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Innovative Products (innovative + products)
Selected AbstractsDesign Experience: Transforming Fragile Ideas Into Innovative ProductsDESIGN MANAGEMENT REVIEW, Issue 1 2004Bruce Wood Transplanting a Scottish model, in 2001 the Centro de Design do Paraná, in Brazil, initiated grants to underwrite the hiring of industrial designers. Bruce Wood, Geraldo Pougy, and Gisele Raulik describe how the goal was, within an 18-month timeframe, to exhibit 20 promising production prototypes. By August 2002, there were 41 prototypes on display and 40 local companies that could literally see the potential of design to improve business. [source] Leadership in R&D ProjectsCREATIVITY AND INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2007Diana Grosse This article describes the results of an empirical study regarding a suitable style of R&D project leadership, especially what tasks project leaders should perform by themselves and what tasks they should delegate, what personal characteristics they should be endowed with and what kind of relationships they should have with their team. Fifty interviews were held in German institutions short-listed for an award for their innovative products by the Saxon government. In contrast to the assumption of the Social Identity Theory, in these institutions good R&D project leaders are not the ,prototype' of their team, but successfully balance the interests of the company and the R&D project team. [source] Highlights in Biocatalysis , Historical Landmarks and Current TrendsENGINEERING IN LIFE SCIENCES (ELECTRONIC), Issue 4 2005T. Bornscheuer Abstract Biocatalysis has ancient roots, yet it is developing into a key tool for synthesis in a wide range of applications. Important events in the history of enzyme technology from the 19th century onwards are highlighted. Considering the most relevant progress steps, the production of penicillanic acid and the impact of genetic engineering are traced in more detail. Applied biocatalysis has been defined as the application of a biocatalyst to achieve a desired conversion selectively, under controlled, mild conditions in a bioreactor. Biocatalysts are currently used to produce a wide range of products in the fields of food manufacture (such as bread, cheese, beer), fine chemicals (e.g., amino acids, vitamins), and pharmaceuticals (e.g., derivatives of antibiotics). They not only provide access to innovative products and processes, but also meet criteria of sustainability. In organic synthesis, recombinant technologies and biocatalysts have greatly widened the scope of application. Examples of current applications and processes are given. Recent developments and trends are presented as a survey, covering new methods for accessing biodiversity with new enzymes, directed evolution for improving enzymes, designed cells, and integrated downstream processing. [source] Social and organisational implications of CAD usage: a grounded theory in a fashion companyNEW TECHNOLOGY, WORK AND EMPLOYMENT, Issue 2 2004Fabiola Bertolotti This paper focuses on the process of Computer Aided Design (CAD) diffusion into a group engaged in the development of innovative products. Adopting an ethnographic approach, we build a grounded theory for interpreting CAD usage in terms of the interplay between variables such as management orientation, training, actors' specialisation and deskilling, availability of shared archives, technological discontinuities between organisational areas. [source] Soft reliability: an interdisciplinary approach with a user,system focusQUALITY AND RELIABILITY ENGINEERING INTERNATIONAL, Issue 1 2009A. Koca Abstract A recent trend in technological innovation is towards the development of increasingly multifunctional and complex products to be used within rich socio-cultural contexts such as the high-end office, the digital home, and professional or personal healthcare. One important consequence of the development of strongly innovative products is a growing market uncertainty regarding ,if', ,how', and ,when' users can and will adopt such products. Often, it is not even clear to what extent these products are understood and interacted with in the intended manner. The mentioned problems have already become an evident concern in the field, where there is a significant rise in the numbers of seemingly sound products being complained about, signaling a lack of soft reliability. In this paper, we position soft reliability as a growing and critical industrial problem, whose solution requires new academic expertise from various disciplines. We illustrate potential root causes for soft reliability problems, such as discrepancy between the perceptions of users and designers. We discuss the necessary approach to effectively capture subjective feedback data from actual users, e.g. when they contact call centers. Furthermore, we present a novel observation and analysis approach that enables insight into actual product usage, and outline opportunities for combining such objective data with the subjective feedback provided by users. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Towards a more systematic analysis of uncertain user,product interactions in product development: an enhanced user,product interaction frameworkQUALITY AND RELIABILITY ENGINEERING INTERNATIONAL, Issue 1 2007Yuan Lu Abstract For highly innovative products the actual product use is often very uncertain. However, the uncertainty/variability in product use and its impact on product reliability has rarely been explored. The mismatch between the anticipated product use and the actual product use can lead to considerable unexpected technical and non-technical reliability risks. However, traditional reliability management techniques focus primarily on managing technical reliability risks. This situation results in an increasing amount of no-fault-found or fault-not-found reports in the highly innovative consumer electronics (CE) industry. Under the time-to-market pressure, it is increasingly important to take into consideration the significant factors that determine product use in the early product development process. In the Software Reliability Engineering (SRE) framework, a top-down approach (operational profile) is used to analyse the product use. However, an operational profile cannot be directly applied to analyse product use for CE products due to the differences between the reliability of software products and that of CE products. This paper proposes an enhanced framework to structurally analyse unexpected user,product interactions for highly innovative CE products. In this framework, the product, user and environmental conditions are used to analyse user,product interactions. This framework has been implemented to analyse user,product interactions by using data from a consumer test of a highly innovative CE product. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Working with concepts in the fuzzy front end: exploring the context for innovation for different types of concepts at Volvo CarsR & D MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2007Maria Backman Automotive firms are balancing the increasing needs for cost and time efficiency with the necessity of developing more innovative products to stand out on in a competitive market. The strive for efficiency has led to an increasingly structured development process with limited allowances for deviations. Previous academic work has pointed out the importance and embedded potential of the fuzzy front end, where new concepts still have the possibility to impact the new product development (NPD) process. However, most research has focused on the transfer of new technologies, while concepts based on e.g. customer or market knowledge have been more or less neglected. This paper discusses the need for alternative and contingent approaches in the front end of NPD to also consider the transfer of other types of concepts. More specifically, it addresses the need to distinguish between different types of concepts and to explore their different prerequisites in NPD. It is argued that customer- and market-based concepts experience certain difficulties due to the history and power of technology in research and development (R&D) domains in the automotive context as well as a lack of support from the existing, formal processes. In this paper, we argue that all new concepts need to be conceptualized before being introduced to the NPD process, but that does not always suffice. Concepts other than technology concepts also need a contingent package to enable an evaluation in the context of the R&D process , they need to be contextualized. This paper draws on an in-depth case study of Volvo Cars within a long-lasting collaborative research setup. It is based on an interview study with key persons in the areas of concept work and NPD, and uses an insider/outsider approach. [source] Software innovativeness: outcomes on project performance, knowledge enhancement, and external linkagesR & D MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2006Gary Jordan The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between product innovativeness and groups of outcomes flowing from the computer software product development process and the associated knowledge acquisition process. Data from interviews of managers in 94 software projects are analysed, and three groups of outcomes are measured: project performance, knowledge enhancement, and the strengthening of linkages to external actors/sources. The high innovative products show higher project performance for all measures of project performance compared with low innovative products. Similar results were found for all measures of personnel knowledge enhancement outcomes. Changes in the importance of linkages to nine different external sources of knowledge used by the firms during the knowledge acquisition process, also show some positive outcomes with respect to rising innovativeness levels. Strengthening of external linkages is found for 66% of the investigated linkages between one or two innovativeness levels. Of these, the linkages to hardware manufacturers, co-operation partners, and universities and other research institutions show strengthening when high innovativeness products are compared with low-level products. As the project performance and knowledge enhancement outcomes are due, in part, to knowledge gained within linkages to external actors/sources, managers could consider whether giving special attention to managing these linkages would be a winning innovation strategy for their particular firm. [source] Small firm networks: a successful approach to innovation?R & D MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2002Victoria Hanna This paper considers the increasing trend of inter,working among small firms. Networks of small firms co,operate in certain activities, such as marketing, purchasing, R&D, training or manufacturing. But does co,operation lead to innovation? To answer this question published evaluations of small firms co,operating for mutual benefit are reappraised. Inter,working among small firms is then investigated further by interviewing three network brokers. The brokers were funded by regional governments and they facilitated co,operation between small firms. These semi,structured discussions explored the key characteristics of successful networks, the responsibilities of the broker and the level of innovation occurring. Networking is primarily a competitive response. It needs to evolve into a mechanism to enable small firms to develop innovative products and processes jointly. Small firms may have to rethink their approach to co,operation, and their motives for initiating inter,working if they are to benefit fully from co,operation. [source] Decomposing Product Innovativeness and Its Effects on New Product SuccessTHE JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 5 2006Roger J. Calantone Does product innovativeness affect new product success? The current research proposes that the ambiguity in findings may be due to an overly holistic conceptualization of product innovativeness that has erroneously included the concepts of product advantage and customer familiarity. This article illustrates how the same measures have often been used to assess product advantage with product innovativeness and product innovativeness with customer familiarity. These paired overlaps in measurement use are clarified in this research, which decomposes dimensions of product innovativeness along conceptual lines into distinct product innovativeness, product advantage, and customer familiarity constructs. To further support this decomposition, structural equation modeling is used to empirically test the distinctions. The measurement model supports the conceptual separation, and the path model reveals contingent effects of product innovativeness. Although product innovativeness enhances product advantage, a high level of innovativeness reduces customer familiarity, indicating that product innovativeness can be detrimental to new product success if customers are not sufficiently familiar with the nature of the new product and if innovativeness fails to improve product advantage. This exercise in metric development also reveals that after controlling for product advantage and customer familiarity, product innovativeness has no direct effect on new product profitability. This finding has strong implications for firms that mistakenly pursue innovation for its own sake. Consideration of both distribution and technical synergy as driving antecedents demonstrates how firms can still enhance new product success even if an inappropriate level of innovativeness is present. This leads to a simple but powerful two-step approach to bringing highly innovative products to market. First, firms should only emphasize product innovativeness when it relates to the market relevant concepts of product advantage and customer familiarity. Second, existing technical and distribution abilities can be used to enhance product quality and customer understanding. Distribution channels in particular should be exploited to counter customer uncertainty toward newly introduced products. [source] The Impact of Communication Strategy on Launching New Products: The Moderating Role of Product InnovativenessTHE JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2003Yikuan Lee Academic literature is filled with debate on whether product innovativeness positively impacts new product performance (NPP) because of increasing competitive advantage or negatively impacts performance due to consumers' fears of novel technology and resultant resistance to adopt. This study investigates this issue by modeling product innovativeness as a moderator that influences the relationship between communication strategy and new product performance. The authors emphasize that the impact of innovativeness to producers is different from that to consumers and that the differences have strategic impact when commercializing highly innovative products. Product innovativeness is conceptualized as multidimensional, and each dimension is tested separately. Four dimensions of innovativeness are explored,product newness to the firm, market newness to the firm, product superiority to the customer, and adoption difficulty for the customer. In this study, communication strategy is comprised of preannouncement strategy and advertising strategy. First, the relationship between whether or not a preannouncement is offered and NPP is explored. Then three types of preannouncement messages (customer education, anticipation creation, and market preemption) are investigated. Advertising strategy is characterized by whether the advertisement campaign at the time of launch was based primarily on emotional or functional appeals. Using empirical results from 284 surveys of product managers, the authors find that the relationship between communication strategy and NPP is moderated by innovativeness, and that the relationships differ not only by degree but also by type of innovativeness. Implications for research and practice are discussed. [source] A ,business opportunity' model of corporate social responsibility for small- and medium-sized enterprisesBUSINESS ETHICS: A EUROPEAN REVIEW, Issue 1 2009Heledd Jenkins In their book ,Corporate Social Opportunity', Grayson and Hodges maintain that ,the driver for business success is entrepreneurialism, a competitive instinct and a willingness to look for innovation from non-traditional areas such as those increasingly found within the corporate social responsibility (CSR) agenda'. Such opportunities are described as ,commercially viable activities which also advance environmental and social sustainability'. There are three dimensions to corporate social opportunity (CSO) , innovation in products and services, serving unserved markets and building new business models. While small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have traditionally been presented as non-entrepreneurial in this area, this paper demonstrates how SMEs can take advantage of the opportunities presented by CSR. Using data from 24 detailed case studies of UK SMEs from a range of sectors, the paper explores the numerous CSR opportunities that present themselves to SMEs, such as developing innovative products and services and exploiting niche markets. There are inevitable challenges for SMEs undertaking CSR, but by their very nature they have many characteristics that can aid the adoption of CSR; the paper explores these characteristics and how the utilisation of positive qualities will help SMEs make the most of CSOs. Integrating CSR into the core of a company is crucial to its success. Using the case studies to illustrate key points, the paper suggests how CSR can be built into a company's systems and become ,just the way we do things'. There are a number of factors that characterise the CSO ,mentality' in an organisation, and Grayson and Hodges's book describes seven steps that will move a company in the direction of a ,want to do' CSO mentality. This paper adapts these steps for SMEs, and by transferring and building on knowledge from the 24 detailed case studies, it develops a ,business opportunity' model of CSR for SMEs. [source] Chemischer Apparatebau im Aufbruch?CHEMIE-INGENIEUR-TECHNIK (CIT), Issue 5 2003E. Weiß Prof. Dr.-Ing. Abstract Die ACHEMA stellt eine eindrucksvolle Leistungsschau des Apparatebaus dar, die im engen Zusammenhang mit den epochalen Entwicklungen der Verfahrens- und Prozesstechnik steht. Dies ist ein günstiger Zeitpunkt, um über die Entwicklungschancen nachzudenken. Der Großanlagenbau hat in den letzten Jahrzehnten eine beträchtliche Korrektur erfahren, was sich besonders auf den deutschen Apparatebau ausgewirkt hat. Wirtschaftliche Zwänge lieferten einen zusätzlichen Anstoß für einen beachtlichen Schrumpfungsprozess. Der Apparatebau muss sich in der Zukunft auf zwei Standbeine konzentrieren: Hochqualifizierte Standardapparate und neuartige Produkte, die im engen Zusammenwirken mit der Verfahrenstechnik entwickelt werden müssen, um für neue Technologien und Prozessstrategien die erforderliche Hardware auf den Markt zu bringen. Der Beitrag nennt Gebiete, in denen sich der allgemeine technische Fortschritt manifestiert, aber auch aus der apparatetechnischen Sicht werden Anstöße vermittelt, wie ein gehobenes Qualitätsniveau der Produkte erreicht werden kann. Hierbei handelt es sich durchaus um Eigenschaften, die sich letztlich im wirtschaftlichen Ergebnis niederschlagen. Chemical Apparatus Engineering at a Turning Point? The ACHEMA conference is the leading international exhibition on chemical-apparatus engineering, closely connected with the epochal developments of chemical and process engineering. At the moment it is most timely to think about new opportunities of development. Large-scale plant engineering and general plant construction has experienced considerable improvement over the past decades, and the effects of these changes are particularly perceptible in the economic sector of German apparatus engineering. Economic pressures have given an additional impetus to a considerable shrinking process. Chemical apparatus engineering will have to focus on two main pillars in the near future: highly qualified standard and innovative products. Especially the latter must be developed in close interaction with chemical engineering in order to put the hardware required for new technologies and process strategies on the market. This article names the important fields of current general technical progress, showing that the main thrust is directed toward an elevated level of product quality that can be achieved through apparatus engineering. Such superior product properties are one important means to achieve higher profitability. [source] | ||||||||||