| A Process Typology of University-Industry Joint Product Development Projects |
| Presenter | Prabhu, Ganesh N. | Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore | gprabhu@iimb.ernet.in | 91-80-6632450 ext 2047 |
| | I propose a process typology of joint product development projects that are initiated by industrial firms and implemented jointly with technological universities or not-for-profit research institutions. The four ideal types of university-industry joint product development projects proposed in this typology were synthesizing from in-depth case studies of twelve projects implemented jointly by six firms with seven technology universities or institutions. This article contributes to research on joint product development by proposing an empirically grounded process typology based on combinations of initial contextual and technical knowledge possessed by the firm and the university. Each ideal type represents a synergistic combination of initial conditions and project implementation process that lead to successful project completion (insurmountable technical difficulties apart). The article maps the web of inter-linked project processes in each ideal type and indicates their anticipated impacts on firm and university activities. The article also provides a comparative analysis of the essential linkage of antecedent conditions and motivations for the initiation of the joint project, to the actual project implementation process in which the two collaborators contribute complementary resources, and further to the project's expected consequences, for each ideal type in the process typology. The typology frame, the comparison tables and the accompanying descriptions show the internal consistency within each ideal type and the contrasts across the ideal types. Given initial conditions, the ideal type descriptions can be tentatively used as templates by firms and universities for predicting and guiding the course of their joint product development projects. |
| | Keywords: typology; product; development |
| Explaining the Decisions to Carry out Product and Process Innovations: The Spanish Case |
| | Martinez-Ros, Ester | U. Carlos III | emros@emp.uc3m.es | (34)-91-624-9350 |
| | We investigate the determinants of innovation activity making a distinction between product and process innovations. We analyse a pseudo production function of innovations where among the explanatory variables, special attention is paid to firm and market characteristics. The study is applied to a large sample (approximatedly 1000 firms) of Spanish manufacturing firms during the period 1990-1993. There are important implications arising from the empirical results: i) Product and process innovations are intimately related independently of the model used in the estimation. ii) The control by unobserved firm effects as the ability and experience of manager is so important as to affect the conclusions on the managerial decissions about which type of innovation develop. iii) Given the feedback effects amongst innovation decisions and other factors determining them, it is also very important to consider a version of the model that allows correlation among those unobserved effects and explanatory variables. iv) The probability to innovate is higher in capital intensive firms and in firms with export activities. v) Market competition significantly encourages the decision to innovate. vi) The past firm experience and the managerial quality play a significant role in the probability to innovate. vii) Product and process innovation decisions are complementary. |
| | Keywords: Product Innovation; Process Innovation; Managerial Effects |
| Organizational design of R&D teams: Modeling demographic and relational characteristics as interacting variables |
| | Munari, Federico | U. of Bologna | munari@mit.edu | +39-051-258076 |
| | Sobrero, Maurizio | U. of Bologna | mau@economia.unibo.it | +39-051-258076 |
| | Demographic and relational perspectives of R&D teams are examined to group different organizational design variables for structuring innovation activities. Empirical evidence from 139 R&D teams involving 825 individuals is presented to test for the complementarity of the two perspectives. Implications for the inclusion of relational criteria to guide teams’ composition are discussed. |
| | Keywords: R&D; Teams; Networks |
| Product Innovation and Performance of New High Technology Ventures in China |
| | Li, Haiyang | City U. of Hong Kong | mgocean@cityu.edu.hk | (852)-2788-8177 |
| | Atuahene-Gima, Kwaku | City U. of Hong Kong | mgkwaku@cityu.edu.hk | (852)-2788-7210 |
| | Title: Product Innovation and Performance of New High Technology Ventures
in China
Author: Haiyang Li and Kwaku Atuahene-Gima
Department of Management
City University of Hong Kong
Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 2788-8177
Fax: (852) 2788-7220
E-mail: mgocean@cityu.edu.hk
Abstract
Drawn on strategic contingency and resource-based theories, this study aims
to investigate how environmental conditions and marketing strategies affect
the implementation of product innovation strategy by new technology ventures.
Data from 184 new high technology ventures in China suggest that the effect
of product innovation on new venture financial and market performance is
contingent on environmental and strategic factors. Specifically, we find
that product innovation has stronger positive impact on both measures of
new venture performance when the market environment is perceived as highly
turbulent and when institutional support for new ventures is high.
However, product innovation coupled with a marketing alliance strategy
appears to be detrimental to the new venture performance. We conclude with
a discussion of theoretical and managerial implications.
|
| | Keywords: product innovation; new ventures; China |
| New Product Development Benchmarks: The Japanese, North American and UK Consumer Electronics Industries |
| | Oliver, Nick | U. of Cambridge | n.oliver@jims.cam.ac.uk | 44 1223 338179 |
| | Dewberry, Emma | U. of London | e.dewberry@gold.ac.uk | 44 171 919 7459 |
| | Dostaler, Isabelle | Laval U. | Isabelle.dostaler@mng.ulaval.ca | 418 656 2131 x8559 |
| | This paper presents the results of a benchmarking study into new product development in the high-end audio industry in Japan, North America and the UK. A total of 38 companies were visited and interviewed, and detailed benchmarking data obtained from 21 companies and 31 new product development projects. Measures of company characteristics, new product development performance, context and practice were taken.
Performance was gauged by several measures, including leadtimes, cost and schedule adherence, internal and external quality and product profitablity. Factor analysis revealled two main performance indices: 'planning and control' and 'profitability/efficiency'. The organization of the development process was assessed by examining project team composition, linkages between key constituencies of the development process (e.g. Development, Manufacturing, Suppliers), and processes of information capture and exchange.
Comparison between projects in Japan, North America and the UK revealled that UK projects were generally executed more quickly than those in Japan and North America, but displayed a higher incidence of post-launch problems. Japanese leadtimes were the longest, and Japanese companies performed relatively poorly on measures of development productivity. However, their manufacturing performance was vastly superior to that of Western companies. |
| | Keywords: Product development; Benchmarking |