Embedding Sustainability in the Consumer Goods Innovation Cycle and Enabling Tools to Measure Progress and Capabilities

This paper highlights the mutual relationship and crucial need for sustainability in innovation and vice versa, with a focus on various companies that are leading in this aspect. Together with certain conditions in place, growing awareness of this need has led to these companies achieving groundbreaking progress in embedding sustainability into the new product innovation space via the development of an overarching roadmap supported by strategic partnerships and robust quantitative tools, to proactively expand the sustainability mindset and way of life into the company culture and ways of working. Case studies of these companies are examined, and based on the findings, the paper concludes with recommendations and next steps for businesses to take to succeed in sustainability-centric innovation.

Member Selection for the Collaborative New Product Innovation Teams Integrating Individual and Collaborative Attributions

As the first stage of the formation of a collaborative new product innovation (CNPI) team, member selection is crucial for the effective operation of the CNPI team and the achievement of new product innovation goals. Considering comprehensively the individual and collaborative attributions, the individual knowledge competence, knowledge complementarity, and collaborative performance among candidates are chosen as the criteria to select CNPI team members in this paper. Moreover, using the fuzzy set and social network analysis method, the quantitative methods of the above criteria are proposed correspondingly. Then, by integrating the above criteria, a novel multiobjective decision model for member selection of the CNPI team is built from the view of individual and collaborative attributions. Since the proposed model is NP-hard, a double-population adaptive genetic algorithm is further developed to solve it. Finally, a real case is provided to illustrate the application and effectiveness of the proposed model and method in this paper.

The Role of Artificial and Nonartificial Intelligence in the New Product Success with Moderating Role of New Product Innovation: A Case of Manufacturing Companies in China

Currently, there is an increasing trend in the organizations towards examining the artificial intelligence and nonartificial intelligence for the innovation and success of the new product, as well as getting the intentions of the upcoming researchers. Thus, the purpose of the ongoing study is to examine the role of artificial and nonartificial intelligence in the new product success along with the moderating role of new product innovation in the manufacturing organizations of China. The quantitative methods have been followed by the study and gathered the responses from the respondents using questionnaires, and analysis has been conducted by using the smart-PLS. The results exposed that artificial intelligence and nonartificial intelligence have positive and significant nexus with the new product success. The outcomes also revealed that the new product innovation significantly moderated the links among the nonartificial intelligence and new product success, but it insignificantly moderated the links among the artificial intelligence and new product success in the manufacturing organizations of China. These findings have provided the guidelines to the manufacturing companies and their policies developing authorities that they should be developed and implement the suitable policies regarding the adoption of artificial intelligence and nonartificial intelligence that enhance the success of the new product, which ultimately enhances the success of the organization.

Product Innovations through Ambidextrous Organizational Culture with Mediating Effect of Contextual Ambidexterity: An Empirical Study of IT and Telecom Firms

Considering the universal competitive pressures, it is imperative for the organizations to be more dynamic and innovative. The viability of companies is dependent on innovation and organizational culture is regarded as an important component in realizing the objective of product innovation. The study examines the association between ambidextrous organizational culture and product innovation outcomes through mediation of contextual ambidexterity. By pursuing the snowball sampling technique, pre-established structural questionnaires were distributed among the top management of IT and Telecom sector, 125 valid questionnaires were considered for data analysis purpose. The collected data was analyzed using Smart PLS software and measurement model was assessed with respect to reliability and validity. Structural model was assessed for hypothesis testing using bootstrapping technique. Results indicated that organizational diversity significantly and positively affect new product innovation outcomes i.e., incremental, radical product innovation, and speed to market, whereas shared vision positively affect incremental product innovation. Indirect effects results indicated that significant positive partial mediation of contextual ambidexterity exists between organizational diversity and new product innovation outcomes, i.e., radical innovation and speed to market. Whereas full and significant positive mediation role of contextual ambidexterity exists between shared vision and new product innovation outcomes i.e., radical innovation outcomes and speed to market. At last, no significant mediation role of contextual ambidexterity exists between organizational diversity and incremental innovation outcomes.

The influence of workforce agility on high-growth firms: The mediating role of innovation

An agile workforce refers to a workforce that is proactive, flexible and resilient in dealing with non-routine and unpredictable circumstances. Even though past research suggests that agility could have a positive effect on firm performance, there is hardly any empirical evidence on whether agility matters for high-growth firms (HGFs). The purpose of this research is therefore to investigate the extent to which workforce agility increases the likelihood of firms becoming HGFs in the high-tech manufacturing sector of a developing economy, and whether the relationship is mediated by new product innovation. We develop a theoretical framework that explains how and why a firm that has an agile workforce that is proactive in creating new products, flexible in responding to changing environment, and resilient in turbulent times, is more likely to create innovative products, and thus secure temporary monopoly, which increases the likelihood of the firm becoming a HGF. Then, utilizing firm-level data from high-tech manufacturing sector of a developing country, Iran, we test several hypotheses using logistic regressions. We find that workforce agility significantly increases the probability of high-tech manufacturing firms becoming HGFs, but that this relationship is mediated by new product innovation. Implications are drawn for theory and practice.