A Model of Supplier Integration into New Product Development*

In many industries, firms are looking for ways to cut concept‐to‐customer development time, to improve quality, and to reduce the cost of new products. One approach shown to be successful in Japanese organizations involves the integration of material suppliers early in the new product development cycle. This involvement may range from simple consultation with suppliers on design ideas to making suppliers fully responsible for the design of components or systems they will supply. While prior research shows the benefit of using this approach, execution remains a problem. The processes for identifying and integrating suppliers into the new product development (NPD) process in North American organizations are not understood well. This problem is compounded by the fact that design team members often are reluctant to listen to the technology and cost ideas made by suppliers in new product development efforts. We suggest a model of the key activities required for successful supplier integration into NPD projects, based on case studies with 17 Japanese and American manufacturing organizations. The model is validated using data from a survey of purchasing executives in global corporations with at least one successful and one unsuccessful supplier integration experience. The results suggest that (1) increased knowledge of a supplier is more likely to result in greater information sharing and involvement of the supplier in the product development process; (2) sharing of technology information results in higher levels of supplier involvement and improved outcomes; (3) supplier involvement on teams generally results in a higher achievement of NPD team goals; (4) in cases when technology uncertainty is present, suppliers and buyers are more likely to share information on NPD teams; and (5) the problems associated with technology uncertainty can be mitigated by greater use of technology sharing and direct supplier participation on new product development teams. A supplier's participation as a true member of a new product development team seems to result in the highest level of benefits, especially in cases when a technology is in its formative stages.     

Getting More from Cross‐Functional Fairness and Product Innovativeness: Contingency Effects of Internal Resource and Conflict Management

This research investigates how organizations' internal resource and conflict management influence the relationship between cross‐functional fairness and product innovativeness. It considers two contextual dimensions of both internal resource management (job rotation and internal rivalry) and conflict‐handling mechanisms (integrating and avoiding) as key components of the firm's ability to convert fair interactions, across departments, into product innovativeness. The tests of the study's hypotheses, based on a sample of more than 200 Canadian‐based firms, confirm that the cross‐functional fairness–product innovativeness relationship is amplified at higher levels of job rotation and integrative conflict handling but suppressed at higher levels of internal rivalry and avoidance of conflict handling. The authors discuss the study's implications and future research directions.     

Web-Based Product Development Systems Integration and New Product Outcomes: A Conceptual Framework

In hopes of improving the effectiveness of their new product development (NPD) processes, many firms increasingly are eager to adopt integrated web‐based NPD systems for NPD. However, few would argue that the mere use of web‐based NPD systems substantially will improve the NPD process. But we know little about how and when these systems can be used for enhancing NPD. An organization desiring to employ the web in its NPD process can use it at varying levels of functionality and sophistication, ranging from a tool for automating manual tasks and exchanging data to a means of integrating various intra‐ and interorganizational NPD functions and processes. At higher levels of technology sophistication or integration, an organization's NPD processes will get more integrated internally, i.e., between different stages of the NPD process and with the processes of its suppliers, technology providers, etc. Such integration of both internal and external NPD processes is considered important for successful innovation. Thus, on the surface, higher levels of web‐based systems integration may seem universally desirable. However, each increasing level of integration brings with it higher costs—not only the costs of expensive technology but also costs of implementing a complicated system, redesigning intra‐ and interorganizational processes, disrupting the status quo, and spending management time and energy during implementation. Therefore, it may not be wise for firms to jump blindly on the web‐based NPD bandwagon. High levels of web‐based NPD systems integration may be created when low levels of integration may not deliver the desired results. Further, if such systems are installed without appropriate conditions within and outside the firm, it may not be possible to exploit their full potential. As such, it is important to know how much web‐based NPD systems integration is suitable for different conditions. In this article, we develop a conceptual framework that focuses on how web‐based NPD systems integration can influence the outcome of NPD and how the relationship between systems integration and outcomes can be affected by various contextual factors. For this purpose, we draw on research in areas such as NPD, web‐based information systems, and organization theory and on many discussions we had with professionals and software vendors who deal with NPD and web‐based NPD systems. The contextual factors of interest in this framework are strategic orientation of the firm, product‐related factors, business environment, organizational factors, information technology factors, and partner‐characteristics. Managerial and research implications of the framework are discussed.     

Flexibility, Structuration, and Simultaneity in New Product Development

A large body of research has pointed out the need for a contingent approach in the design of new product development processes, highlighting the risk of simply accepting a normative perspective that leads to the identification and diffusion of decontextualized “best practices.” In the literature there are contrasting views regarding the identification of the characteristics of product innovation processes in extremely uncertain and dynamic conditions. Some studies propose a fascinating dichotomy: the contraposition between flexible processes and Stage‐Gate^® processes. They maintain that Stage‐Gate^® processes are characterized by “early and sharp” product definition and clear separation between concept development and implementation (detail design and production ramp‐up), whereas flexible development models seek to delay the concept freeze point and overlap product development stages going beyond concurrent engineering. Other studies have arrived at seemingly conflicting results; the suitability of the early and sharp product definition approach in turbulent environments is debated without supporting the dichotomy between flexible processes and Stage‐Gate^® processes. Moreover, additional reasons for questioning the contraposition between Stage‐Gate^® and flexible processes come from a series of studies on the management of discontinuous innovation. The aim of the present study was to develop a conceptual framework that can overcome this widely accepted but controversial dichotomy. The framework is based on the recognition of the orthogonality among three analytical dimensions: organizational, informational, and temporal. The organizational dimension refers to the structuration of the process. The informational dimension deals with classifying the development activities and investigating the firm's product definition approach (early and sharp mode vs. late freeze mode). The temporal dimension relates to the execution strategies of development tasks. The three‐dimensional framework enables us to better understand the complex relationships between the degree of structuration in process design (organizational dimension), the degree of intersection between problem‐formulation and problem‐solving in product definition (informational dimension), and different types of execution strategies (temporal dimension).     

Product Development Strategy: An Integration of Technology and Marketing

Although it seems obvious that a new product development strategy must bring together marketing and R&D strategies, the conceptual development of marketing and R&D strategies has taken place in relative isolation. More than ten years ago, when Professor Harry Nyström began his research program on product development in Swedish firms, he realized that the isolation wasn't an appropriate point of view. He began to construct a conceptual framework for analyzing product development strategies that incorporated many more variables than had traditionally been considered. The latest set of firms in the research program are four pulp and paper companies. They are in mature, process industries, quite unlike the earlier study firms. Yet many of the same propositions from the earlier research still hold. In this article, Professor Nyström presents the most recent version of his framework to help managers develop an integrated product development strategy.     

基于集成的工程建设标准化监管研究

工程建设标准是经济建设和项目投资的重要制度和依据,而标准的实施效率取决于监管机制.文章剖析了我国工程建设标准化监管的现状,并指出存在的主要问题.在详细讨论政府监管机制、市场约束机制和自我监督机制后,提出了基于三者集成的工程建设标准化监管框架.分析了该框架有效运行的对策,为改善工程建设标准化监管绩效提供新的思路.     

Toward a Model of New Product Preannouncement Timing

For products and services ranging from software to the latest motion picture, the use of new product preannouncements (NPPAs) has become commonplace. In the weeks and months (and perhaps years) before the release of a new product, a company may share information with various groups, including customers, competitors, and producers of complementary products. These prelaunch communications serve various purposes—for example, building interest for the new product, obtaining feedback from customers, or encouraging consumers to delay purchases until the new product becomes available. Despite the key role that NPPAs play in the successful release of new products, however, almost no research has been conducted to explore the proper timing for such communications. Bryan Lilly and Rockney Walters provide a starting point for these investigations, by describing the elements of an NPPA and presenting a model of the factors that influence NPPA timing. Drawing on existing research and interviews with managers from firms in a wide range of industries, they offer insights into the nature and the timing of NPPAs, and they provide recommendations for improving the effectiveness of NPPAs. Their conceptual model lists four sets of factors that affect NPPA timing: expected reactions of competitors; product-related factors, such as the product's complexity and innovativeness; buyer-related factors, such as the length of the buying process; and firm-related factors, including final determination of the product's feature set. The relative strength of these effects depends on the objectives and the audience for the NPPA. For example, a late NPPA—that is, one close to the product's release date—effectively shields a new product from rapid competitive responses. On the other hand, an early NPPA allows channel members and customers to gain familiarity with complex or innovative products. Their findings suggest that early NPPAs are most appropriate for complex or highly innovative products as well as those that carry high, but avoidable switching costs for buyers. Late NPPAs are recommended if the firm expects sales of the new product to cannibalize those of existing products. Late NPPAs are also appropriate if a product's feature set is not yet frozen. To improve the effectiveness of NPPAs, managers must clearly define their objectives and carefully match the timing and the content of the NPPA to the target audience.     

高弹性聚酯纤维制造技术和产品性能

讨论了高弹性聚酯纤维的制造技术,包括传统的DT和DTY方法、不对称加工法、非对称冷却成形法、热流喷射法、新聚酯、双组分复合纺丝法以及综合法（PTT/PET并列复合中空纤维制造方法）。针对不同制造技术及其产品弹性的各异,提出采用新聚酯、复合纺丝技术制得纤维的弹性性能更加突出,可以作为新型材料应用于现代纺织等领域。     

Spurring Cross‐Functional Integration for Higher New Product Performance: A Group Effectiveness Perspective*

Spurring integration among functional specialists so they collectively create successful, or high‐performing, new products is a central interest of innovation practitioners and researchers. Firms are increasingly assembling cross‐functional new product development (NPD) teams for this purpose. However, integration of team members' divergent orientations and expertise is notoriously difficult to achieve. Individuals from distinct functions such as design, marketing, manufacturing, and research and development (R&D) are often assigned to NPD teams but have contrasting backgrounds, priorities, and thought worlds. If not well managed, this diversity can yield unproductive conflict and chaos rather than successful new products. Firms are thus looking for avenues of integrating the varied expertise and orientations within these cross‐functional teams. The aim of this study is to address two important and not fully resolved questions: (1) does cross‐functional integration in NPD teams actually improve new product performance; and if so, (2) what are ways to strengthen integration? The study began by developing a model of cross‐functional integration from the perspective of the group effectiveness theory. The theory has been used to explain the performance of a wide range of small, complex work groups; this study is the first application of the theory to NPD teams. The model developed from this theory was then tested by conducting a survey of dual informants in 206 NPD teams in an array of U.S. high‐technology companies. In answer to the first research question, the findings show that cross‐functional integration indeed contributes to new product performance as long conjectured. This finding is important in that it highlights that bringing together the skills, efforts, and knowledge of differing functions in an NPD team has a clear and coveted payoff: high‐performing new products. In answer to the second question, the findings indicate that both intra‐ (or internal) and extra‐ (or external) team factors contribute and codetermine cross‐functional integration. Specifically, social cohesion and superordinate identity as internal team factors and market‐oriented reward system, planning process formalization, and managerial encouragement to take risks as external team factors foster integration. These findings underscore that spurring integration requires addressing the conditions inside as well as outside NPD teams. These specialized work groups operate as organizations within organizations; recognition of this in situ arrangement is the first step toward better managing and ensuring rewards from team integration. Based on these findings, managerial and research implications were drawn for team integration and new product performance.     

中国制造业市场一体化程度测算及变动趋势

本文利用直接贸易流量和间接产业趋同两种方法实证分析中国制造业市场的一体化程度及变动趋势。首先在边界效应模型框架下,考察了产品自身属性差异对区际贸易的影响,重点考察地方保护的影响;其次运用动态估计方法分析了1997—2006年区际贸易壁垒的变动趋势。研究发现,生产规模、产品价格、区域位置、区间距离及地方保护等对制造业区际贸易具有显著影响作用;在11个制造业部门中,纺织、食品制造及烟草加工的地方保护最为严重,紧接着是交通运输设备、造纸印刷及文教用品、机械、化工、电子等制造业,而金属冶炼及制品业和非金属矿物制品业的保护最弱;1997以来中国地区产业结构的趋势不是趋同而是向着尊重比较优势的差异化发展,我国制造业市场地方保护趋于减弱,市场一体化程度趋于增强。     

Maximizing the Utility of Customer Product Testing: Beta Test Design and Management

Many companies regularly use beta tests as part of their product development program. Beta testing can validate the product concept, eliminate performance problems prior to market introduction, and serve as an effective sales promotion device. The risks are significant, however, in that a poorly designed test can destroy account relationships, generate inaccurate data on product performance, and stimulate negative publicity. Robert Dolan and John Matthews present guidelines for effective management of beta test programs. They develop these guidelines based on a literature review, an analysis of twenty-one beta test programs as described in secondary sources, and four in-depth field investigations with cooperating firms.     

纺织品紫外线防护性能测试方法和测试仪器

阐述了纺织品紫外线防护性能测试方法,重点介绍了一种纺织品紫外线透过率测试仪器。     

Cell Production and Workplace Innovation in Japan: Toward a New Model for Japanese Manufacturing?

This article investigates the current trend toward cell production and other workplace innovations in Japan using a large–scale sampling survey of manufacturing firms and in–depth interviews with four leading electrical and electronic establishments. The quantitative analysis reveals the correlation between the use of cell production and the ratio of female to male workers and production strategy variables, as well as the positive effect of cell production on operating profit rates and ordinary profit rates. The case studies reveal the following points: First, processes and organizations have been decentralized to the degree that individual workshops move toward taking primary responsibility for customer relations, production decisions, and delivery. Corporate headquarters increasingly play a coordinating rather than decision–making role. Second, firms have steadily implemented make–to–order systems by tightening links to suppliers and customers and developing new inventory and cost–control systems. Third, firms have started to implement more performance–based personnel practices. However, considerable variance among firms is observed in complementary changes, particularly personnel innovations.     

A Dynamic Model of Advertising and Product Differentiation

This paper analyses a differential game of duopolisticrivalry through time where firms can use advertisingand price as competitive tools. Two cases are consideredwhereby: (1) advertising has the main effect ofincreasing market size and firms differ in productionefficiency; (2) advertising has both predatory and cooperativeeffects in a symmetric market. The former shows thatmarket shares and advertising shares are positivelycorrelated and that market size increases with thedifference in firms' relative efficiency. The latterhighlights the differences in the feedback andopen-loop strategies. It is shown that firms' advertisingare strategic complements and that profits are higherin the feedback equilibrium because firms advertise more.The applicability of the model in markets wherefranchise contracts and dealership agreements operateis also discussed.     

Ordered to Innovate: A Longitudinal Examination of the Early Periods of a New Product Development Process Implementation in a Manufacturing Firm

Firms can generate rather long‐lasting growth spurts through continuous innovation. Moreover, literature suggests that, when growing organically, firm performance is enhanced through a revenue expansion emphasis encompassing new‐to‐the‐world or new‐to‐the‐firm physical goods or service augmentations. This organic approach usually outperforms cost‐reduction programs, which often yield minor improvements to existing products; or an emphasis on simultaneous revenue expansion and cost reduction. While this finding has the major implication that firms should focus and generate more radical new products for long‐term success, there is need for research that investigates how firms should implement the strategy change to organic growth via innovation. The authors present a case study, which suggests that in the short run, it might be better to commence a revenue expansion strategy by focusing on incremental new product development (NPD) efforts, rather than focusing too much on new‐to‐the‐world or new‐to‐the‐firm products. Moreover, analyses of the rich, multimethod data, collected over a two‐and‐a‐half‐year interaction with the focal firm, illustrates that to increase success prospects of an organic innovation strategy, managers should not only engage incrementally innovative new product projects initially, but also ensure proficiency in commercializing the new product with cross‐functional NPD teams. Thus, in early stages of organization transformation, the merits of the organic growth strategy will be swiftly demonstrated, the cross‐functional teaming skills are learned and tested, and the new strategy becomes institutionalized. While somewhat contradictory to other studies on this topic, this more evolutionary exploration provides a new perspective for organizational change, especially when a firm is ordered to innovate. In conclusion, the insights gleaned in this study shed light on the journey from stagnating firm to a successful serial innovator via formalized NPD process implementation.     

New Product Development Performance and the Interaction of Cross-Functional Integration and Knowledge Management

Previous research on cross-functional integration between research and development (R&D) and marketing has focused on the development of appropriate structural modes and levels of integration and cooperation across the R&D–marketing interface. A gap in the previous research in this area has been the failure to investigate the integration of information from past related product development projects (i.e., knowledge management). In this investigation of R&D–marketing integration, variables from the emerging research literature on organizational learning and knowledge management are examined. By simultaneously investigating the effects of knowledge management variables and R&D–marketing integration, this gap in the literature is addressed. The results demonstrate that the combined effects of R&D–marketing integration and knowledge management in the form of recording, retrieving, and reviewing information from past projects results in interaction effects. In 8 of 18 tests interactions were found. In 6 of 18 tests these resulted in the form of amplification effects with dependent variables such as product prototype development proficiency, product launch proficiency, technological core competency fit, and design change frequency.     

Organizing Flexibility: The Flexible Firm in a New Century

Research on organizational flexibility should examine the linkages between numerical and functional flexibility. Unfortunately, studies of each type of flexibility generally neglect the other. Moreover, the most popular conception of the interplay between these two forms of flexibility — the core–periphery model — is incomplete in important ways. I discuss evidence and limitations of the core–periphery model of the flexible firm, and outline some promising attempts to conceptualize how organizations may combine functional and numerical flexibility. I focus mainly on the USA and the UK, though I also review evidence and issues involved in cross‐national differences in organizational flexibility.