Accelerating New Product Development: A Preliminary Empirical Test of a Hierarchy of Implementation

Although time to market and a product's profitability are closely linked, simply speeding up new product development (NPD) is no guarantee of success. In fact, haphazardly adopting the numerous methods for accelerating NPD may jeopardize the potential success of the new product and the company. An article in a previous issue of The Journal of Product Innovation Management suggests that companies seeking to speed up their NPD process should take a hierarchical approach to implementing the various acceleration techniques. To improve the likelihood that efforts to accelerate NPD will pay off with shorter development time, greater market share, and improved profitability, it is recommended that a company start by focusing on simplification of the NPD process. From there, the company can proceed in sequence through techniques involving the elimination of unnecessary steps in the NPD process, parallel processing (i.e., performing two or more NPD steps at the same time), the elimination of delays, and speeding up of the NPD process. Ed J. Nijssen, Arthur R. L. Arbouw, and Harry R. Commandeur follow up on this earlier work by addressing several key questions regarding the proposed hierarchy of techniques for accelerating NPD. First, do companies that make extensive use of the proposed hierarchy develop new products faster than companies that do not? Second, do companies that make extensive use of the hierarchy enjoy better financial performance than those that do not? Third, regardless of the hierarchy, are products developed faster by companies that make more intensive use of acceleration methods than by companies that use fewer methods of acceleration? Finally, how does financial performance compare among companies that make more intensive use of acceleration methods without following the hierarchy and those that use fewer methods of acceleration? A survey of Dutch companies finds that the proposed hierarchy of techniques has a positive effect on NPD speed. The survey results also suggest that faster NPD is possible through the use of the various acceleration methods without regard for the order in which they are implemented. However, a strong positive relationship is evident between the hierarchy and the profitability of the product and the company. In other words, a random approach to NPD acceleration does not improve financial performance. By trying to accelerate NPD in accordance with the proposed hierarchy of methods, a company can avoid critical mistakes that might otherwise limit financial results.     

Evolving Game Theory

Jörgen W. Weibull (1995) Evolutionary Game Theory. MIT Press. £18.50 $30 xv+265 pp. Ken Binmore, Alan Kirman and Piero Tani (eds) (1993) Frontiers of Game Theory. MIT Press. £40.50 $47.50 350 pp.     

Unpacking Commitment: Multiple Loyalties and Employee Behaviour*

abstract We present findings from three UK studies on the nature and consequences of employees’ multiple commitments in the workplace, with samples drawn from private manufacturing, private services and the public sector. Co‐workers, the union, the union representative, customers, and the immediate boss emerge as separate foci of commitment, distinct from ‘global’ commitment to the organization as a whole. Consistent with social exchange theory, attitudinal and behavioural outcomes are predicted by commitment to those foci that might be expected to benefit from the outcome in question. There is evidence that global organizational commitment mediates the relationship between foci‐specific commitments and organization‐related outcomes, but there is no mediation in the case of those foci and outcomes that are more cognitively distant from the organization. A comparison of the studies suggests that the pattern and outcomes of commitment are influenced by the nature of the job and of the work context.     

A model of (the threat of) counterfeiting

A simple matching-model of money with the potential for counterfeiting is constructed. In contrast to the existing literature, lotteries are included. These provide scope for the operation of the intuitive criterion of Cho and Kreps. The application of that refinement is shown to imply that there is no equilibrium with counterfeiting. If the cost of producing counterfeits is low enough, then there is no monetary equilibrium. Otherwise, there is a monetary equilibrium without counterfeiting. In other words, the threat of counterfeiting can eliminate the monetary equilibrium.     

Human Resource Management In Building Societies: Making the Transformation?

Ed Snape, Tom Redman and Adrian Wilkinson examine the implications of the changing competitive environment for the management of staff in building societies. In particular, they draw on the results of a detailed case study to discuss attempts to introduce policies and practices associated with ‘HRM’. the conclusion is that the competitive pressures which led to the demand for these policies and practices may also make their successful implementation especially dificult. Ed Snape is a Lecturer in the Department of Human Resource Management at the University of Strathclyde, Tom Redman a Lecturer at Teesside Business School, and Adrian Wilkinson a Lecturer at the Manchester School of Management (UMIST).     

Exploratory Results on the Importance of R&D Knowledge Domains in Businesses with Different Strategies

A number of studies have described the consequences of the changing patterns in the business environment for R&D departments. Fewer studies have addressed the specific implications of the changing business environment for the agenda of R&D managers. Gupta and Wilemon (1996) have provided R&D managers with a priority list for action designed to be applicable to R&D departments independent of business strategy. However, a substantial body of literature suggests that the priority listing may be different for R&D departments in businesses with different strategies. Against this background this study sets out to determine whether the priority listing is different for Miles and Snow's (1978) strategic archetypes of prospectors, analyzers, defenders and reactors. A total of 72 R&D managers of businesses competing in industrial markets in the Netherlands provided the data to test for the existence of these differences. The results indicate that the priority listings are indeed different for R&D departments in businesses with different strategies. This finding has important practical implications. The priority listings can be used by R&D managers to assess which R&D capabilities have to be developed in order to match R&D strategy with business strategy and meet the criteria for getting more commercial payback from R&D in a changing business environment.     

Soil CO2 emission and carbon budget of a wheat/maize annual double-cropped system in response to tillage and residue management in the North China Plain

To investigate the impacts of tillage and crop residue managements on soil CO₂ emission and C budget in a wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)/maize (Zea mays L.) double-cropped system in the North China Plain (NCP), a field experiment was conducted consisting of four treatments: tillage with crop residues retention (CT+), tillage with crop residues removal (CT?), no-till with crop residues retention (NT+), and no-till with crop residues removal (NT?). Daily soil CO₂ fluxes changed with crop growing stage and peaked during the most vigorous growth of period, fluxes in maize season were higher than those in wheat season. Compared to the tilled soils, cumulative CO₂ emissions were significantly lower under no-till treatments. The largest cumulative CO₂ emission occurred under CT+ (65?g CO₂-C m^?2 y^?1) and the smallest was under NT+ (39?g CO₂-C m^?2 y^?1). After 5 years of the experiment, soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration were greater with crop residues retention (CT+ and NT+) than with crop residues removal (CT? and NT?), the maximum SOC stock was in NT+ (5940?g C m^?2) while the minimum was in CT? (3635?g C m^?2). NT+ could help to mitigate CO₂ emission in the annual wheat/maize double-cropping system of the area.     

Banking and the Real Economy

Ed Clark discusses the importance of banking in the real economy, the weakening of trust of banks on the part of the public, and what banks must do to reclaim that trust. In particular, he cites the need for adequate capitalization and the need for cultural change within banking. There must be a shift back to a focus on the needs of customers rather than the potential gains from casino-like activity. He also discusses changes that have taken place in technology and operating practices in basic banking to provide better service to customers. He expresses a need for more informed bank regulation to avoid asset bubbles.