Improving New Product Quality: An Empirical Study of Product Development Teams in Taiwan

ABSTRACT

The role of team and organizational factors affecting new product quality and their interactions as moderating the effects are examined. Results from a domestic study suggest that new product quality is positively affected by information capability in the team and quality orientation in the firm; in contrast, it is negatively related to the innovativeness of the new product as seen by the firm and speed-to-market pressure in the team. However, teams' information capabilities alleviate the negative effect of innovativeness on quality. Quality orientation lessens the relationship between information capability and new product quality. Functional diversity and tenure diversity do not affect new product quality. In addition, managerial implications and directions for future research are proposed.     

论企业新产品开发与企业R&D活动的关系

新产品开发是企业求得生存与发展的关键 ,但企业新产品开发离不开企业R&D活动。企业R&D不仅是企业新产品开发的重要环节 ,而且渗透于企业新产品开发的全过程。企业R&D投入在企业新产品开发投入中占有很大比重。企业R&D活动为新产品开发提供源技术和保障 ,企业R&D的层次决定着企业新产品的生命力、竞争力和R&D收益率。企业新产品开发数量、周期和模式决定企业R&D活动的频度、速度、广度和深度     

Successful New Product Pricing Practices: A Contingency Approach

The purpose of this study is to examine the success of new product pricing practices and the conditions upon which success is contingent. We distinguish three different pricing practices that refer to the use of information on customer value, competition, and costs respectively. Following Monroe's (1990) price discretion, we argue that the success of these practices is contingent on relative product advantage and competitive intensity. The hypotheses are tested on pricing decisions for new industrial products. Our results show that there are no general best or bad practices, but that a contingency approach is appropriate. These results may help reduce the complexity that managers experience in pricing new products.     

顾客参与新产品开发的绩效影响:产品创新类型的调节效应

顾客参与企业新产品开发对新产品开发绩效有着重要影响,在处于转型经济背景下的中国进行相关研究更有着极为重要的战略意义。文章以B-B市场中的制造企业为研究对象,构建了以产品创新类型为调节变量的顾客参与对新产品开发绩效差异化影响的调节效应模型。研究表明,顾客参与对新产品开发时间绩效与创新绩效的积极影响会受到产品创新类型的调节作用;但产品创新类型对顾客参与和财务绩效关系的调节影响不显著。     

关系范式下新产品开发模式的变革

市场的成熟和技术的进步推动着营销从交易范式转变为关系范式。在关系范式下新产品开发在企业经营中的地位有了很大的提升,新产品开发模式本身也发生了根本性的变化。本文以关系营销的核心特征为理论依据,通过对交易范式和关系范式下新产品开发模式的比较研究,凸现关系范式下新产品开发模式的特点———“3I”,旨在为中国企业转变新产品开发模式,提升企业竞争力提供有益参考。     

Alliance-Based New Product Development Success: The Role of Formalization in Exploration and Exploitation Contexts

Purpose: Although alliances offer tremendous strategic potential, firms still struggle to successfully manage new product development alliances (NPD alliances). A prominent explanation for this is the institutional economics' view (see Williamson 1985 Williamson, O. E. 1985. The economic institutions of capitalism: Firms, markets, relational contracting, New York: The Free Press.  [Google Scholar]) that, in general, a key disadvantage of alliances versus vertical integration is that administrative control mechanisms are weaker. Here, a key control mechanism is formalization (the use of explicit rules to govern business activities).

However, regarding formalization's influence on both NPD and alliance performance, conceptual views and empirical findings are mixed, which suggest that unexamined variables moderate formalization's influence on NPD performance.

Therefore, it is surprising that there is no research on whether formalization's influence differs in alliances pursuing an NPD exploration strategy versus an NPD exploitation strategy because both (1) require varying levels of freedom of action and adherence to procedural rules to achieve success, and (2) are extensively employed in NPD.

Further, there is also surprisingly little intrafirm NPD and non-NPD alliance research on formalization in exploration and exploitation contexts because here as well formalization's influence on performance (1) is central, and (2) differs based on the project's innovative and learning intent.

The purpose of this research is to begin to close important literature and industry practice knowledge gaps about formalization's influence on NPD alliance performance in exploitation versus exploration strategic contexts.

Originality, value, and contribution: This research is the first examination ever of two key NPD strategies—exploration and exploitation—in an NPD alliance context. The research sheds light on conflicting views about formalization's NPD performance-enhancing and inhibiting aspects, and offers implications for industry best practices.

Methodology/approach: Empirical examination of survey data from 151 NPD alliances via hierarchical regression and tests of group moderation.

Findings: Results shed light on when and why formalization moderates the influence of key fundamental alliance success mechanisms on NPD alliance performance based on strategic context.     

新产品全程营销概论

全程营销强调将市场营销理念贯穿于新产品构思、研发、市场化的全过程。为满足顾客需求,实现公司利益和长远发展目标,应弄清新产品全程营销的内涵,详细分析其全生命周期营销和整合营销的特点,以此为新产品开发管理提供新的思路和方法。     

一种新型的基于神经网络的无线信道模型

本文提出了一种使用神经网络来建模和仿真无线通信信道的方法。由于神经网络优异的学习特性,文中使用神经网络对无线信道的输入输出响应进行建模,讨论了建模的方法,给出了仿真的结果,分析了遇到的问题和解决方法,并进一步阐述了在实际的无线信道环境中使用神经网络建模的优越性。     

一种基于神经网络提取旋波材料参数的新方法

提出了一种从测试的S参数中提取旋波材料参数的新方法——神经网络法。针对旋波材料参数的自由空间测试方法，本文采用BP神经网络来构建映射模型，利用不同算法对网络进行训练，从而获得所需的网络。结果表明，该方法计算速度快、精度高，解决了求解非线性方程组解的模糊性问题，确保了测试结果的可靠性。该方法所构建的网络可用于材料测试后旋波材料参数的快速提取。     

双循环新发展格局下农产品市场整合关系异质性研究：新结构经济学视角

在双循环新发展格局的背景下,文章以新结构经济学理论为指导,选取中国苹果优势主产区现货市场和期货市场数据,运用可解决内生性问题的自回归分布滞后模型和误差修正模型,从空间结构和时间结构两个维度检验中国苹果市场整合关系,并从生产要素结构视角揭示市场整合异质性的产生原因。研究表明：(1)从主产区内部结构看,环渤海湾产区山东、辽宁和河北市场之间存在长期分割现象,黄土高原产区陕西、甘肃和山西市场之间也存在长期分割现象;(2)从主产区外部结构看,山东和陕西市场之间处于长期整合状态;(3)从时间结构看,期货市场与山东、陕西现货市场存在长期整合关系,期货市场与其他省份的现货市场不存在长期整合关系。     

武汉城市圈旅游产品开发一体化研究

武汉城市圈旅游产品开发存在着无序开发、重复建设、各自为阵、结构单一、通达性差及旅游商品开发不足等问题,本文据此提出了＂互惠互利,整合多赢＂、＂差别战略,优势互补＂等六大一体化开发战略思路,并提出了横向联合、纵向组合及分区布局等布局方案及对策。串联型、组合型、结构型及精品型旅游线路组织体现了旅游线路设计一体化的核心思想即线路互联对接。在旅游产品开发一体化研究中,也要关注旅游商品开发的一体化进程。     

The Impact of Innovativeness and Development Time on New Product Performance for Small Firms

Timing is becoming a new source of competitive advantage. The business press extols the benefits of faster product development. This paper examines whether competitive advantage can be gained by reducing development time across all types of new products or whether this advantage is restricted to certain types of new products. It proposes that product innovativeness moderates the relationship between development time and initial market performance. A survey of 110 small manufacturing firms in computer related industries supports the hypothesis. The survey findings indicate that a firm must guard against over- or under-development of the new product since product innovativeness was found to influence the impact of development time on market performance. The implications for managers are: beware of bringing a new product that is too much, too early or too little, too late.     

Technology Synergy,Product Characteristics,and New Product Performance: A Meta‐Analytic Review

The associations of technology synergy, product characteristics, and new product performance are widely spread in the marketing and innovation management literatures. However, little research integrates these associations. This study adopts a meta‐analytic approach to aggregate prior findings across studies published before 2010 to review the relationships between technology synergy, product characteristics, and new product performance. Structural equation analysis reveals that technology synergy has: (a) a positive medium effect on new product performance; (b) a positive and strong impact on product advantage, which then affects new product performance; and (c) an indirect effect on new product performance through product innovativeness and product advantage. These findings suggest that product innovation and advantage are important intermediaries between technology synergy and new product performance—as yet unrevealed in extant literature. Copyright © 2012 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Customer Involvement in Product Development: An Industrial Network Perspective

Purpose: In business markets, working with customers and users has become increasingly important to get knowledge about customer needs and to develop new products. The purpose of this article is twofold: (1) to develop a framework for analyzing customer involvement in product development in a business market context, and (2) to apply this framework to a particular company to describe and analyze how it practices customer involvement.

Methodology/approach: The article takes its main theoretical starting point in the industrial network approach, but also uses other literature from the innovation and product development field. The empirical study applies a qualitative case study approach and focuses on one company in the truck business.

Findings: The suggested framework deals with four key aspects of customer involvement: Why, when, how, and who. The observed pattern of the truck manufacturer shows how dealers, hauliers, and truck drivers are all part of the overall understanding of the customer. These actors are involved for different, typically very clear, purposes at different points in time through surveys, product clinics, and field testing. The pattern, referred to as mixed facilitative, is not one of close collaboration with individual customers, but one of broad involvement of several customers through business intelligence and direct involvement.

Research implications: First, the article provides researchers with a framework and method for studying customer involvement in product development. Second, the case study provides an illustrative example of the customer involvement pattern pursued by a leading company in a major industry. This enhances the understanding of the focal phenomenon, leads to managerial implications, and gives ideas for future research.

Practical implications: There are several managerial implications related to the why, when, how, and who questions. For example, it is pointed out that managers should consider involving customers more extensively than what seems to be common today—for example, by using customers as codevelopers, working with them throughout the entire development process (i.e., not only early and late), and including different types of users (with different requirements and wishes).

Originality/value/contribution of the article: The contribution lies in the development of a framework centered on the four key questions of customer involvement in

product development and using this framework for observing a pattern, and finding explanations and relating this pattern to how other firms are doing.     

Dealing with a Lead User’s Demand for Product Development

This article focuses on product development in interaction. Two types of -product development projects demanded by a lead-user type of customer are discussed, as well as the consequences these projects have for the supplier regarding change in production processes, market risk and relationship dependencies. The discussion is illustrated by two cases. Six propositions are developed and further research suggested.

     

A Micromodel of New Product Adoption with Heterogeneous and Forward-Looking Consumers: Application to the Digital Camera Category

We develop an empirical model for the adoption process of a new durable product that accounts for consumer heterogeneity as well as consumers forward-looking behavior. Accounting for heterogeneity is important for two reasons. As the mix of consumers with different preferences and price sensitivities could change over time, firms need to update their marketing strategies. Further, it allows for a variety of shapes for the aggregate adoption process over time. As prices for durable and technology products fall over time with firms continually introducing enhanced products, consumers may anticipate these prices and improvements and delay their purchases in the product category. Forward-looking consumers optimize purchase timing by trading off their utilities from buying the product and their expectations on future prices, quality levels, and brand availability. Such forward-looking behavior will result in price dynamics in the marketplace as price changes today influence future purchases. And it results in different shapes of the new product sales pattern over time by influencing the time to take-off. We show how the parameters of our model can be estimated using aggregate data on the sales, prices, and attributes of brands in a product category. We apply our model to market data from the digital camera category. Our data are consistent with the presence of both heterogeneity and forward looking behavior among consumers. At the product category level, we are able to decompose the effects of the entry of Sony into primary demand expansion and switching from other brands. At the brand level, we find that there exist several segments in the market with different preferences for the brands and different price sensitivities leading to differences in adoption timing and brand choice across segments. For a given brand, we show how the changing customer mix over time has implications for that brands pricing strategies. We characterize how price effects vary across brands and over time and how price changes in a given time period influence sales in subsequent periods. Model comparison and validation results are also provided.     

商品质量新发展的研究与思考

商品质量是工商企业和消费者关注的热点问题,商品质量是一个动态的概念,商品质量已从符合标准发展到使顾客完全满意;在产品安全上,人们已从被动的防范走向主动生产绿色安全产品;商品经济质量的基本要求,主要有商品成本、使用费用和商品寿命等.     

“两型社会”建设中长株潭旅游产品开发模式研究

本文阐述了建设长株潭"两型社会"试验区的根本目的、立足点、要解决的关键问题,提出了"两型社会"建设中长株潭旅游产品开发模式,包括构建农业旅游产品模式、工业旅游产品模式、湘江水景旅游产品模式和红色旅游产品模式.文章认为,建立"两型社会"试验区的最根本目的是实现长株潭城市经济可持续发展,建设"两型社会"试验区要立足长株潭新型城市化的建设,建设"两型社会"试验区要解决的关键问题是发展农业现代化,建设"两型社会"试验区要把社会建设目标内化为企业目标.文章提出,以开发旅游产品模式为切入点建设"两型社会"要解决的关键问题是发展农业旅游,这是建设长株潭资源节约型社会的重要特色内容.     

New Product Development Process Implementation in a Business-To-Business Firm: The Driving and Moderating Factors for Improved Program Performance and Time-To-Market

Purpose: The study aims to examine the critical factors affecting the implementation of a formalized new product development (NPD) process in a business-to-business (B-to-B) company with product-driven growth.

Methodology/approach: Case study using a combination of survey, artifacts, and long interviews

Findings: The findings suggest that (1) the initial phase proficiency can improve NPD effectiveness (NPD program performance) and NPD efficiency (i.e., time-to-market), but this relationship is moderated by the effective communication of the new NPD process throughout the entire firm; (2) the process formalization enhances time-to-market and NPD program performance, but its effects are asymmetric and contingent upon the decision concerning the inclusion of ad hoc and extended NPD team members; and (3) the product approval (executive) committee’s (PAC) ineffective communication could alienate team members from NPD efforts while resource availability moderates the influence of PAC’s decision making quality on time-to-market.

Research implications: Future research could examine the PAC decision-making quality as a multidimensional construct, composed of rigor and timeliness dimensions. That way, a more granular understanding of the effect of PAC decisions could be achieved. Future studies could make a clear distinction of the NPD process type in the study context when NPD decisions are examined.

Practical implications: Managers should acknowledge that decision-making processes and their comprehension by worker bees affect an NPD program’s success. It is interesting to note that removing go-no go decisions by the product approval committees at each phase may not lead to faster product development as these executive committee meetings have double entendre: they are not only to get the executives informed and get their signoff, but also is a facilitator to capital approvals. Hence, appropriate measures must be taken to remove or ease all bottlenecks in the NPD process.

Originality/value/contribution: This study uncovers several crucial factors that can improve the effectiveness and time-to-market of an NPD program in B-to-B companies, especially when firms implement a new formalized NPD process.     

浅议红色旅游开发的新思路

红色旅游是我国新兴的热点专项旅游产品之一,已经产生了较好的社会效益与经济效益。但当前红色旅游开发也出现了滥开发、破坏性开发和重复建设等一系列问题,应及时得到解决。针对红色旅游开发中的不良倾向以及红色旅游的特殊性,必须采取多极点小区域合作开发、系统化保护性开发、深挖内涵基础上的本色开发和多种资源复合型开发等红色旅游开发思路。