Explicit Knowledge Transfers in New Product Development

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 16-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Acar ◽  
Alan T. Burns ◽  
Pratim Datta
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Product Development ◽  
New Product Development ◽  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
Real Life ◽  
New Product ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Knowledge Transfers ◽  
Knowledge Levels

The literature on learning in new product development (NPD) documents the processes globally but is short on specifics. Knowledge levels are not clearly conceptualized, nor are there clear devices for documenting knowledge transfers in terms of knowledge levels. This paper presents the methods of a qualitative research approach for measuring knowledge transfer directly in terms of knowledge. The paper specifically addresses the commonly avoided dimension of knowledge, depth. The methods are derived from a real-life comparative case study exploring knowledge sharing in product development. Our focused interview approach has been refined to avoid unproductive digressions by the subjects and certain forms of bias, yet still obtain rich accounts of project events. Evidence of transfer obtained by the interviews is analysed in terms of three knowledge dimensions: scope, depth and action. Methods for aggregating and interpreting data are discussed and an operational flowchart for knowledge transfer coding is proposed.

AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER IN WORKING RELATIONSHIPS WITH SUPPLIERS IN NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (02) ◽  
pp. 1250013 ◽  
Author(s):  
YUSHAN ZHAO ◽  
MARILYN LAVIN
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Product Development ◽  
New Product Development ◽  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
New Product ◽  
Working Relationships ◽  
Relationship History ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Npd Performance ◽  
Supplier Relationship

This study examines the factors (trust, communication, supplier relationship specific adaptations, supplier flexibility, and relationship history) that influence knowledge transfer from the supplier to the customer firm in new product development, and the impact of knowledge transfer on product development performance. It also suggests that knowledge tacitness moderates these relationships. Based on a sample of 186 US firms, this study finds that trust, communication, supplier relationship specific adaptations, and supplier flexibility influence knowledge transfer. Knowledge transfer, in turn, has an effect on new product development performance. Mixed findings have also been reported in this paper with respect to the moderating effects of knowledge tacitness. Trust, supplier flexibility, and relationship history are more important for tacit knowledge transfer than for explicit knowledge. Knowledge tacitness does not moderate the relationship between knowledge transfer and NPD performance. However, the results show that both tacit and explicit knowledge transfer significantly affects NPD performance.

Alcatel-Lucent falls, Huawei ascends: new product development makes the difference

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Yan ◽  
Le Wang ◽  
Jie Xiong
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
New Product Development ◽  
Customer Value ◽  
New Product ◽  
Technology Leadership ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technology Leader ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Value Strategy

Purpose This study aims to use the new product development (NPD) perspective to understand why traditional leading telecom equipment companies, such as Alcatel-Lucent (ALu), have stagnated but the newcomer Huawei has achieved steady growth. Design/methodology/approach This paper takes the form of a comparative case study. Findings Three significant differences in NPD process between the companies were discovered: first, although both companies claim that they are market-oriented, Huawei’s NPD projects are customer-driven, and ALu projects are joint considerations of customer demand and technology leadership; second, Huawei uses a design-to-value strategy, and ALu applies a design-for-quality-premium strategy; third, resources are allocated and shared at the corporate level in Huawei and at the business division level in ALu. Practical implications This study offers several implications for NPD managers. First, holding a market leader position is more important than being a technology leader. Companies must fundamentally change their mind-sets, restructure NPD models and prioritize and empower marketing and sales departments in the decision-making and management of NPD projects. Second, to maximize customer value, managers must balance cost and quality and avoid overengineering. A quality premium no longer necessarily leads to product competitiveness. Third, to improve the efficiency of NPD performance, companies must build up a mechanism to enable across-boundary resources. Originality/value This study highlights a number of key NPD strategy issues. It was conducted in the telecom equipment industry, but NPD managers of other industries will also gain useful insights from the discussion.

Scrapping new product development efforts: when to keep going, when to fold

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 32-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
James R. Webb
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Product Development ◽  
New Product Development ◽  
New Product ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Review Of Literature ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Customer Base ◽  
New Feature ◽  
The Universe

Purpose The innovative process of new product development remains unique within most organizations. This uniqueness stems from the requirements of the new product development manager to grapple with both the universe of emerging technologies from which a new feature or improvement must be found and to simultaneously maintain a constant awareness of the requirements of an ever-changing customer base. Amongst all of this uncertainty, there is still a time when new product development managers choose to ignore the warning signals that a project is failing and continue to commit resources. This paper refers to this as irrational commitment. This paper aims to examine the uncertainty of new product development and the reasons for this irrational commitment to failed projects. Design/methodology/approach The paper used a structured systematic review of literature to identify the most common types of irrational commitment in new product development and their impact on the corporation. Findings The paper provides insights into the causes and effects of management irrationally committing to new product development projects that are doomed to failure. It suggests that the three major areas of knowledge that need to be better integrated into the decision-making process are technology trends, marketing knowledge and the capabilities of the company itself. Research limitations/implications Because of the chosen research approach of using a systematic review of literature, primary research needs to be conducted in the future to validate and refine the findings of the paper. Practical implications The paper provides leadership with guidelines to avoid irrationally committing to failed new product development efforts. Originality/value This paper adds to the literature on innovation systems.

Knowledge Transfer and Sharing in Globally Distributed Teams

2010 ◽  
pp. 789-794
Author(s):  
Ilan Oshri ◽  
Julia Kotlarsky ◽  
Paul C. van Fenema
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Product Development ◽  
Virtual Teams ◽  
New Product Development ◽  
New Product ◽  
Distributed Teams ◽  
Distributed Organizations ◽  
Is Development ◽  
Globally Distributed

Recent years have witnessed the globalisation of many industries. Consequently, globally distributed and virtual teams have become increasingly common in many areas, for example, in new product development and information systems (IS) development. Achieving successful collaborations has become a key challenge for globally distributed organizations, and it is largely dependent on teams’ ability to transfer and share knowledge.

Early Supplier Involvement in New Product Development With WeBid: A Case Study on Video Conferencing System

2003 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 363-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Q. Huang ◽  
J. B. Zhao ◽  
K. L. Mak
Keyword(s):  
Product Development ◽  
New Product Development ◽  
Video Conferencing ◽  
Real Life ◽  
New Product ◽  
Product Development Process ◽  
Video Conferencing System ◽  
Supplier Involvement ◽  
Conferencing System

WeBid is a prototype web-based framework developed for supporting and facilitating early supplier involvement in new product development on the Internet. It provides a suite of rigorous and yet pragmatic constructs for establishing and managing the customer-supplier relationships in new product development process. This paper reports on some insights and experience gained from a real-life case study using WeBid system and approach in the tendering process of developing a Video Conferencing System (VCS).

The strategic use of patents and standards for new product development knowledge transfer

2015 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 312-325 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Marie Großmann ◽  
Ellen Filipović ◽  
Luisa Lazina
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Product Development ◽  
New Product Development ◽  
New Product
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