Delineating Design Factors that Influence the Global Product Launch Process*

Preparing for and managing the global product launch process offers unique challenges as each targeted country can pose unique differences across the design categories of channel parameters, country mores, language and colloquialisms, and technology infrastructure. Though not an exhaustive list, these have a predominant influence on the global product launch process on a per‐global‐region basis. Using a case‐study methodology, this article draws on the global product launch experiences of two firms, showing that such influences preclude use of a mass‐marketing, standardization approach. Though it appears that certain elements of global product launch may be standardized for purposes of efficiencies, a global product launch appears to require at least some degree of customization. Such thinking parallels a design perspective, which mandates a tailoring of product and marketing mix to encourage early acceptance within the intended global market. To suggest when customization should be employed, four design categories of channel parameters—country mores, language and colloquialisms, and technology infrastructure—appear to have strong propensity to dictate customized design requirements for a worldwide launch, where greater differences across these design categories would mandate more customization toward each respective global region. Post hoc comments by managers in the focal case studies support this and further delineate that these four design factors necessitate keen consideration in the course of planning and enacting activities during the global product launch process. The two cases studies especially show that customized design decisions will likely pertain to launch schedule due to local retailers' calendars, product aesthetics due to local consumer preferences, point‐of‐sale and other marketing communications due to language requirements, and technology enhancements in light of local market acceptability and both social and regulatory expectations. Managers involved in planning a global product launch should therefore heed channel owners—brand owners, retailers, and distributors—so that they give preference to, promote, and sell the respective company's product relative to competitors' products. To assist toward securing such preference status, channel owners should have a role in advising the timing of launch and design considerations (e.g., color and form). Logistic issues, such as delivery and after‐sales support via this channel, are keen considerations as well. Logistics has to be thought through to ensure that demand can be met across all regions for a new product. And with the growing prevalence of Internet worldwide, managers must pay keen attention to cultural references and language used on any Internet site to ensure that the product is properly represented and promoted during its global launch. The process of a global product launch is therefore more than the company's ability to gain access to a particular market; it is the company's ability to understand key design issues per each global region respectively and to respond to pressing global region differences by customizing the total product offering to meet the needs of that global region.     

运载火箭商业品牌营销策划的初步设想

<正>目前,我国的航天商业运作大都体现在"神舟"系列飞船上,而在运载火箭领域几乎是一片空白。但航天的商业策划远不止这些,运载火箭无论是技术水平,还是市场空间都具有巨大的商业潜能。我国运载火箭的研发、试验、发射所需资金主要靠国家拨款,而其本身具有的巨大潜在商业价值还尚未开发。我     

Externally Directed and Internally Directed Market Launch Management: The Role of Organizational Factors in Influencing New Product Success

Introducing new products remains a critical challenge for managers. Consumer acceptance of new products is key to new product success and requires the effective implementation of market launch activities. The present study describes the relationship between different types of market launch activities and market‐related, time‐related, and financial market launch success. The study's framework extends previous work on launch management by complementing the view that launch activities are predominantly outwardly directed with the notion that launch management can also be inwardly directed. More specifically, launch activities can both target customers as the external audience, for example, via communication and pricing, and address an internal audience, such as management and sales personnel, for example, using departmental coordination or employee incentives. The study also sets out to investigate how situational factors impact the relative effectiveness of both externally directed and internally directed launch activities in engendering successful new product launches. In particular, product newness, technology drivers, and firm size are considered as relevant variables. Structural equation analysis of data on 178 new products across industries provide empirical evidence that market launch success depends on the intensity of both externally directed and internally directed market launch activities. With regard to the overall impact of internally directed activities, the findings confirm that organizational factors and antecedents indeed play a critical role in new product launch and its respective performance with internally directed activities having an even stronger impact on time‐related and financial success than outwardly directed instruments. Specifically, these internal activities are often viewed as idiosyncratic resources that are hard for competitors to observe and are therefore more difficult—if not impossible—to replicate compared to externally directed activities in market launch. The paper clearly pinpoints that the successful launch of new products is a complex task that also necessitates the implementation of internally directed launch activities. Fast market penetration requires coordination among the different internal players as well as support from top management. Furthermore, the financial objectives of the market launch can only be met if employees and executives both receive the necessary incentives and support to effectively execute the new product introduction. The study also demonstrates that moderators impact the strength of the effectiveness of these two different types of market launch activities. This research provides important implications for launch management by advocating that the two foci on external and internal constituencies should not be pursued in isolation but that instead, the opposite is true.     

Identifying the Key Success Factors in New Product Launch

Effective product launch is a key driver of top performance, and launch is often the single costliest step in new product development. Despite its importance, costs, and risks, product launch has been relatively underresearched in the product literature. We reviewed the extant literature on product launch to identify the most critical strategic, tactical, and information-gathering activities influencing the launch success. We then used a retrospective methodology to gather managerial perceptions regarding launch activities pertaining to a recent new product launch, and the product's performance in terms of profitability, market share, and relative sales. A mail survey of PDMA practitioners elicited data on nearly 200 recent product launches. Successful launches were found to be related to perceived superior skills in marketing research, sales force, distribution, promotion, R&D, and engineering. Having cross-functional teams making key marketing and manufacturing decisions, and getting logistics involved early in planning, were strategic activities that were strongly related to successful launches. Several tactical activities were related to successful launches: high quality of selling effort, advertising, and technical support; good launch management and good management of support programs; and excellent launch timing relative to customers and competitors. Furthermore, information-gathering activities of all kinds (market testing, customer feedback, advertising testing, etc.) were very important to successful launches. We conclude with observations about current product launch practice and with recommendations to management. Logistics plays a key role in successful strategy development and should receive the requisite amount of managerial attention. In particular, activities involving logistics personnel in strategy development showed much room for improvement. We also find that the timing of the launch (i.e., when the launch is conducted from the point of view of the company, the competition, and the customer) is just as important as whether the activities are performed. More managerial attention should be devoted to launch timing with respect to all of these viewpoints in order to improve the chances of success.     

Waterfall Versus Sprinkler Product Launch Strategy: Influencing the Herd

A seller decides the price and sequence in which a product of unknown value is introduced to consumers. Consumers inspect the product before consumption and observe past prices and sales. Consumption at a high price is informative for later consumers as it indicates that the product is likely to be of high value. I show that on an average prices decrease over time. However, expected revenue on an average rises over time. For a high enough discount factor, I find that for extreme beliefs the firm introduces the product to all consumers but for intermediate values the product is introduced only to one consumer.     

Factors Influencing Organizational Performance in Gainsharing Programs

Using survey data from managers at 269 establishments in the United States and Canada, this article examines factors influencing outcomes of gainsharing. The ordered probit analyses generally indicated that these outcomes have significant associations with employee involvement, bonus payouts, employee bonus share, bonus group size, consultant involvement, the administration of employee votes, labor intensity, market situation, establishment's financial condition, the average seniority level of employees, union status, and union support.     

考虑价格因素的中国全要素生产率计算及其影响因素分析 ——基于Global Cost Malmquist和Tobit模型的实证研究

本文将价格因素引入模型中,基于Global Cost Malmquist指数模型估算全要素生产率,基于全要素生产率分解进一步分析我国的资源错配状况及其来源,并采用Tobit模型对全要素生产率尤其是价格效应的影响因素进行实证分析,研究结果表明:现阶段我国全要素生产率增长存在高估问题,技术进步对我国全要素生产率的正向促进作用日趋显著,由价格扭曲导致的资源错配是现阶段抑制我国全要素生产率进一步提高的主要因素,同时技术进步和价格扭曲加剧了地区全要素生产率差异;对外直接投资、出口贸易和金融发展提高了全要素生产率增长,改善了资源错配,而市场分割和工业占比则起到抑制作用;东部和西部地区的对外直接投资、中部地区的出口贸易以及西部地区的金融发展水平会显著改善地区价格扭曲程度。基于以上研究,提出加快资源配置市场化改革、培育开放的市场化动力、激发金融市场活力、优化产业结构等政策启示。     

论影响婴儿服装设计的因素

通过分析婴儿的形态、运动、生理和心理特征,从服装的安全防护性能、湿热舒适性、活动舒适性及触觉舒适性角度对影响婴儿服装设计的面料、色彩、款式、结构以及工艺等因素进行了探讨。婴儿服装设计要以舒适、安全、健康以适应孩子生长发育以及活动需要。     

近期影响国际油价的若干重要因素综论

巴以冲突、美伊冲突、俄罗斯的石油出口政策走向及2002上美国经济的走势，是对近期国际油价产生重大影响的主要因素。巴以冲突因难以引发新的阿以战争，不会影响世界石油的实际供应量；美伊冲突必将使国际石油市场处于巩慌状态，但目前石油剩余生产能力是伊拉克所产原油的的数倍，由此而产生的国际油价波动很快就会回复；俄罗斯与欧佩克达成的限制出口协议只能在短期内对国际油价起支撑作用，油价的走高必然会促使俄罗斯增加石油出口，导致油价下滑；美国的经济增长必将带动全球的经济增长，从而拉动原油价格走高。总体来说，2002年国际油价呈攀升趋势，其平均水平可能升至或超过每桶25美元左右。     

女鞋品牌质量的影响因素研究

随着我国改革开放和经济发展,女性社会地位的不断提升,女性收入呈现大幅度提高态势。随着女性对服饰整体协调度的要求的提高,鞋子在女性服装消费中的地位也大幅度提高。本文通过问卷的形式对女性消费者进行调研,了解消费者对女鞋品牌质量的认知情况,建立女鞋品牌质量影响因素权重模型,为企业了解消费者消费习惯、提高品牌质量提供第一手资料。     

试论高校图书馆数字化建设的影响因素

数字图书馆将成为未来社会的公共信息中心和枢纽。高校图书馆如何抓住机遇,充分利用高新技术,将馆藏各种类型和载体的文化经典的精华,进行数字化加工处理与整合,使其转化成的经典电子作品,是摆在我们面前的一个重要课题。     

企业知识分享的影响因素及对策探讨

随着知识经济的兴起，知识管理在现代企业运营中发挥着越来越重要的作用。知识管理包括知识积累、知识分享、知识创新等环节。其中知识分享是企业知识管理的关键环节，同时也是知识管理的最大障碍。由于自愿与他人分享知识并不符合人性，因此，有必要探讨我国企业在知识分享过程中的影响因素及相关对策。     

影响国际石油价格变动的主要因素

按照供求定价的基本原理,通过构建石油价格变动模型,认为影响石油价格变动的因素包括:两期经济总量变动值的一阶差分、相邻两期库存变动值的一阶差分、前一期石油价格的一阶差分以及外生冲击的变化. 其中,经济变动是决定油价变动的主要因素,而库存变动和以政治因素、自然因素、技术进步为代表的外生变量只能在一定时期内影响石油价格走势,不能作为判断石油价格变化的依据.同时,比照1970-2005年国际原油价格变动和世界经济(GNP)运行的实际情况,对模型的结论进行了直观检验和进一步解释.     

影响医生处方行为的因素研究

本文研究医药政策法律、社会文化、执业环境、患者特性、药厂促销活动、药品属性、医生个人特性等因素对医生处方行为的影响,并探讨有关研究结果的应用意义.     

创造中国人的世界性品牌

中国纺织服装企业家面临全球一体化带来的前所未有的机遇和压力,比任何时候都能够感受到自身与世界发展潮流的密切关系.那么,在中国纺织服装企业未来的成长过程中,如何运用文化利器,找到发展坐标,如何制订品牌文化战略,塑造本品牌文化在社会中的主流性,并赢得最终的竞争,成为当前中国纺织服装企业必须面对的课题.中国纺织杂志期望通过核心企业案例的现身说法,引起企业家们的思辩、争鸣.     

影响泡沫洗井施工质量的几个因素

长庆油田近年来开展的泡沫洗井措施，对原油的增产、稳产起到了积极的作用，该措施的施工质量也越来越受到关注和重视。经过对大量泡沫洗井措施的施工质量进行统计分析，指出化学药品的质量和用量、施工工具的选择、过程控制等七个方面的因素对泡沫洗井措施的施工质量起至关重要的作用。     

服装导购员工作积极性影响因素分析

作为连接企业与市场的桥梁,服装导购员承担着销售服装产品以使企业获利的重任,她们的工作越来越受到企业管理者的重视,如何提高他们的工作积极性成为企业管理者亟待解决的问题。为探寻影响服装导购员工作积极性的因素,对上海地区309名服装导购员进行访谈和问卷调研,运用SPSS17.0进行数据分析,梳理导购员工作积极性的影响因素。     

青年女装品牌定位评价因子实证研究

本文对目前北京市场上比较流行的女装品牌的定位进行分析,并利用现有的品牌定位理论,采用实验法对其进行实证研究,得出对女装品牌定位决策有参考价值的结论。本研究的实验主要采用语义差异量表法,对实验数据进行SPSS的独立样本T检验和因子分析,找出基于消费者的青年女装品牌定位评价的五个维度,并给出女装企业有参考价值的合理建议。     

树立形象 打出品牌--上海新七浦市场运作高招叠出

做 生意图的是赚钱，在投入了 相应的人力、物力、财力后，争取获得利润的最大值无疑是商家追逐的目标。问题是，机遇往往是与风险并存的，要想马到成功，心想事成，唯有凸显自身优势，树形象，打品牌，才能促进效益提高，这方面上海新七浦服装市场运作给了我们有益的启迪。 由上海新七浦投资发展有限公司投资兴建的新七浦服装市场，投资总额高达2.3亿元人民币之巨，堪称大手笔。虽然这一投资项目因涉及旧区改造，马路市场入室，繁荣区域经济，振兴都市型的海派服装等方方面面，得到了当地政府的大力支持和享受了各项优惠政策，利好消…