O presente estudo consistiu na formulação, no processamento em escala piloto, na avaliação da esterilidade comercial (EC) e no estudo da vida útil de um suplemento hidroeletrolítico (isotônico) elaborado com soro de ricota. O soro de ricota deslactosado foi pasteurizado a 75 ºC/15 s, acondicionado assepticamente em garrafas plásticas e estocado a 0 ºC para ser utilizado no desenvolvimento da formulação do isotônico. O desenvolvimento da formulação contendo soro de ricota, água deionizada, corante, aroma, sacarose e cloreto de sódio foi norteado pela aplicação de testes sensoriais de Ordenação-Preferência, de Escala do Ideal e testes físico-químicos. Utilizando-se um delineamento experimental fatorial, investigou-se o binômio tempo de retenção (30 a 50 s) x temperatura de pasteurização (85 a 95 ºC) adequado à obtenção de uma bebida comercialmente esterilizada com elevada aceitação sensorial. A estabilização da bebida foi baseada na seguinte combinação de métodos térmicos e não térmicos: acidificação, pasteurização e envase asséptico. Testes físico-químicos, sensoriais e microbiológicos, incluindo o teste de EC, foram realizados na bebida recém-processada (tempo zero do estudo da vida útil (VU)). Um terço, aproximadamente, de cada lote processado foi estocado a -18 ºC (amostras controle) e dois terços estocados a 25 ºC (amostras codificadas), na ausência de luz. A estimativa da VU da bebida foi fundamentada em testes microbiológicos e sensoriais. A avaliação da estabilidade microbiológica baseou-se na enumeração de bactérias aeróbias mesófilas e a estabilidade sensorial em testes de Escala Hedônica de nove pontos para avaliação da impressão global do produto. A formulação isotônica desenvolvida atendeu aos requisitos estabelecidos pela Legislação Alimentar Brasileira, com pH 3,15, teor de sólidos solúveis de 6,4 ºBrix, osmolalidade de 306 mOsm/kg água e níveis de sódio e de potássio equivalentes a 500 e 650 mg/L, respectivamente. A bebida recém-processada apresentou contagens de bactérias mesófilas aeróbias inferiores a 10¹ UFC/mL e as médias das notas obtidas nos testes de Escala Hedônica de nove pontos alcançaram 6 (gostei ligeiramente) para o aroma e para o sabor, e situaram-se entre 6 (gostei ligeiramente) e 7 (gostei moderadamente) para a aparência. A análise estatística dos resultados revelou que somente o tempo de retenção aplicado no tratamento térmico produziu efeito significativo (p < 0,05) no sabor da bebida recém-processada, não apresentando efeitos significativos para aroma, aparência, parâmetros de cor (L*, a* e b*), pH, acidez titulável e teor de sólidos solúveis. Somente os processamentos 3 (95 ºC/50 s), 4 (90 ºC/40 s) e 5 (85 ºC/30 s) alcançaram a EC e tiveram seus tempos de VU limitados pela depreciação sensorial, estimados em 100, 128 e 153 dias, respectivamente. Os tempos de VU estimados para os lotes dos processamentos 2 (95 ºC/30 s), 6 (85 ºC/50 s) e 7 (90 ºC/40 s) foram equivalentes a 70, 42 e 42 dias, respectivamente, tendo sido limitado pelo desenvolvimento de micro-organismos, resultando em alterações na aparência da bebida e no estufamento de algumas embalagens. O lote 1 (90 ºC/40 s) teve sua vida útil estimada em 128 dias devido a falta de amostras. O soro de ricota revelou-se uma alternativa tecnologicamente viável para elaboração de um suplemento hidroeletrolítico permitindo o aproveitamento e a agregação de valor ao referido subproduto. A combinação dos métodos empregados na estabilização da bebida foi eficiente para a redução da carga microbiana inicial e para a obtenção de uma bebida com boa aceitação sensorial. / This study focused the formulation, small scale processing, commercial sterility (CS) evaluation and shelf life (SL) study of a ricotta cheese whey (RCW) based sports drink (isotonic). The RCW was pre-treated with lactase, pasteurized at 75 ºC/15 s, aseptically filled into plastic bottles and stored at 0 ºC. Then it was used to develop the isotonic formulation (RCW, deionized water, coloring, flavor, sucrose and sodium chloride) by applying Rank Preference, Just Right Scale and physicochemical tests. A factorial experiment was designed to investigate the binomial holding time (30 to 50 s) and pasteurization temperature (85 to 95 ºC) appropriate for attaining a commercially sterilized drink with a high sensory acceptance. The drink stabilization was based on the combination of thermal and non-thermal methods: acidification, pasteurization and aseptic filling. Physicochemical, sensory and microbiological tests were performed in the freshly processed drink. Approximately one third of each processed batch was stored at -18 º C (control samples) and two thirds stored at 25 ºC (coded samples), in the dark. The estimate of the isotonic shelf life relied on the microbiological and sensory tests. The microbiological stability evaluation was based on the total mesophilic aerobic counts. The sensory stability study relied on a nine-point Hedonic Scale tests. The developed formulation met the Brazilian Food Legislation and obtained acceptance average scores of 6.3, pH 3.15, soluble solids of 6.4 ºBrix, osmolality of 306 mOsm/kg água, 500 mg/L of sodium and 650 mg/L of potassium. The freshly processed product presented mesophilic aerobic bacteria counts below 10¹ CFU/mL. The average of the ratings obtained for aroma and flavor in the nine-point Hedonic Scale tests reached 6 (liked slightly); it ranged from 6 (liked slightly) to 7 (liked moderately) for appearance. The statistical analysis showed that only the holding time applied to the heat treatment had significant effect (p < 0.05) in the flavor of the drink. Neither the holding time nor the pasteurization temperature affected other sensory attributes and physicochemical parameters. Only batches 3 (95 ºC/50 s), 4 (90 ºC/40s) and 5 (85 ºC /30 s) reached the commercial sterility; their shelf lives were limited by sensory depreciation and estimated at 100, 128 and 153 days, respectively. The shelf lives for batches 2 (95 ºC/30 s), 6 (85 ºC/50 s) and 7 (90 ºC/40 s) were 70, 42 and 42 days, respectively; they were limited by the microbial growth. The findings indicate that RCW could be a technologically feasible alternative to produce a sports drink. The combination of methods employed in this study was effective in reducing the initial microbial load and obtained a drink with good acceptance.

New product development is central to many firms' future success. Not only as a means to continue to maintain their piece of the market, but product development can also be a strategic means for a company to diversify, and/or alter focus to adapt to changing market conditions. Most of the research in new product development has been on how to do it cheaper and faster than the next guy. However, early commercialization does not guarantee a position of strength in the market. Failures of EMI in CT scanners and Xerox in personal computers illustrate that being first to market does not ensure success or even survival. There are two main factors that inhibit managers from making educated decisions on when to introduce a new product. First, firms do not exist in a vacuum and any action they take will be countered by their competition. Second, with new products the only certainty is uncertainty. To allow such decisions to become "gut feeling" decisions puts a company's future at unnecessary risk. This is evidenced by the many firms that have had devastating results because of poor decisions with regard to launching a new product. While high level quantitative tools have recently begun to be used to evaluate corporate strategy, these tools are still mainly confined to research groups within large corporations. Both real options (to handle uncertainty) and game theory (to capture the effects of the competitions actions) have been evaluated and used by these groups. However, they have not been adequately integrated together in the academic world, let alone in industry. This thesis help bridge the gap between strategic decision making, and the theoretical world of economic decision analysis creating a prescriptive model companies can use to evaluate strategically important new product launches. To bridge this gap a method that is able to handle the integration of game-theoretic and options-theoretic reasoning to the strategic analysis of new product introduction is developed. Not only was a method developed that could incorporate the two methods it was done in a way that is accessible and useful outside of the academic world.

Purpose – The purpose of the research is to increase the understanding of how insufficient information sharing between internal stakeholders can be mitigated during new product development projects. Two research questions were formulated to conduct answers to the purpose.  Why is it crucial to mitigate insufficient information sharing between internal stakeholders during new product development projects? How can potential challenges during new product development projects be mitigated through information sharing between internal stakeholders? Method – To create an understanding of information sharing a literature review was conducted, which formed the foundation of the theoretical framework. Through a case study at SAAB Training & Simulation, interviews were used as the main source for empirical data. Document studies and observations were used to triangulate the findings. The collected data and theoretical framework were analyzed and discussed to propose improvements. Findings – The research findings indicate that an insufficient information flow can cause several challenges related to deadlines, profit and how information is interpreted. It should therefore be a prioritization for an organization to constantly improve how information is shared between internal stakeholders during new product development projects. Additionally, the research analysis suggests that organizations’ need to allocate more time for educational opportunities. Implications – The research highlighted a new perspective on previous research within the area. Through the research analysis statements and theories made by other researchers were further strengthened. The research suggests ways of improving information sharing between internal stakeholders. The result can be used by other industrial organizations working with new product development projects to improve their information sharing to mitigate challenges connected to insufficient information sharing. Limitations – Due to the complexity of information sharing within new product development projects, the research was limited to one case company. Additionally, mainly managers were interviewed which posed a risk that the collected data only provided an overview rather than a deep insight in the processes of sharing information between internal stakeholders. If the authors were to use several organizations and conduct more interviews, the results could increase the credibility and generalizability of the research.

Innovation is extremely important for companies to gain and sustain competitive advantage in the modern business environment. Nowadays ability to adapt and evolve is crucial for any company willing to survive. The key to effective adaption and evolvement is innovation. New products are commonly seen as an output of innovation whereas new product development process is considered to be a sub-process of innovation.  The thesis focuses on development of a new product in the company the author has been working for. It aims at assessing the methods that the company is employing to develop new products. The goal is to determine the flaws in the new product development process of the company and the negative effects on performance and output the flaws have.  The thesis describes the generic new product development process, a certain form of which is used by majority of the companies involved in new product development. It contains a narrative literature review of articles documenting research in the field of best practices of new product development. It also reviews studies of critical factors of new product success, which separate the best performing companies from the others.  The thesis uses the best practice research and success factors studies as a reference point to assess the methods and evaluate the process that the company used to develop the product the thesis is focused on. The thesis also describes the market and the competition that the company is facing. In the end it gives a number of recommendations. The company can use the results as guidelines for improvement.

Escalation of commitment in new product development has been studied extensively for the last four decades but the impact of culture on the escalation phenomenon remains largely unexplored. This study investigates how culture impacts the decision to escalate or deescalate commitment to new products. Americans are analytic thinkers whereas Chinese tend to be holistic thinkers. When it comes to decision making, analytic thinkers focus on field independent and abstract factors and believe that future is linear and static, whereas holistic thinkers focus more on contextual factors and believe that future is dynamic and nonlinear. Hence, Chinese are more likely to escalate their commitment relative to Americans on receiving a negative performance report in the new product development process. A lab experiment using weekend MBA students and managers was used to test this underlying hypothesis. The findings confirmed that analytical thinkers use fewer factors than holistic thinkers in making new product decisions, and that Chinese managers are more likely to escalate their commitment relative to American managers. The decision to escalate or de-escalate was moderated by perceived product innovativeness.

In today's business, organizations are working with external stakeholders to develop a better product. Customers are one such stakeholder with whom organizations collaborate to develop a product fulfilling their needs. This process of Co-Creation facilitates organizations to get closer to their customers. Also in the study made in the year 2016 for the 19th annual global CEO survey, 90% of the CEOs have claimed Customers to be their main priorities. Further in the literature has also debated the process of customer co-creation being complex and studies have been made to understand the Ups and Downs of the process. Problem Background: Based on the opportunity in the field of Co-Creation growing rapidly and literature arguing on both Success and failure of the process, we in our thesis aim to address the gap of identifying the factors that influence the Customer Co-Creation Process. The Purpose of our thesis was to Identify the Factors for Organizations that Influence the process and suggest to imply those factors during the process of Co-Creation for a better result.  To answer our research question we chose a qualitative approach by interviewing a total of 5 members from different organizations and different businesses in a semi-structured interview format. We chose to do research from both Customer and Organizational perspective, we formed 2 cases out of the 4 interviews and one as an expert in the field of New Product Development. The main findings of our research shows 6 Main Influencing Factors and 12 Sub Factors within 6 main factors that enrich the process of co-creation. The factors are Communication (Feedback & Highlighting the need to Customer), Management (Environment, Relationship Management, Flexibility /Exploratory, Leadership, Rewards/Incentives, Selection of Customer), Transparency, Commitment & Trust (Secrecy Concern, Sharing of IP), Consistency, Training (Employee and Customer). Our research shows the factors on the application during the co-creation process can influence the process to a better output. We have suggested the organizations in our Organizational Implications on how these factors can influence the process to a better output. Thus, answering our research question.

Innovation is a key factor for companies in order to survive in the long-term and to stay competitive. However, it can be challenging to know what ideas (or innovations) to pursue. Large incumbent companies can be slow to innovate, but startups on the other hand, are a great source of innovation. However, many startups fail. Starting a new company is risky, but a countervailing force has emerged called Lean Development. There is a strong need for research and studies on the subject of product development in a Lean Development context and the process of Idea Selection has been somewhat ignored in research. Idea Selection is a part of the Front End of Innovation and is often mentioned as an important factor for success in the innovation process. This study was aimed at creating a framework for Idea Selection, building on the intersection between the Front End of Innovation and the New Product and Process Development in a Lean Development context. The findings are based on current theory on Innovation, Idea Selection and Lean Development as well as a case study conducted at a Swedish insurance startup. The main conclusion of this study is a framework containing four themes: Reach, Impact, Confidence and Effort. By using this framework, startups can more easily decide on what ideas to pursue and thereby move quicker and achieve more success in the innovation process. / För ett företag är innovation en nyckelfaktor för långsiktig överlevnad och för att vara konkurrenskraftig. Det kan emellertid vara utmanande att veta vilka idéer (eller innovationer) som bör utforskas vidare och implementeras. Stora etablerade företag kan vara långsamma att innovera, men nystartade företag, startups, kännetecknas å andra sidan ofta av att ha stor innovationsförmåga. Men många startups misslyckas. Att starta ett nytt företag är riskabelt. För att minska den risken har något som kallas Lean Development växt fram. Det finns ett starkt behov av forskning och studier om produktutveckling i Lean Development-sammanhang och processen att välja ut idéer har ignorerats i forskning. Idéval är en del av Front End of Innovation och nämns ofta som en viktig faktor för framgång i innovationsprocessen. Denna studie syftar till att skapa ett ramverk för Idéval, som bygger på skärningspunkten mellan Front End of Innovation och New Product and Process Development ett Lean Development-sammanhang. Resultat är baserade på aktuell teori om Innovation, Idéval och Lean Development samt en fallstudie genomförd vid en svensk startup inom försäkringsbranschen. Den huvudsakliga slutsatsen i denna studie är ett ramverk som innehåller fyra teman: Reach, Impact, Confidence and Effort. Genom att använda detta ramverk kan nystartade företag lättare bestämma vilka idéer de ska gå vidare med och därmed bli mer snabbrörliga och uppnå mer framgång i innovationsprocessen.

Idag råder det en osäkerhet kring idéutveckling och brister i litteraturen rörande kunskap kring idéer i början av utvecklingsprojekt har identifierats. Tidigare forskning inom området fokuserar mestadels på idéer under fasen innan projektinitiering, det vill säga Fuzzy Front End. Detta examensarbete fokuserar därför på hanteringen av idéer i början av utvecklingsprojekt.Målet var att kartlägga det nuvarande sättet att arbeta med idéer, samt de idéutvecklingsmetoder som används i början av produkt- och kunskapsutvecklingsprojekt på Sandvik Coromant. Arbetet syftade till att bringa klarhet i och bygga kunskap kring tidig idéhantering då brister upptäckts, men även att förbättra hanteringen av idéer i början av projekt och på så sätt fostra innovation. Fem stycken större projekt som använt sig av faciliterade idégenereringsworkshops i början av projektet deltog i studien. Intervjuer samt en valideringsworkshop genomfördes med målet att undersöka utvecklingen av idéer tidigt i projekt. Skillnader mellan avfärdade idéer och vidarerutvecklad idéer i utvecklingsprojekt undersöktes, liksom tron på avfärdade idéer och deras utveckling.Resultaten visade att mognaden av avvisade idéer och vidareutvecklade idéer sker vid olika tidpunkter under projektets gång samt inom olika kärnelement. Vidare indikerade resultaten att idéer som syftar till att lösa delproblem under projektets gång inte mognar i samma utsträckning inom alla kärnelement, vilket teorin hävdar att en produktidé gör. Inga skillnader kunde identifieras gällande dokumentation samt spridning av idéer mellan avvisade idéer och idéer som gått vidare. Inte heller upptäcktes det några skillnader gällande tron på avvisade idéer eller idéer som gått vidare i början av projekten / Today, there is an uncertainty regarding idea development, and a lack of knowledge in the existing literature regarding early idea maturation in development projects has been found. While previous research within the area of innovation mainly investigating ideas within the Fuzzy Front End, this master thesis focus on the management of ideas in the early phases of development projects.This master thesis strives to map the current way of working with ideas and methods used to develop ideas in the beginning of product and knowledge development projects at Sandvik Coromant. The aim is to shed light upon the gap regarding early idea development, with the long-term objective to improve the management of ideas in the beginning of projects to foster innovation. Five larger projects, that have used facilitated idea generation workshops, were selected to be part of the study. Interviews and a validation workshop were conducted in order to examine the development of ideas early in the projects. The differences between rejected ideas and further developed ideas, the belief in, and the fate of rejected ideas in development projects were investigated.The findings showed that the maturation of rejected and further developed ideas occurs at different times of the projects, as well as in different core elements. Further, the result indicates that ideas aiming to solve sub-problem in development projects do not mature to the same extent in all core elements comparing to earlier research on maturation of product ideas. There were no differences found between rejected and further developed ideas regarding documentation and the spreading of ideas. Neither did the belief in an idea in the beginning of the projects differ between the rejected and the further developed ideas.

The use of new technologies is important in new product development and virtual reality is a technology that companies today are trying to find use for in their organizations. The problem present today is that there are tools ready to be used that are not because organizations are at different maturity levels of understanding how to work in virtual reality (VR). VR could not only make development cheaper but also greener. This thesis aims to bridge the gap within Volvo Construction Equipment (VCE) to make the use of VR more present in product development. That is why the thesis crafted a startup guide on how to work with VR. The value of this is to inform all stakeholders within VCE of the value of VR at a basic level as a tool. The guide explains the benefits of virtual reality as well as a general step by stepguide on how to use it to replace some physical prototypes. It is targeted to project leaders and product developers.

AbstractTitle Knowledge integration under uncertainty:A sensemaking perspective on experts’ verbal communicationAuthors Hugo Guyader and Mario KienzlerSupervisors Marie Bengtsson and Christian BerggrenBackground Uncertain situations are characterized by a lack of comprehension,due to a lack of knowledge. It is not possible to know beforehand,what the consequences of an action will be. However, teamsof experts within NPD projects are required to act despite thisuncertainty. Even though they should be paralyzed, the teammembers integrate their individual knowledge and manage to developtechnologically-innovative products or services which answer thecustomers' requirements.Purpose The study analyzes the verbal communication of experts during theknowledge integration process from a sensemaking perspective.The experts are engineers from a NPD project dealing with thedevelopment of a new steam turbine.Definitions Knowledge integration: collective social process which isrequired to integrate distinct but complementary knowledge residingin various individuals, which’s output is integrated knowledge—e.g.embedded in an artifact.Sensemaking: ongoing process of giving meaning to actions,beliefs and events in order to understand their implication in acontext.Experts: trained specialists with experience in one or a few specificfields.Results The experts’ verbal communication is characterized by punctuatedexpecting and frequent arguing. Thereby, arguing is characterizedby questioning, rewording and summarizing. Arguing is seen as themain communicational facilitator during the knowledge integrationprocess.Key words Knowledge integration, uncertainty, sensemaking,verbal communication, new product development.