan ideas by taking charge of the development of the value proposition and of the idea's integration in the firm's managerial and strategic framework. Further, managing orphan ideas requires specific managerial devices and social mechanisms.
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Die Digitalisierung eröffnet neue Möglichkeiten, Mitarbeiter in die Innovationsprozesse des Unternehmens einzubinden. Dank digitaler Plattformen können unternehmensinterne Innovationswettbewerbe leichter umgesetzt werden. Diese ermöglichen es Mitarbeitern, Ideen zu generieren und zu bewerten. Um eine hochwertige Ideenqualität zu erreichen und die besten Einreichungen auszuwählen, ist das Design des Ideenwettbewerbs entscheidend. Die Studie widmet sich deshalb der Identifikation, Umsetzung und Überprüfung der Designelemente und der Gestaltungskriterien für die Phasen der Ideengenerierung und -evaluation. Den Fokus bildet dabei die Auswahl geeigneter Bewertungsmechanismen und Evaluationskriterien. Im Rahmen dieser Studie ist ein Pilotprojekt für einen Innovationswettbewerb in der Automobilindustrie entwickelt und durchgeführt worden. Auf dieser Basis konnten Verbesserungsmöglichkeiten für die Gestaltung unternehmensinterner Innovationswettbewerbe abgeleitet werden.
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Firms increasingly apply agile approaches in their development processes, and therefore researchers started investigating how agility affects innovation performance. However, previous research on agility often only considers software development or approaches the concept only from an outcome perspective (i.e. increased adaptability to changes) instead of from a capability perspective (i.e. how to organise for adaptability to be successful). Consequently, research failed to investigate how the organisation of agile research and development (R&D) units in physical new product development (NPD) affects innovation performance. We apply structural equation modelling on 162 R&D units in a large industrial firm and analyse the interplay of agile R&D units' organisation, the resulting agility, front‐end success and NPD success. Moreover, we consider contingency factors of environmental turbulence. The study extends research on agility's neglected capability perspective in innovation management, thus providing a better understanding of agility's relationship with innovation performance and showing managers how to increase their unit's NPD success.
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Although innovation orientation is identified as an effective strategy to enhance an enterprise's competitive advantage, its mechanism remains to be investigated. This study divides the fuzzy front‐end (FFE) activities of new product development (NPD) projects into idea generation, concept definition, and initial planning and investigates the transmission path between innovation orientation and competitive advantage through these three activities. Additionally, we explore the moderating role of internal competition. This empirical study is based on 261 respondents from China. The results suggest that innovation orientation has a positive impact on FFE activities, and these promote competitive advantage. The mediating role of FFE activities in the relationship between innovation orientation and competitive advantage is confirmed. The results also reveal that internal competition regulates the relationship between innovation orientation and FFE activities in an inverted U‐shape. The study further reveals the internal mechanism of innovation orientation on competitive advantage and provides a deeper understanding of the link between them. The study guides research and development (R&D) management practitioners in managing FFE activities and rationalizing internal competition to enhance NPD success.
Chapter
New product introduction is an important contributor to a firm's growth and profitability. Successful introduction of a new product depends on many factors including marketing and technical activities, team, product quality, cost and launch time. Product success factors can be influenced by stakeholders from myriad avenues such as manufacturing, service and marketing. Limited understanding of stakeholders’ requirements can lead to fuzziness in NPI, especially in concept development phase (CDP). Bringing more clarity (by gathering right and required information) in concept generation reduces fuzziness. Current empirical study has been formulated to gain insights into ‘concept exploration process (CEP)’, which takes cognizance of stakeholders’ requirements while transforming ideas into concepts. The ‘divergent-convergent’ process of concept generation produces close-to-reality concepts and reduces development difficulties substantially. This study explores the impact of CEP on new product development Project Performance in terms of concept outcome, process outcome, product outcome and knowledge creation. The findings point out that incorporating stakeholder’s requirements before concept generation is positively related to NPD Project Performance and partially mediated by management support and team involvement. Idea generation and market requirements (customer and competitor) have been found to exercise higher influence on NPD Project Performance than other factors such as product definition, supplier requirement and market size assessment. The findings of the study are expected to equip product development teams and management with a better understanding of the pre-development activities while drawing greater attention to the concept exploration process and its effective implementation as an inalienable part of NPD.KeywordsNew product developmentConcept exploration processFuzzy front end
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Prior work has demonstrated that design tasks can be cognitively demanding, due to the inherent ambiguity and complexity of design problems. Few studies, however, have examined the evolution of cognitive load during the engineering design process and the linkages between sub-dimensions of cognitive load and design task outcomes. To address this gap, the current work investigates the evolution of cognitive load across two distinct design tasks: ideation and prototyping, and the relationship between cognitive load and design task outcomes. Results suggest that there is a significant difference in cognitive load experienced by the designer during ideation and prototyping. Additionally, findings suggest that cognitive load during ideation is positively correlated with the uniqueness, usefulness, and elegance of ideas.
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Building on our pervious paper that concluded the poor usability of existing healthcare devices was largely attributed to the design innovation management issues occurring in the front-end stage of development cycles, the efforts in this study were devoted to develop a logically coherent framework managing the front-end activities in new healthcare device development. The conceptual foundation of this new process framework was laid from an investigation upon current healthcare device development practices, that was undertaken by surveying and interviewing twenty-eight company staff leading product innovations at five manufacturers. The proposed framework is outlined in three levels of definitions i.e., stages, implementation strategies, and output, to make the framework more prescriptive and easier to follow. There are six main stages i.e., requirements, project verification, project planning, designing, design solution verification, and preparation for implementation. Main development activities in each stage have been nailed down; and strategies driving the implementation of some key activities are also provided, to facilitate the enforcement of the whole process. The new framework maintains both the linear structure and the common development activities applied by the manufacturers in this study, thus users of the framework will not need to invent a complete new system in practice. While maintaining necessary flexibility to adapt to individual features of specific projects, the proposed framework gives a level of control to the fuzzy front end of healthcare device innovation processes. KeywordsInnovation ManagementProduct DesignThe Management ProcessHealthcare Device
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In 2020, R&D Management celebrated 50 years of publication. The present study honors that milestone by conducting a retrospective examination of the research conducted in the journal over time and reflects on its rich history to look forward in the R&D management field. Using bibliometric techniques, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the journal's most prominent topics and themes, as well as its most prolific authors, institutions, and countries. The findings indicate that R&D Management has increased its productivity and reputation as measured by the number of published articles and citations per year and expanded its international reach from the initial European‐dominated author base. We complement this analysis by performing an in‐depth systematic literature review of the most frequently cited papers – annually and of all time – to disentangle the themes and concepts that prominently shaped the progress of the discipline itself. The results suggest that R&D Management has progressively widened its field of investigation from an intra‐organizational perspective (1970–1992) to an inter‐organizational view (1992–2006) and then to an extra‐organizational outlook (2006–2018). Finally, based on this history and viewing the contributions from 2019 onwards, we identify an emerging set of research trajectories that we expect will pave the way for the future impact of R&D Management and the field at large.
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Purpose Drawing on open innovation and knowledge-based view, this study was initiated by investigating the fact that despite the growing literature on external knowledge being important for bridging the knowledge gap across the new product development (NPD) processes, gaps exist to explore as to what are the potential knowledge sources and their contribution for the Fuzzy-Front end (FFE-) (i.e. idea-generation) phase of the NPD process? Design/methodology/approach Thirty-seven open-ended interviews with the NPD managers in large firms from the Chemicals and Electronic industries have been conducted to collect the data following thematic analysis into NVIvo 12. Findings The findings reveal customers, suppliers and external research organizations are the potential knowledge sources. Each of the sources delivers distinct knowledge for FFE of the NPD process. The empirical analysis of this study demonstrates that each of the potential knowledge sources though bridges the knowledge gap that innovative firms seek for the FFE of the NPD process, however collaboration with such sources incurs significant costs, risks, resources, capabilities and management practices which differs noticeably among different kinds of knowledge sources. Practical implications Managers must need assessing not just the gains but also the pains associated with each of the knowledge source before deciding to make additional investments in terms of resources and capabilities dedicated to learning from them while considering any of these for the FFE. Originality/value This new conceptualization of FFE offers a better theoretical and practical rationale for how and what types of different sources of knowledge can bridge the knowledge gaps for the FFE of NPD processes provided that innovative firms have necessary resources to entail a successful collaboration.
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Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) require less formalized project management methods than large corporations. However, project management can play a significant role in implementing innovations. Even though lean-agile project management offices (LAPMO) are becoming increasingly important for SMEs, each company’s performance varies significantly due to varying innovative capabilities and the dynamism of internal and external contexts. Based on a literature study, innovative capabilities, and LAPMO, we have developed a theoretical model with 11 assumption models. As a follow-up, we conducted empirical research, including critical variable metrics, data collection and analyses, validity tests, reliability tests, regression analysis, and structural equation modeling. The model developed in this study considers the many roles that innovation capacity and project agility play in enhancing corporate performance. LAPMO mediates the relationship between innovation and performance in small and medium-sized businesses. Organizational innovation, open innovation, and innovation capabilities affect companies’ performance. In small and medium businesses, they also affect LAPMO. For small and medium-sized businesses, LAPMO mediates the relationship between organizational innovation, open innovation, and innovation capabilities.
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To fuel the innovation process with high‐quality ideas, firms are increasingly soliciting ideas from their employee workforce and involving them in idea contests. During an idea contest employees suggest ideas on a firm‐internal, digital idea platform. Once submitted, idea holders can receive constructive feedback from colleagues on their ideas – which has been advanced as positive instrument for stimulating idea improvement and idea quality. Examining three firm‐internal, multi‐staged idea contests that generated 395 ideas from a global management consulting firm, we examine under what conditions constructive feedback positively influences idea quality. We focus on the hierarchical roles of feedback providers and receivers and the role of feedback overlap (which indicates whether feedback focuses on similar issues). We find that the effect of constructive feedback on idea quality is larger when feedback providers have a higher hierarchical rank, but that this effect does not depend on the hierarchical rank of feedback recipients. Further, we show that (partial) feedback overlap strengthens idea quality. Our results generate new insights for both idea‐contributing employees and innovation managers about the important role of managing feedback during idea contests.
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Using prototypes to engage stakeholders during front-end design activities is crucial for successful design outcomes that are grounded in real stakeholder needs and priorities. Compared to prototyping that is used for iterative refinement during back-end engineering design activities, prototyping that informs problem definition, requirements and specifications development, concept generation, and other front-end design activities is understudied. To identify patterns in prototyping strategies for engaging stakeholders during the design front-end, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 26 design practitioners across three product design domains: automotive, consumer products, and medical devices. Seventeen strategies evident across the collection of practitioners were used in generally consistent ways, with some variation based on context, e.g., project scope, stakeholders engaged, and the stakeholder interaction situation. Twelve out of the 17 strategies were used by industry practitioners across the three domains, and five of the 17 strategies were used by practitioners from the medical device domain and either the automotive or consumer products domain. The descriptions and examples in context of prototyping strategies used to engage stakeholders during front-end design can guide the design strategies of both experienced and novice designers.
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We examine the association between climate policy uncertainty (CPU) and corporate investment using U.S. data on tourism and hospitality firms over the period 2001–2020. We find that the aggregate country-level CPU is significantly negatively associated with capital investment, with the impact extending at least 4 years into the future. In particular, we find that CPU has an influence on firms’ capital investment that is incremental to economic policy uncertainty (EPU). By contrast, we document that CPU is unrelated to R&D investment. Our main findings are robust to a battery of sensitivity tests, including an instrumental variable approach and sub-industry analyses. Overall, our findings highlighting the impact of CPU on capital investment have significant implications for academics, managers, and policy makers.
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Improvements in the standard of living depend to a remarkable degree on the success of industrial innovations, but the odds of any one idea becoming an economic success are so very low that many ideas are needed. Success curves for industrial innovation have been developed from three major sources, including: the project literature, patent literature and experience, and venture capitalists. Remarkably similar results were found from all three sources of information. Understanding success curves is important for at least three reasons: 1. To set expectations of those involved in industrial innovation; 2. To benchmark one's own process against others in the industry; and, 3. To calculate future expected benefits from current innovation spending as a function of the stage of the new product development process and the typical success rates found for each stage.
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Winning at New Products is a 2001 book. It is now in its 5th edition, "Winning at New Products: Creating Value Through Innovation" 5th ed.. Available as paperback on Amazon.
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This article provides some revealing insights into what a leading Italian firm operating in markets where innovation is a focal point of competition has learned about partnering with suppliers in the new products development process. To suceed in a rapidly changing environment, the firm promoted and sustained tightly linked, integrated supplier relationships. This provided one key element of a shorter product cycle, led to better products, and increased the firm's ability to compete. Andrea Bonaccorsi and Andrea Lipparini explore why partnering is critical for new product success. Finally, they highlight the steps that should be taken to make this relationship a productive one.
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Why are some firms more successful at introducing radical product innovations than others? Following Schumpeter (1942), many researchers have suggested that firm size is the key organizational predictor of radical product innovation. The authors provide an alternate view and argue that one key variable that differentiates firms with strong radical product innovation records from others is the firms' willingness to cannibalize their own investments. The authors identify three organizational factors that drive a firm's willingness to cannibalize. Results from a survey of three high-tech industries tend to support the alternate view that willingness to cannibalize is a more powerful driver of radical product innovation than firm size is. These results suggest a need to reconsider conventional wisdom on firm size, cannibalization, and organizational synergy.
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The portion of the new product development cycle between when work on a new idea could start and when it actually starts—the so-called Fuzzy Front End—is often lengthy, typically poorly understood, and usually full of opportunities for improvement. Consequently, there are substantial benefits to analyzing this stage quantitatively. In particular, such analysis sheds light on many important decisions regarding the structural design of the early development process. A key implication of such analysis is that front-end process structure should differ depending on the underlying economics of the specific situation. This in turn suggests that there are no universally applicable "best practices" for optimizing the Fuzzy Front End.
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The authors point out that there is little in the academic literature about the way ideas for new products emerge and how the emergence is managed. They have identified the main top management problem as the strategic one of achieving the right balance between resources put into new product search and those put into current business operations. To obtain more information on good and bad practice in this area they have investigated how a specially selected sample of small to medium‐sized Canadian technological companies actually carry out new product search. The research method was to ascertain how far corporate goals, organization structures and corporate values affected the effectiveness of new product search. Unstructured interviews were conducted with senior staff in the companies, during which information was sought about company goals, innovation strategy, internal relationships and how these impinged on the genesis of 35 projects. The authors found an important corporate goal spurring innovation was growth (or survival), to be achieved by using new products to dominate their markets. R&D was oriented to achieving a technical edge, though not necessarily a radical breakthrough in market driven ways. Few had effective formal strategic plans for new product search. On the whole, top managements emphasized the importance of individual initiative and commitment to get results and the necessity of open communication throughout the organization. Overall, this research reveals once more that any organization that wishes to pursue a strategy of product innovation has to build a climate which explicitly favours that strategy. Corporate strategy, itself, has a major influence on that climate. New product search requires resources and a place in the strategic plan but the extent to which it can be formalized is limited. It must be possible for new ideas, wherever generated, to emerge and gather momentum informally.
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Despite the importance of the early stages of a product's life, very little attention has been paid to empirically testing the activities performed in the front end of new product development. This article presents the results of a survey of 53 individuals from fifteen high technology firms in the integrated circuit board industry. Our study adopts Cooper's (1988) ‘predevelopment’ model consisting of idea generation, product definition and project evaluation stages, and probes the activities undertaken in each stage. Particular activities were found to play pivotal roles in achieving the objectives of each stage. The results present a clarified view of front end activities that can be used as a starting point for adequately preparing products for development and market success.
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Any firm that hopes to compete on the basis of innovation clearly must be proficient in all phases of the new‐product development (NPD) process. However, the real keys to success can be found in the activities that occur before management makes the go/no‐go decision for any NPD project. In other words, the most significant benefits can be achieved through improvements in the performance of the front‐end activities—product strategy formulation and communication, opportunity identification and assessment, idea generation, product definition, project planning, and executive reviews. Noting the inherent difficulty of managing the front end, Anil Khurana and Stephen R. Rosenthal discuss findings from in‐depth case studies of the front‐end practices in 18 business units from 12 U.S. and Japanese companies. They offer a process view of the activities that the front end comprises, and they discuss the insights that their case studies provide regarding key success factors for managing the front‐end activities. The case studies involved companies in industries ranging from consumer packaged goods to electronics and industrial products. Foremost among the insights provided by the case studies is the notion that the greatest success comes to organizations that take a holistic approach to the front end. A successful approach to the front end effectively links business strategy, product strategy, and product‐specific decisions. Forging these links requires a process that integrates such elements as product strategy, development portfolio, concept development, overall business justification, resource planning, core team roles, executive reviews, and decision mechanisms. The case studies suggest that firms employ two general approaches for achieving these links. Some companies rely on a formal process to lend some order and predictability to the front end. Other companies strive to foster a company‐wide culture in which the key participants in front‐end activities always remain focused on the following considerations: business vision, technical feasibility, customer focus, schedule, resources, and coordination. This cultural approach is more prevalent among the Japanese firms in the study; the U.S. firms tend to rely on formality of the front‐end process. The case studies also suggest that the front‐end approach must be compatible with the firm's product, market, and organizational contexts. For example, standardized approaches seem to work best for incremental innovations.
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Based on the initial results of a multi-year research study, the managerial practices of successful large companies and their smaller counterparts are evaluated and patterns in their innovation approaches are considered. A combination of past and present research is used to determine factors crucial to successful small firm innovation. The primary factors identified are: (1) effective technological innovation develops from a knowledge and response to customer demand; (2) founders' commitment to their objective, being technology pioneers and good problem solvers allow them to persevere despite the set-backs, frustrations, and ambiguities that accompany innovations; (3) delays between innovation and commercial production can range from 3 to 25 years, so perseverance is key; (4) few overhead costs are incurred for some small firms (especially home-based businesses) which decreases the risk facing small operations and improves the value of their present success; (5) solutions are adopted wherever they can be found and this unencumbered approach removes limits on imagination and increases motivation; (6) undeterred by delays common in large companies, the inventor-entrepreneur can experiment, test, recycle, and try again with little time lost and can gain timing and performance advantages; (7) inventor-entrepreneurs can foresee tangible personal rewards if they succeed, unlike entrepreneurs with monetary goals who may panic or quit without monetary rewards; and (8) the number and variety of sources for small business financing available in the U.S. is a huge asset to inventor-entrepreneurs. In addition, interviews and secondary sources were used and cross-checked to establish the management patterns of several outstanding innovative large companies in Europe, the United States, and Japan. Finding show these are the most important patterns for successful innovation in large firms: (1) atmosphere and vision; (2) orientation to the market; (3) small, flat organizations; (4) multiple approaches; (5) developmental shoot-outs; (6) small teams of engineers, technicians, designers, and model makers with no intervening organizational or physical barriers to developing a new product from idea to commercial prototype stages; and (7) interactive learning. Finally, these key elements necessary for established companies wishing to innovate are identified and discussed: (1) opportunity orientation; (2) structuring for innovation; and (3) complex portfolio planning. (SFL)
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For many firms, emphasizing the importance of market orientation has taken on a mantra‐like quality. Mission statements and memos, policies, and procedures all highlight the importance of staying in touch with the customer. It is also widely assumed that the relationship between market orientation and new product performance depends on environmental conditions and product characteristics. To date, however, little empirical evidence has been presented to support the assumption that market orientation influences new product performance. Kwaku Atuahene‐Gima addresses this research need in a study of 275 Australian firms. In addition to exploring the relationship between market orientation and new product development activities and performance, his study examines the effects of environmental conditions and product characteristics. Specifically, the study investigates whether the relationship between market orientation and new product performance depends on the degree of product newness to customers and the firm; the intensity of market competition and the hostility of the industry environment; and the stage of the product life cycle at which the new product was introduced. The survey results provide strong support for the basic proposition that market orientation influences new product performance and development activities. The results show a strong positive relationship between market orientation and a new product's market performance. Market orientation is also shown to have a strong positive effect on proficiency of predevelopment activity, proficiency of launch activity, service quality, product advantage, marketing synergy, and teamwork. Although market orientation is generally found to be an important factor in the success of new products, its influence varies depending on the type of new product—that is, radical versus incremental. Market orientation appears to have greater influence on new product performance when the product represents an incremental change to both the customers and the firm. However, this does not mean that a market‐oriented approach is unnecessary in the development of radically hew products. Market orientation also has a greater effect when the perceived intensity of market competition and industry hostility are high, and during the early stage of the product life cycle. Because market competition and industry hostility typically intensify as the product life cycle progresses, these findings suggest that the effects of market orientation are pervasive. In other words, managers should not limit their expectations of market orientation to specific projects or specific stages of the development process and product life cycle.
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This study empirically investigates a wide array of factors that have been argued to differentiate fast from slow innovation processes from the perspective of the research and development organization. We test the effects of strategic orientation (criteria- and scope-related variables) and organizational capability (staffing- and structuring-related variables) on the speed of 75 new product development projects from ten large firms in several industries. Backward-elimination regression analysis revealed that (a) clear time-goals, longer tenure among team members, and parallel development increased speed, whereas (b) design for manufacturability, frequent product testing, and computer-aided design systems decreased speed. However, when projects were sorted by magnitude of change, different factors were found to influence the speed of radical and incremental projects. Moreover, some factors that sped up radical innovation (e.g., concept clarity, champion presence, co-location) were found to slow down incremental innovation. Together, the radical and incremental models explain differences in speed better than the general model. This suggests a contingency approach to speeding up innovation. Implications for researchers and managers are discussed.
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How can organizations shorten the length of the new products development process? This is undoubtedly one of the key questions facing managers today. One important goal is early market entry, maximizing competitive advantage in the process. Bela Gold draws on his experience with product and process development in a wide array of industries to identify eight approaches to accelerating development. Drawing on his field research, he briefly appraises the potentials, limitations, and risks of each and then discusses implications for a more promising strategy.
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This article presents initial results of field studies on the product development practices in German mechanical engineering companies. The investigation concentrates on managers' estimates on how much and by what means they could reduce cycle time and resource usage if the projects had been managed differently. In his analysis of fourteen development projects, Philipp Murmann reports that managers expect a reduction of development time as well as of development resources by 30% if appropriate activities would be employed. Parallel tasking and efficiency improvements account for the potential savings. Paralleling effects are project related, while improvements external to the projects cause efficiency-effects. Ten identified internal and external activities were expected to be of major importance in the reduction of development times. Major improvements are found among activities concentrated at the front end of development process. Further analyses show that primary and secondary activities can be separated; however, all of these activities need to be activated in order to achieve the anticipated results.
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Product life-cycles are becoming shorter, leading firms to reduce the time to bring new products to market. Being early can provide a significant competitive advantage, making the acceleration of new product development (NPD) an important area for research and inquiry. Based on their review of a wide range of literatures in business strategy, marketing, new product development, manufacturing and organization management, Murray Millson, S.P. Raj and David Wilemon report a general set of techniques for reducing the developmental cycle time for new products. The article develops a hierarchy of available NPD acceleration approaches and discusses potential benefits, limitations and significant challenges to successful implementation.
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Mushin Lee and Dohyeong Na present their analysis of data obtained from Korean project leaders in order to investigate the relationships between various factors and technical project success. When the radicalness of technical innovativeness is employed as a contingency variable, the result shows that existence of a champion is critical if the innovativeness is radical. Top management's support, R&D, production, and financial capabilities, and information acquisition during the development stage are related to the sucess, but there is no indication that the radicalness heavily affects the relationships. Information acquisition during the idea generation stage is not important for both radical and incremental improvement projects.
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Clearly today's business climate mandates the need for faster development of new products. Drawing upon his experience, Milton Rosenau describes several techniques that have not been mentioned explicitly in recent articles: short, focused development phases; management involvement and support; procurement and use of productivity improvements; multifunctional teamwork; distraction reduction; frozen specifications; and microcomputer-based project management software.
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In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the link between problem‐solving capabilities and product development performance. In this article, the authors apply a problem‐solving perspective to the management of product development and suggest how shifting the identification and solving of problems—a concept that they define as front‐loading—can reduce development time and cost and thus free up resources to be more innovative in the marketplace. The authors develop a framework of front‐loading problem‐solving and present related examples and case evidence from development practice. These examples include Boeing's and Chrysler's experience with the use of “digital mock‐ups” to identify interference problems that are very costly to solve if identified further downstream—sometimes as late as during or—after first full‐scale assembly. In the article, the authors propose that front‐loading can be achieved using a number of different approaches, two of which are discussed in detail: (1) project‐to‐project knowledge transfer—leverage previous projects by transferring problem and solution‐specific information to new projects; and (2) rapid problem‐solving—leverage advanced technologies and methods to increase the overall rate at which development problems are identified and solved. Methods for improving project‐to‐project knowledge transfer include the effective use of “postmortems,” which are records of post‐project learning and thus can be instrumental in carrying forward the knowledge from current and past projects. As the article suggests, rapid problem‐solving can be achieved by optimally combining new technologies (such as computer simulation) that allow for faster problem‐solving cycles with traditional technologies (such as late stage prototypes), which usually provide higher fidelity. A field study of front‐loading at Toyota Motor Corporation shows how a systematic effort to front‐load its development process has, in effect, shifted problem‐identification and problem‐solving to earlier stages of product development. They conclude the article with a discussion of other approaches to front‐load problem‐solving in product development and propose how a problem‐solving perspective can help managers to build capabilities for higher development performance.
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This article reports the results of a study whose purpose was to investigate factors that contribute to the faster development of new products. Edward McDonough and Gloria Barczak collected data from 30 new product development projects in 12 British companies. They investigated the impact of leadership style and the source of the technologies employed in the project (i.e., internally developed or externally acquired) on speed of development. Their results suggest that leadership style influences speed of development. Moreover, the source of the technologies used in the project moderates the relationship between leadership style and speed of development.