Building B2B relationships via initiation contributors: Three cases from the Norwegian-South Korean international project business

Initiation is still an unclear phase of B2B relationship development. Here, we build on existing theoretical knowledge derived from relationship development, project marketing and international business literature. We use this to analyze three cases of business relationship initiations between Norwegian and South Korean actors in the shipping industry. By piecing together theoretical and empirical insights, we develop a dynamic model of the relationship initiation process that highlights the role of initiation contributors in international project business. The developed model reveals that multiple entities— such as contacts, rituals and standards—serve as initiation contributors. These trigger or facilitate the focal dyadic relationship initiation, while also preparing future initiations in the focal context. Thus, our key contribution is to bring processual and contextual dimensions to business relationship initiation. Our research also suggests practical insights as to which actors and entities suppliers need to mobilize, in order to initiate new business relationships in international project business contexts.     

创新项目组合管理绩效关键影响因素的实证研究

为了维持长期的竞争优势,企业需要不断进行技术创新和产品创新。如何在有限的研发资源下使创新项目组合的绩效最大化是企业进行创新管理中面临的主要问题。本文从创新项目组合的战略一致性、平均项目绩效和业务协同3个指标来度量创新项目组合管理绩效,并从流程和管理者的视角研究其关键影响因素。通过实证研究发现,高管参与和项目组合管理流程的设计与实施对项目组合的战略一致性有显著的正向影响;高管参与、项目经理胜任力和项目终止质量对平均项目绩效有显著正向影响;项目经理胜任力、项目组合管理流程的设计与实施和项目中止质量对业务协同有显著正向影响。     

Motivation and sorting of human capital in open innovation

This paper studies how business models can be designed to tap effectively into open innovation labor markets with heterogeneously motivated workers. Using data on open source software, we show that motivations are diverse, and demonstrate how managers can strategically influence the flow of code contributions and their impact on project performance. Unlike previous literature using survey data, we exploit the observed pattern of project membership and code contributions—the “revealed preference” of developers—to infer the motivations driving their decision to contribute. Developers strongly sort along key dimensions of the business model chosen by project managers, especially the degree of openness of the project license. The results indicate an important role for intrinsic motivation, reputation, and labor market signaling, and a more limited role for reciprocity. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Explaining beer demand: A residual modeling regression approach using statistical process control

We develop a medium-term model as well as a short-term model for understanding the factors affecting beer demand and for forecasting beer demand in Turkey. As part of this specific model development (as well as regression modeling in general) we propose a procedure based on statistical process control principles (SPC) and techniques to (1) detect nonrandom data points, (2) identify common missing, lurking variables that explain these anomalies, and (3) using indicator variables, integrate these lurking variables into the model. We validate our proposed procedure on several test examples as well as on the medium-term beer demand model. Both the medium and short-term models yield very satisfactory results and are currently being used by the company for which the study was conducted. In addition to the residual modeling regression approach developed using SPC, a major contribution to the success of the project (and the modeling in general) is the mutual collaboration between analyst and client in the modeling process.     

Definition of innovation projects in small firms: A Spanish study

Small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) are the main holders of the European economy and innovation projects are essential tools for SMEs to ensure their growth. A high percentage of innovation projects implemented by SMEs lacks planning and initial management, which causes the appearance of important problems for the SMEs survival. The authors have confirmed with a field study of 72 Spanish small firms that a lot of these problems arise from an incomplete project definition, so it is necessary to help SMEs to have a specific methodology that is appropriate to their own characteristics and projects. The statistical analysis shows how the project management knowledge helps to a better project definition, contributing to the project alignment with the company strategy. Also, it reveals other problems related to the project definition as planning, budget, market and financing. Of this analysis, it concludes that the definition phase supports the other phases and is essential in order to achieve project success. This paper presents an ‘integration model of factors’ that helps SMEs in the management of the definition phase of their innovation projects. This model relates the various areas of analysis needed to ensure their integration at the project definition. The relationships between the different model areas have been defined, showing the way to integrate the technical, economic and strategic outlooks of project objectives management in the definition phase of the project. This model has been implemented in 21 new innovation project definitions. The users' valuation has been very positive with a 90.4% of success and all of the model users are interested in implementing the model again in next projects. The main advantages highlighted were user‐friendliness, intuitive model and easy application.     

Creating value through mutual commitment to business network relationships

A structural model of business relationship development in a business network context is formulated and tested on data from the European International Marketing and Purchasing (IMP) project. The empirical analysis demonstrates a causal chain from business network connection through mutual commitment and mutual dependence to value creation in the relationship. The results show that mutuality in business network relationships is critical in developing interfirm systems of workflow interdependence that promote the creation of value. This also implies that, through their interaction in business network relationships, firms in business markets organize and share an unbounded structure of interdependent activities, enabling them to achieve greater value than would be the case if they did not engage in relationship development. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Dutch test with the NewProd-Model

The paper contains a report of a test of Cooper's NewProd model for predicting success and failure of product development projects. Based on Canadian data, the model has been shown to make predictions which are 84% correct. Having reservations on the reliability and validity of the model on theoretical grounds, we set out to test it using data collected in the Netherlands.
Following Cooper's methodology, we selected 19 projects, which had already been marketed and of which 9 were clearcut successes and 10 clearcut failures. We also studied 9 additional projects, which had not yet been commercialised, as the basis for a future a priori test. The projects were given a product score according to Cooper's criteria, and predictions compared with the actual experience. Eightyfour percent were correctly classified, as in Cooper's work. From a practical point of view however the variance was too large to allow the predictions from NewProd to be used with confidence to predict outcomes unless they are clearcut.
We believe that the drawback of the methodology is that the product score is a simple combination of the various factors involved. No allowance is made for the possibility that one factor alone might be responsible for failure. We have therefore introduced the concept of a threshold value for each factor. A project for which any factor falls below this value will be deemed a failure. Based on a very limited sample of 19 cases an improvement of reliability was made to 95% of 18 out of 19 products correctly classified. The NewProd concept so modified is being applied to the sample of 9 as yet uncompleted projects, and its predictions will eventually be compared with actual outcomes.     

工程造价市场信息分析及其在线系统开发

了解和熟悉某地区的市场信息对工程造价咨询公司在该地区开拓市场及造价工程师在该地区从事业务十分重要。本旨在探讨如何利用当代信息技术开发一个高性能的信息系统，它能为造价工程师提供及时的、全面和准确的市场信息(以上海地区为例)。系统开发所用的方法是一种改进的生命周期法。按照该方法，首先对工造价市场进行系统分析。然后，基于系统分析的结果，对市场信息进行分类，并在分类的基础上用超本技术建立信息模型。最后，基于模型开发信息系统。     

Creating value in retail buyer–vendor relationships: A service-centered model

We present a “service-centered” model of retail buyer–vendor relationships, in which retail buyers' perceptions of a vendor's economic and social resources affect their assessments of relationship value and relationship outcomes. Economic resources offered at the organizational level of the vendor include brand equity and customer support activities (e.g., merchandising support and margin maintenance). Social resources offered at the individual level of the salesperson include special treatment and customer advocacy. Relationship outcomes include the buyer's intention to grow the business, and in the event of business termination, maintain the interpersonal relationship with the sales representative. Survey data from 532 retail buyers were collected and analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results show that relationship value mediates the effects of economic and social resources on relationship outcomes. However, the process by which this occurs varies.     

Strategic Project Leadership ® Toward a strategic approach to project management

Strategic Project Leadership ^® (SPL) is a new approach to project management that is focusing projects on creating competitive advantage and winning in the marketplace. This approach is particularly relevant to strategic projects that are initiated to create the company's future, including almost all R&D projects. In the traditional approach, project managers and teams were typically focused on getting the job done, and meeting time and budget goals. SPL , provides a modern view. It suggests that projects are initiated for business reasons, and that just 'getting the job done' is not enough. This paper presents a mindset, a framework, and a practical, step-by-step approach on how to connect project management to business results and how to turn projects into powerful competitive weapons. The paper is based on extensive case research, of which we present six cases – three successes and three disappointments – to demonstrate the value of the SPL approach to project management.¹     

An analysis of the profitability of businesses of diversified companies

This paper presents empirical evidence on the relationship between diversification and profitability. The data set used in the analysis includes data on 55 U.S. corporations who participated in phase II of the project on Profit Impact of Market Strategy (PIMS).Following upon the pioneering work of Carl Kaysen, complex indices of diversification are developed. Cross sectional regression analyses indicate a statistically significant positive association between measures of corporate diversification and measures of business profitability (return on investment or profit margin on sales). These relationships are insensitive to variations in the treatment of outliers, and do not appear to be accounting artifacts.     

Evaluating Product Plans Using Real Options

Product planning helps a company to strategically plan its current and future product platforms and offer product variants in the marketplace. Product platforming is widely touted as a successful strategy for mass customization. However, due diligence should be exercised before implementing any product platform strategy. The product planning exercise should account for future uncertainties. Traditional financial tools such as the net present value (NPV) are static since they do not compensate for any exogenous and endogenous uncertainties during the course of the project. The crux of the problem lies in the evaluation model that is used for evaluating the product planning projects. While many view uncertainties in a product planning project as problematic, it can also be viewed as a source of new opportunities. We argue that uncertainties should be an integral part of the evaluation model. If the future possibilities (or strategic options) are not considered in the evaluation model, a corporation may face a “myopic syndrome”.

In this article, we consider two important product planning decisions—platform decisions and product variant decisions. The platform decision involves strategic selection of a concept product platform from various possible alternative concept product platforms. The product variant decision involves deciding how long a company should continue to offer its current product variant in the marketplace and whether the existing product variant should be discontinued, scaled down, or scaled up with additional product features. To address the two aforementioned decisions, we developed a real options–based methodology that considers technical, project implementation, and market-related uncertainties. The proposed methodology uses a binomial and quadranomial lattice approach to build a decision tree. Product planning decisions at various decision tree nodes are evaluated using a risk-neutral option valuation methodology. We demonstrate the working of the proposed methodology using an illustrative example.     

Structuring innovation funnels for R&D projects under uncertainty

An innovative R&D project that creates a great business opportunity usually involves high technological and market uncertainty. It is easy to see that developing only one solution approach in the R&D project is too risky. The selectionism or the parallel development strategy can be applied to construct an innovation funnel that increases the flexibility to hedge against the uncertainty. However, little research has been devoted to selection of which alternative solution approaches should be included for the innovation funnel. This research aims to develop a simulation-based methodology that can help R&D managers evaluate and construct an innovation funnel containing promising alternative approaches for a novel R&D project to maximize project profit, while minimizing downside risk within an allowable loss. A new risk measure based on the concept of conditional value-at-risk from the finance literature is defined to evaluate the project downside risk. An example of drug development project is used to illustrate the proposed methodology. We recommend that firms should improve their capabilities on market research, concept screening, and R&D efficiency for taking full advantages of selectionism.     

An analysis of international business-to-business relationships based on the Commitment-Trust theory

Business-to-business relationships are characterized by an exchange between two or more parties. Research has identified several factors that enhance marketing and management in business relationships, mainly with a focus on large manufacturing firms. However, less is known about how service firms develop and maintain international relations during the establishment of a business. To analyze the relevance of the key mediating variable (KMV) model [J. Mark. 58 (1994) 20-38.], which maintains that business-to-business relationship requires commitment and trust, interviews were conducted with five different service entrepreneurs in Sweden, Australia and the UK. The findings demonstrate the importance of commitment, trust, relation termination costs and benefits, shared values and communication between the exchange partners.     

Flexibility planning for managing R&D projects under risk

Incorporating managerial flexibility in an innovative R&D project is important, because managers face greater uncertainty in today's competitive and dynamic changing environment. It is essential to bring managerial flexibility into R&D project planning to decrease technical and market risks, while increasing potential market value. The objective of this paper is to develop a flexibility planning methodology based on real option analysis to improve managerial flexibility for R&D projects. The proposed methodology identifies potential risks that may occur during every R&D stage. It also recognizes a cascading option structure to resolve the identified risks, and evaluates and selects adequate options that maximize the potential value of the project. Instead of using a traditional option pricing method, a dynamic programming model that considers multidimensional product performance and market payoff is used to evaluate the R&D project value. Using the proposed methodology, managers can identify future scenarios as a function of their management actions. The proposed flexibility planning methodology can help managers improve managerial flexibility of R&D project and increase the success rate of product launch. A drug development project is used to illustrate the proposed methodology.     

Value Creation and Value Capture Alignment in Business Model Innovation: A Process View on Outcome-Based Business Models

Industrial manufacturers are innovating their business models by shifting from selling products to selling outcome-based services, where the provider (manufacturer) guarantees to deliver the performance outcomes of the products and services. This form of business model innovation requires a profound yet little understood shift in how value is created, delivered, and captured. To address this research gap, our study examines two successful and four unsuccessful cases of this shift. We find that effectiveness in business model innovation hinges on the three process phases that unfold in collaboration with the customers: value proposition definition, value provision design, and value-in-use delivery. We also find that that success is determined by the alignment of specific value creation and value capture activities in each phase: identifying value creation opportunities—agreeing on value distribution in value proposition definition, designing the value offering—deciding on the profit formula in the value provision design, and finally refining value creation processes—regulating incentive structures in the value-in-use delivery. Our process model contributes to the literature and practice on business model innovation by providing a thorough understanding of how alignment of value creation and value capture processes is ensured, whilst paying special attention to their interdependence and the interactions between provider and customer.     

The antecedents of open business models: an exploratory study of incumbent firms

Firms engage increasingly in open business models. While most research has previously focused on typologies or challenges of open business models, their specific antecedents have not been studied so far. We use data from eight open business model cases to explore this question and identify five main antecedents of open business models: (1) business model inconsistency, (2) need to create and capture new value, (3) previous experience with collaboration, (4) open business model patterns, and (5) industry convergence. Based on openness characteristics from the existing literature, we differentiate four basic types of open business models and develop an initial understanding of the relevance of the identified antecedents for each of them. We thereby provide first guidelines for practitioners in choosing the right form of business model openness for their company.     

NPD Planning Activities and Innovation Performance: The Mediating Role of Process Management and the Moderating Effect of Product Innovativeness

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of planning and control on the performance of new product development (NPD) projects. It is hypothesized that (1) thorough business planning at the beginning of a project creates a basis for proficient project and risk planning; (2) the proficiency of project planning, risk planning, and process management activities each improves innovation performance directly; (3) the relationship of planning and success is mediated by process management; and (4) the strength of these relationships is moderated by uncertainty, as determined by the degree of innovativeness. To test the hypotheses, data from 132 NPD projects were collected and analyzed. A measurement model was used to establish valid and reliable constructs, a path model to test the main effects, and a multiple-moderated regression analysis for the moderator hypotheses. The results suggest that the proficiency of project planning and process management is important predictors of NPD performance. Specifically, project risk planning and goal stability throughout the development process are found to enhance performance significantly. Business planning proves to be an important antecedent of the more development-related planning activities such as project planning and risk planning. Additionally, the results lend support to the hypotheses regarding the mediating role of process management in the planning–performance relationship. Project planning and risk planning support the quality of process management and thus impact NPD performance indirectly. Only to a limited extent are the strengths of these relationships moderated by the degree of innovativeness of the NPD project.     

Identifying the right solution customers: A managerial methodology

The purpose of this paper is to develop and apply a methodology for identifying, assessing and segmenting customers for business solutions. Firstly, criteria for evaluating solution customers are identified from the literature. These criteria are then refined and differentiated through interviews with 23 solution project managers. Secondly, a longitudinal case study with three solution suppliers and five of their customers is conducted to transfer the selection criteria into a managerial methodology which is validated by both solution suppliers and customers. The developed methodology comprises 21 criteria which are structured into two dimensions: the quality of the relationship to date and the customer's potential for future solution partnership. By combining these two dimensions into a portfolio analysis, four customer segments are identified to help suppliers determine customer attractiveness. The study's contribution lies in bridging academic knowledge and managerial practice to develop a new methodology for helping solution providers to make better informed decisions and reduce the risk of solution failure.