scholarly journals Knowledge integration with customers in collaborative product development projects

2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 889-900 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad H. Eslami ◽  
Nicolette Lakemond
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Knowledge Integration ◽  
Case Analysis ◽  
Product Development Process ◽  
Development Projects ◽  
Collaborative Product Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Development Processes ◽  
Knowledge Contribution ◽  
Product Development Processes

Purpose This paper aims to address the need for managerial and organizational approaches to knowledge integration with customers in collaborative product development projects. The purpose is to identify the roles of customers in terms of the customer’s knowledge contribution and timing of customer collaboration in the product development process. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on a multi-case study approach, comprising four product development projects from two large international suppliers. The cases were selected following the theoretical replication logic. Data consist of interviews, workshops and secondary information. For each of the cases, a within-case analysis was performed followed by a cross-case analysis. Findings The study shows that the customer’s knowledge contribution is aligned with the specific requirements of each phase of the product development. Three specific customer roles are identified and connected to the customer’s knowledge contribution and the timing of customer collaboration. The technical capability of the customer and the locus of initiative of the product development project are affecting the prerequisites for knowledge integration with customers. Research limitations/implications The study is performed from the perspective of supplier firms. The authors have not been able to capture the perspective of the customer in detail. As it is expected that both customers and suppliers benefit from a systematic knowledge exchange, future studies could examine knowledge contributions in both directions. Practical implications The findings can be used to devise effective approaches for collaborative product development with customers related to the customer’s knowledge contribution and the timing of customer collaboration and provide guidance to firms seeking to benefit from knowledge residing at customers. Originality/value This is one of the first studies to focus on the integration of customers’ knowledge in product development processes. This paper contributes to the customer–supplier collaboration literature by presenting further insight into customers’ knowledge contributions, the timing of customer collaboration in product development processes and the prerequisites for knowledge integration with customers.

Complexity and control: benchmarking of automobiles and electronic products

2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (4/5) ◽  
pp. 502-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takahiro Fujimoto ◽  
Young Won Park
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Structural Design ◽  
Product Development Process ◽  
Coordination Problem ◽  
Electronic Products ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mechanical Products ◽  
Development Processes ◽  
Software Engineers ◽  
Product Development Processes

PurposeThe purpose of this exploratory paper is to analyze how complexity of an artifact affects designing processes of its mechanical, electric, and software sub‐systems.Design/methodology/approachBased on existing empirical research and frameworks of axiomatic design, product architecture, and product development process, the paper proposes a simple model of functional and structural design to examine how engineers' ways of thinking differ among mechanical, electric and software engineers.FindingsThis paper argues that products and artifacts tend to become complex (often with integral architecture) when customers' functional requirements become more demanding and societal/technological constraints become stricter, and that complex mechanical products are often accompanied by electronic control units with complex functions. This implies that designing complex mechanical products often requires intensive coordination among mechanical, electric and software engineers. This, however, is not easy, as engineers' way of thinking is often different among the three areas: mechanical engineers want to complete structural design information first to build prototypes; electrical and software engineers (the latter in particular) request complete functional information first.Research limitations/implicationsIn order to solve the above‐mentioned mechanical‐electrical‐software coordination problem, engineers need to share basic design concept of the product in question. Heavy‐weight product managers who infuse the product concept to the project members might be the key to this coordination. Companies may need to make sure that their product development processes are friendly to all of the three groups of engineers.Originality/valueAlthough designing complex artifacts has been a popular research theme since H. Simon's seminal work, issues of organizational coordination for developing complex products, with increasing managerial importance, need further research. With an empirical case of the automobile and electronic products, the present paper is unique in that it combines frameworks of product development processes, product architectures, and organizational capabilities.

scholarly journals Semantic Relatedness Measures for Identifying Relationships in Product Development Processes

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Witherell ◽  
Sundar Krishnamurty ◽  
Ian Grosse ◽  
Jack Wileden
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Knowledge Integration ◽  
Semantic Relatedness ◽  
Knowledge Bases ◽  
Product Development Process ◽  
Comprehensive Knowledge ◽  
Formal Framework ◽  
Development Processes ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Product Development Processes

The Semantic Web, especially in relation to ontologies, provides a structured, formal framework for knowledge interoperability. This trait has been exploited by both the biomedical community in development of the Human Gene Ontology [1] and also by geographers in development of geospatial ontologies [2]. Using semantic relatedness techniques, researchers from both communities have been able to develop and integrate comprehensive knowledge bases. Beyond knowledge integration, semantic relatedness techniques have also been able to provide each community with a unique insight into relationships between concepts in their respective domains. In the engineering community, semantic relatedness techniques promise to provide similar insight into product development processes. This paper explores the application of semantic relatedness techniques to ontologies as a means towards improved knowledge management in product development processes. Several different semantic relatedness techniques are reviewed, including a recently developed meronomic technique specific to domain ontologies. Three of these techniques are adopted to create a semantic relatedness measure specifically designed to identify and rank underlying relationships that exist between aspects of the product development process. Four separate case studies are then presented to evaluate the relative accuracy of the developed algorithm and then determine its effectiveness in exposing underlying relationships.

Mobilizing resources in product development by organizational interfaces across firms, units and functions

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Viktoria Sundquist ◽  
Lisa Melander
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
System Integration ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Product Development Process ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Network ◽  
Development Processes ◽  
Product Development Processes

Purpose This paper aims to investigate how various organizational interfaces between firms, units and functions, and the interplay between them, are developed and mobilized in product development processes. Design/methodology/approach The theoretical framework is based on the industrial network approach, including interactive resource development and the concept of organizational interfaces. A single case study is conducted at a world-leading industrial tool manufacturer, illustrating how resources are combined over time, crossing boundaries of firms, units and functions in the development of a hand-held digitalized tool for quality assurance in the production of cars. Data have been collected through semi-structured interviews, with additional data in the form of project reports, internal documents and practices for external collaboration. Findings In addition to inter-organizational interfaces, the study identifies a typology of scouting, embarking and integration interfaces at unit level (geographically spread units of one multinational corporation) and interpretation and reciprocal interfaces at function level. The conclusions show that these interfaces affect the outcome of three aspects of the product development process: product characteristics and functionality features, system integration and organizational network extent. Existing interfaces serve as a platform for developing interaction further and provide the interfaces with new content, thus moving between different types of interfaces. Product development processes also involve new interfaces where there was no previous interaction between the parties. Research limitations/implications This research has implications for the interplay between interfaces in cases involving multiple external and internal actors in resource combining efforts. Practical implications External interactions between firms influence and impact internal activities and resources. Managers need to be aware of the complex interdependencies between external and internal interfaces and resources. Managing organizational interfaces is about both exploiting established interfaces and developing new ones. Consequently, existing interfaces may be activated differently to align with new interaction purposes, which, in turn, requires efforts to combine resources according to the new conditions. Originality/value Previous research contains a typology of organizational interfaces between customers and suppliers. The study expands on this research by identifying internal interfaces between units and functions.

Coordination of Complex Product Development Processes

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Suss ◽  
Vincent Thomson
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Product Development Process ◽  
Complex Products ◽  
Complex Processes ◽  
The Status ◽  
Development Processes ◽  
Correct Understanding ◽  
Vital Element ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Product Development Processes

Product development processes of complex products are complex themselves and particularly difficult to plan and manage effectively. Although many organizations manage their product development processes by monitoring the status of documents that are created as deliverables, in fact the progress of the process is in large part based on the actual information flow which is required to develop the product and produce the documents. A vital element in making product development processes work well is the correct understanding of how information flows and how to facilitate its development. In this paper we describe an executable stochastic model of the product development process that incorporates the salient features of the interplay between the information development, exchange and progress of the technical work. Experiments with the model provide insight into the mechanisms that drive these complex processes.

scholarly journals Integrating supplier knowledge in new product development projects: decoupled and coupled approaches

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 1035-1052 ◽  
Author(s):  
David T. Rosell ◽  
Nicolette Lakemond ◽  
Lisa Melander
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
New Product Development ◽  
Knowledge Integration ◽  
New Product ◽  
Development Projects ◽  
Transfer Of Knowledge ◽  
Supplier Relationships ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Intensive

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore and characterize knowledge integration approaches for integrating external knowledge of suppliers into new product development projects. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on a multiple, in-depth case study of six product development projects at three knowledge-intensive manufacturing firms. Findings Firms make purposeful choices to devise knowledge integration approaches when working in collaborative buyer – supplier projects. The knowledge characteristics of the supplier input guide the choice of either coupling knowledge sharing and combining across firms or decoupling knowledge sharing (across firms) and knowledge combining (within firms). Research limitations/implications This study relies on a limited number of case studies and considers only one supplier relationship in each project. Further studies could examine the challenge of knowledge integration in buyer – supplier relationships in different contexts, i.e. in relation to innovation complexity and uncertainty. Practical implications Managers need to make choices when designing knowledge integration approaches in collaborative product development projects. The use of coupled and decoupled approaches can help balance requirements in terms of joint problem-solving across firms, the efficiency of knowledge integration and the risks of knowledge leakage. Originality/value The conceptualization of knowledge integration as knowledge sharing and knowledge combining extends existing perspectives on knowledge integration as either a transfer of knowledge or as revealing the presence of pertinent knowledge without entirely transmitting it. The findings point to the complexity of knowledge integration as a process influenced by knowledge characteristics, perspectives on knowledge, openness of firm boundaries and elements of knowledge sharing and combining.

The Significance of Specifications in the Product Development Processes

1995 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gritt Ahrens ◽  
Oliver Tegel
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Information Infrastructure ◽  
Product Development Process ◽  
Development Processes ◽  
The Right ◽  
Product Development Processes

Abstract An approach to support the appropriate definition, formulation and presentation of requirements obeying the needs of the employees is being presented. Classifiying the needs for information of the employees according to some characteristics, a guideline for how to promote the information needed by them can be developed. The goal is to ensure that everyone involved in the process — even the subcontractor — has the right information available in the right form at the right time. Defining requirements lists, splitting them into partial requirements lists for each area of the company, each process phase or each team, and then formulating these requirements and presenting them in an adequate way is the proceeding strived for. The result will be implemented into an information infrastructure to support the product development process continuously.

Combination of Management Methods and Information Technologies for Product Development Processes

1995 ◽  
Author(s):  
Götz v. Esebeck ◽  
Oliver Tegel ◽  
Jeffrey L. Miller ◽  
Karl-Heinrich Grote
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Employee Motivation ◽  
Design Methods ◽  
Product Development Process ◽  
Total Quality ◽  
Time To Market ◽  
Development Processes ◽  
Product Development Processes

Abstract As companies become aware that they have to restructure their product development processes to survive global competition in the market, it is important that they evaluate which management methods and techniques are suitable to improve the performance of the process and which design methods can be integrated and be used efficiently. A combination of management methods like Total Quality Management (TQM), Simultaneous or Concurrent Engineering, and Lean Development can be adapted to meet the requirements of a company more than a single strategy. Interdisciplinary teamwork, cross-hierarchical communication, and delegation of work in addition to employee motivation changes the common attitude towards the work process in the company and integrates the staff more tightly into the process. Nowadays, there is tight cooperation between companies and their sub-contractors, as sub-contractors not only have to manufacture the part or sub-assembly, but often have to design it. Therefore, the product development process has to be defined in a way that the sub-contractors can be tightly integrated into the product development process. Additionally, it is important to break the product down into functionally separate modules during the conceptual phase of the process. If the interfaces between these functions are defined as specifications, these modules can easily be given to suppliers or to other teams inside the company for further development. The use of methods such as Design for Manufacture (DFM) or Design for Assembly (DFA) early during the development process, which utilize the knowledge of experts from manufacturing and assembly, results in a decreasing number of iterative loops during the design process and therefore reduces time-to-market. This cross-functional cooperation leads to improved quality of both processes and products. In this paper, different management methods to achieve the best improvement from the product development process are discussed. In addition, suitable design methods for achieving cost reduction, quality improvement, and reduction of time-to-market are presented. Finally, proposals for industry on methods to reorganize the Integrated Product Development (IPD) process based on actual findings are presented.

scholarly journals Disruptive product development for online fast fashion retailers

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 517-532
Author(s):  
Rachel Parker-Strak ◽  
Liz Barnes ◽  
Rachel Studd ◽  
Stephen Doyle
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Product Development Process ◽  
Fast Fashion ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Online Retailers ◽  
Development Processes ◽  
The Uk

PurposeThis research critically investigates product development in the context of fast fashion online retailers who are developing “own label” fashion clothing. With a focus upon inputs, outputs, planning and management in order to comprehensively map the interplay of people, processes and the procedures of the product development process adopted.Design/methodology/approachQualitative research method was employed. Face-to-face semi structured in depth interviews were conducted with key informants from market leading fast fashion online retailers in the UK.FindingsThe major findings of this research demonstrate the disruptions in the product development process in contemporary and challenging fashion retailing and a new “circular process” model more appropriate and specific to online fast fashion businesses is presented.Research limitations/implicationsThe research has implications for the emerging body of theory relating to fashion product development. The research is limited to UK online fashion retailers, although their operations are global.Practical implicationsThe findings from this study may be useful for apparel product development for retailers considering an online and fast fashion business model.Originality/valueThe emergent process model in this study may be used as a baseline for further studies to compare product development processes.

Agent-Based Modeling of Mass-Collaborative Product Development Processes

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jitesh H. Panchal
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Agent Based Modeling ◽  
Collaborative Product Development ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Design Processes ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Modeling Approach ◽  
Product Evolution ◽  
Development Processes ◽  
Product Development Processes

Mass-collaborative product development refers to a paradigm where large groups of people compete and collaborate globally to develop new products and services. In contrast to the traditional top-down decomposition-based design processes, the primary mechanism in mass-collaborative product development is bottom-up evolution. Hence, the issues underlying mass-collaborative processes are fundamentally different from those in traditional design processes. For example, instead of determining the best sequence in which activities should be carried out, the emphasis is on developing the right conditions under which product evolution can be fostered. Existing research on product development is primarily focused on top-down design processes. The evolutionary nature of mass-collaborative product development has received very little attention. Specifically, computational models for these processes have not been developed. In this paper, a step toward understanding the fundamental processes underlying mass-collaborative product development using a computational model is presented. The model presented in this paper is based on an agent-based modeling approach, which allows the modeling of the behavior of different entities within a product development scenario and the study of the effect of their interactions. The model captures the information about (i) products as modules and their interdependencies, and (ii) the participants involved and their strategies. The benefits of the agent-based model in understanding mass-collaborative product development are shown using a simple product model. The following aspects of the product development processes are studied: (a) the rate of evolution of the individual modules and the entire product, (b) product evolution patterns and the effect of the number of participants, (c) the effect of prior work on product evolution, (d) the evolution and distribution of participants, and (e) the effect of participant incentives. The agent-based modeling approach is shown as a promising approach for understanding the evolutionary nature of mass-collaborative product development processes.

The governance of inter-firm co-development projects in an open innovation setting

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 446-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharlene Biswas ◽  
Chris Akroyd
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
Open Innovation ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Product Development Process ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Development Projects ◽  
Governance Mechanism ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the governance of inter-firm co-development in an open innovation setting and show how a stage-gate product development process can be used to support this relationship. Design/methodology/approach The authors adopt a qualitative case-study approach informed by ethnomethodology. Data were obtained via semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Findings They found that in an open innovation setting – where the producing partner relies on a research partner for all product development activities – a stage-gate product development process can act as a governance mechanism, as it enables the development of trust and cooperation which supports the co-development relationship. Research limitations/implications The implication of this finding is that a stage-gate process can be a flexible governance mechanism, which can adapt over time in relation to the needs of the co-development partners in an open innovation setting. This also lays the groundwork for future research to explore the applicability of this tool in other settings, e.g. outsourcing arrangements as well as help guide the design and implementation of future governance mechanisms. Originality/value In the context of accounting research, this paper helps practitioners and academics understand how a stage-gate process can be used as a governance mechanism to manage and control co-development projects in an open innovation setting.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document