The company, product and market dimensions of new product decision scenarios

Studies show that managers synthesize information and make strategic decisions in a situation-specific mode. Making effective new product decisions is a critical problem and managers are urged to improve their performance by adjusting their decision approach to fit the type of situation. Identifying situation-specific new product scenarios is, therefore, an important prerequisite. This article identifies five basic new product decision scenarios using a cluster analysis of factor scored company, product and market data. These provide insights about the situations managers typically face when evaluating new products.     

Organizational memory influences new product success

Prior research on the impact of organizational memory on new product success has divergent perspectives. Such inconsistency has accrued mainly from not considering memory's multifaceted aspects, which interact with specific project characteristics. This paper tries to sort out this paradox by proposing that project innovativeness moderates the relationship among variables of organizational memory and new product success. An empirical study of 169 NPD projects of Korean manufacturing firms finds that memory sharing and the use of external information and formal procedures enhance new product success, whereas organizational memory has no effect. Project innovativeness is found to moderate memory's effect, despite some tradeoffs. As innovativeness increases, the effect of organizational memory and use of external information become stronger whereas the effect of memory sharing and use of formal procedures weaken. This suggests that firms must activate organizational memory more carefully according to project characteristics and the memory level to maximize its positive effects.     

Complementary effect of entrepreneurial and market orientations on export new product success under differing levels of competitive intensity and financial capital

The literature implies that entrepreneurial and market orientations are market-based resources that are essential for securing business success, but their performance impacts are unclear. In the specific field of export research, there is limited information on the interactive effect of these two market-based resources on export new product performance. Accordingly, the current study investigates the joint impacts of these two resources on export new product performance under differing levels of competitive intensity and financial capital. Using a survey of 212 British exporters, the study shows that seeking complementarity between entrepreneurial-oriented and market-oriented behaviors is a useful strategy for export new product success, especially when there is a suitably high level of competitive intensity in the export market environment, and when the export unit has greater access to financial capital. Theoretical and managerial implications of the results are discussed.     

Measuring product market efficiency: A new methodology

This paper proposes a new methodology to measure product market efficiency. Our approach is based on the economic theory of product market equilibrium where consumers have incomplete information, and it allows quality to be multidimensional. We illustrate the methodology and compare it with other methodologies including the data envelopment analysis (DEA)-based procedure of Kamakura, Ratchford, and Agrawal (1988). The empirical results show that our model is robust to the precise distributional form of the disturbance term. In addition, our efficiency estimates are always equal to or lower than the DEA estimates of efficiency.     

Entry and market share success of new brands in concentrated markets

Two hypotheses related to the concentration/entry issue were tested. Unlike previous studies that have approached the issue from the standpoint of the number of firms that enter concentrated versus relatively nonconcentrated industries, the concentration/entry issue was studied at the brand level. Specifically, two hypotheses were tested: 1) an inverse relationship exists between brand concentration and number of brand entrants, and 2) an inverse relationship exists between brand concentration and success of brand entrants. Whereas the results did reveal the existence of an inverse relationship between concentration and number of entrants, it was extremely weak. The second hypothesis that the market share success of new brand entrants is inversely related to brand concentration was not supported by test results.     

The contribution of marketing to competitive success: A literature review

This paper reviews the literature relating to the practice of marketing and its relation to corporate success, examining pertinent concepts and issues. The marketing factors thought to be determinants of success are categorised as attitudinal, strategic and tactical factors, and these provide the framework against which enhanced corporate performance through marketing effort is analysed. The final section of the paper presents a summary of observations on the literature reviewed.     

Dimensions of success in new product development: An exploratory investigation

As a key element in survival and sustaining growth, the constant development and re‐development of products has been the subject of many academic and consulting group studies. The specific focus of these studies has often been to identify and describe those factors which determine the outcome of new product developments; the critical success factors in NPD. In order to fulfill their objectives, the studies have focused on many aspects of the management of new product development programmes in companies, and attempted to relate them to a number of alternative outcomes. This has called for the measurement of “success” itself. Unfortunately, there is very little consensus amongst the studies regarding how best to operationalize “success”, and researchers have employed a variety of measures, focused on different levels of analysis, sought data from different sources and used different data collection methods. This paper examines the performance measures used in several major NPD studies and shows how success “measures” have been treated as financial and non‐financial. In addition, attention is drawn to the problems inherent in the different definitions of success. Finally, using data from an empirical survey, the relationship between financial and non‐financial outcomes is examined.     

The influence of business strategy on new product activity: The role of market orientation

In this paper, we propose that business strategy influences new product activity both directly and indirectly via its influence on market orientation. Accordingly, we develop a framework linking firms' relative emphasis on cost leadership, product differentiation and focus strategies to firms' customer and competitor orientation as well as their new product development and introduction activity. We use this framework to develop a simultaneous equations model that is tested on survey data from 175 Dutch firms of varying size and across different industries in the manufacturing sector. The surprising findings are that a greater emphasis on a focus strategy results in a decreased emphasis on customer orientation and that competitor orientation has a negative direct influence on new product activity and an indirect positive effect via customer orientation. We discuss the implications of these findings for theory and practice.     

Strategic recommendations for new product adoption in the Chinese market

ABSTRACT

This study extended current understandings of the relationships among domain specific innovativeness (DSI), the desire for unique consumer products (DUCPs), perceived new product characteristics (PNPCs), and Chinese consumers’ new product adoption behavior. It also investigated the indirect effect of vicarious learning behavior on Chinese consumers’ acceptance of new products. Data was collected in Shanghai, China. The results demonstrated that DSI and PNPCs were the primary drivers of new product adoption. The study also showed that PNPCs played a mediating role in the relationship between vicarious learning and the adoption of new products by Chinese consumers. The results confirmed the predictive power of DSI and how PNPCs affect Chinese innovative buying behavior. The results also suggest that PNPCs facilitate Chinese consumers’ new product learning behavior.     

Real exchange rate shocks and new product margins in the export market

This study examines the impact of industry real exchange rate (RER) shocks on plant and product exports using a comprehensive dataset for South Korea from 1990 to 1996. We find that RER changes have heterogeneous effects on real exports of existing exporters in terms of their productivity, and the positive RER depreciation effect on exports is more pronounced for less productive plants. At a product level, we find new evidence that a weak home currency prompts exporters to introduce new products to the export market, especially more remarkable for low-productivity plants. In contrast, a strong home currency leads to product exit with less significance.     

New product development process: An investigation of success and failure in high-technology and non-high-technology firms

Numerous studies have examined new product success and failure in an attempt to reduce failure rates. Because they share some common themes, the previous studies were categorized into the following five groups: (1) studies focusing on causes of new product successes/failures; (2) studies examining new product development processes; (3) studies investigating new product development strategy and performance relationships; (4) studies focusing on building models to predict new product performance, and (5) studies focusing on a single factor relating to new production success/failure.To fill some of the gaps in earlier studies, and include variables that have not been linked to new product success/failure before, 151 companies were surveyed in two industries, the medical instrument technology and food processing industries. The survey contained questions on the importance of six new product idea sources: (1) final customers; (2) R&D department; (3) marketing executives; (4) other executives in the firm; (5) competitors; and (6) free-lance investors. Seven factors that were proposed to relate to new product success/failure were: (1) competition; (2) product performance; (3) marketing; (4) price competitiveness; (5) product absolescence; (6) limited number of distributors; and (7) customer switching costs. In addition, an attempt was made to investigate the effects of technology and following new product development plans and procedures on new product success/failure.Survey results indicate that using customers as the sources of new product ideas ranks number one in terms of importance for businesses in both the medical instrument technology and food processing industries. Similarly, executives who are in charge of new product development rare poor product performance as the essential cause of new product failure in the food processing industry, followed by poor marketing and pricing. In the medical instrument technology industry, however, the most important cause of new product failure was considered to be customer switching costs followed by poor product performance. This is probably because of the high investments typical for products in the medical instrument technology industry (i.e.hospital equipment). New product failure rates also differed between the two industries studied. Companies from the food processing industry, on average, had an almost 8% higher new product failure rate than companies in the medical instrument technology industry (40.18%vs.32.43%).The level of technology (medical instrument technology—high tech vs.food processing industry—low tech) may account for the difference in the new product failure rate. Results also showed that following new product development plans and procedures relates to new product success in the food processing industry, but not in the medical instrument technology industry.Using company R&D departments and free-lance inventors as sources of new product ideas is related to new product success in both industries investigated. In the food processing industry, price, competition, customer switching costs, and access to distribution channels influence new product success. Those firms that consider these variables important have higher new product success rates. Similarly, in the medical instrument technology industry, customer switching costs, access to distribution channels, product performance, product obsolescence, and marketing are important influences of new product success. Thus, firms that consider these variables when entering markets with new products may be more successful.It is possible to eliminate some causes of new product failure by entering markets earlier than the competitors. For example, early market entrants often have advantages over later entrants in selecting distribution channels. Early market entrants are also likely to create new customer switching costs for later entrants, however, this may not occur if the product introduced is not a technological breakthrough. Of course, not every new product introduced can be a technological breakthrough (e.g., many food products), but they can be new, reflecting the definition of new products.     

Contingent effects of managerial guanxi on new product development success

A survey of new product development (NPD) managers finds both a linear, positive relationship between managerial guanxi and new product speed to market and an inverted U-shaped relationship between managerial guanxi and new product innovativeness. In addition, both transaction-specific investments (TSIs) and relationship commitment have a positive moderating impact on the relationship between managerial guanxi and new product speed to market. However, TSIs increase the damaging effect of managerial guanxi on new product innovativeness, whereas relationship commitment reduces such an effect. The results from this study can help business practitioners use guanxi to improve NPD performance under different contexts of inter-firm relationships.     

新产品市场安全的可拓物元评价模型及应用

新产品进入市场的安全问题是目前众多企业非常关心的实际操作问题,同时营销评价问题是以营销工程为主要支撑的市场营销科学研究之一,但传统的评价方法过于粗糙且不够全面。本文在其他学者的研究结果基础之上通过调查统计分析构建了比较客观全面的市场安全风险因素指标体系,运用可拓理论中的优度评价法建立了新产品入市的市场安全评价模型。实证研究结果表明这种评价方法具有较高的准确性,对于深入研究产品的营销安全评价问题有一定借鉴意义。     

An optimal control contribution to product life cycle theory

This article is aimed at analysing some determinants of the life cycle theory using an optimal control approach. A dynamic model of a monopoly facing demand saturation effects is presented and the optimal sales trend is compared with the classical product life cycle curve. Some strategic implications are derived.     

Network-based market knowledge and product innovativeness

An ongoing debate in marketing literature is whether market knowledge facilitates or impedes new product innovativeness. To reconcile inconsistent findings, this study disaggregates market knowledge into breadth and depth dimensions and uncovers their divergent effects on new product innovativeness. Given organizations’ increasing reliance on network contacts for access to market knowledge, we focus on market knowledge derived from external ties. Based on an empirical test of 244 firms in China, this study finds that market knowledge breadth has a U-shaped relationship, whereas market knowledge depth has an inverted U-shaped relationship, with product innovativeness. These findings carry important theoretical and managerial implications.     

Realising opportunities in the premium automotive market via context-oriented new product positioning

Abstract

The increasing variety of car concepts is a key characteristic of today's passenger car markets. Particularly in the premium segment with higher revenue opportunities, competition intensity is rising continuously. Numerous traditional car concepts, as well as new body styles, explicitly address heterogeneous premium customers' expectations. The build-up of body styles, exterior designs, and engine types result in a loss of traditional basing points for new car categorisation. Therefore, new car positioning is no longer the sheer outcome of technical data. Instead, it turns out to be a key issue of successful product management and a trigger of customers' purchasing decisions. Against this background, we investigated two positioning alternatives – ‘high’ versus ‘premium’ – by means of a large-scale customer base generated from an innovative car clinic set-up. The paper illustrates the effects of alternative positioning strategies and corresponding context effects on the willingness to pay, design perception, and purchase intention. The derived revenue mark-ups prove adequate product positioning as a relevant factor for revenue optimisation.