Businesses today face intense international competition, a heightened pace of development and shortened product life cycles. As a result, many researchers recommend firms collaborate and partner with other firms to succeed. With over a decade of research examining alliances and inter-firm collaboration, we know a great deal about the benefits and outcomes firms realize through collaboration. An important gap exists, however, in our understanding of the effect of partnering firms on collaborative outputs. This study attempts to address this gap by examining the success of collaborative new product development outputs. The study was a quasi-experimental study using archival, time-series data. Hypotheses were tested at the project level, defined as the product output from the collaborative development effort. Predictors were developed at both the firm and dyadic levels. Several findings emerged from this research. The primary finding is that roles of alliance partners impact which capability and capital benefits accrue. Firms functioning as a publisher benefit from increases in relevant experience. Firms functioning as a developer benefit from working in areas in which they have experience, but largely to the extent that the developer also generalizes their capabilities. One implication emerging from the capability findings suggests a need for configurational capability research. From a social capital conception, developers with high network centrality have a negative impact on the perceived quality of the final software product. Developers also benefit from embeddedness, products developed by developers in constrained networks outperformed products developed by developers in brokered networks.

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The effects of experience and expertise on managers' search for information while screening new product concepts were investigated using a computer interactive screening simulation. Relationships between respondents' attributions about product success and failure, their judgments of the diagnosticity (predictive usefulness) of different types of information, and information search were also investigated. Sixty-two respondents from the microcomputer software industry and the pharmaceutical industry were involved in the study. They searched for information about three new product concepts, then evaluated the three concepts. The three concepts were designed to vary the decision context--one concept had predominantly favorable attributes, one had predominantly unfavorable attributes, and one was mixed. The study showed that experience and expertise were related but distinct constructs which could have differing effects on information search and on concept evaluation. Under conditions of favorable and mixed attributes, increased expertise and experience led to less information search. Expertise was related to spending less time in search, while experience was related to spending more time searching for information. Both constructs were related to managers' perceptions of information diagnosticity. Both constructs were also related to the cutoffs used when screening new product concepts, though the relationships depended on the criteria for screening as well as the respondent's industry. Expertise was related to the evaluation of the new product concepts, while experience was not. / Ph. D.

by See Yat Fung, Linus, Wong Ming Fung. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 100-105). / Questionnaire also in Chinese. / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.v / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.vi / LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES --- p.viii / Chapter / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter II. --- METHODOLOGY --- p.3 / Primary Research --- p.3 / Exploratory Study --- p.3 / Questionnaire --- p.3 / Sampling Procedures --- p.5 / Data Collection Period --- p.5 / Sensory Evaluation --- p.5 / Field Study --- p.6 / Telephone Interview --- p.6 / Secondary Research --- p.7 / Literature Reviews --- p.7 / News Reviews --- p.7 / Data Analysis --- p.8 / Recoding --- p.8 / Scores Construction --- p.9 / Statistical Tests --- p.9 / Limitations --- p.9 / Chapter III. --- COMPANY / BRAND OVERVIEW --- p.11 / Company Background --- p.11 / History --- p.11 / Financial Performance --- p.13 / Product Overview --- p.14 / Lines of Products --- p.14 / Sales Performance --- p.17 / Mr. Kon in China --- p.18 / Market Environment --- p.19 / Competitive Landscape --- p.20 / Marketing Strategies --- p.22 / Distribution --- p.23 / Promotion --- p.24 / Key Success Factors --- p.27 / International Expansion --- p.30 / Entering Hong Kong --- p.31 / Marketing Strategies --- p.33 / Chapter IV --- DATA ANALYSIS --- p.36 / Sample Size Analysis of the Results of the Questionnaire --- p.36 / Demographics --- p.36 / Consumption Patterns --- p.37 / Preference of Different Types of Packaging --- p.39 / Ideal Size for Ready-to-drink Tea --- p.40 / Preference of Distribution Channel --- p.41 / Preference of Product of Origin --- p.42 / Purchasing Behavior --- p.43 / Respondents' Attitudes Towards Ready-to-drink Tea --- p.44 / Aided Brand and Product Awareness --- p.46 / Product Trial Rates --- p.47 / Aided Celebrity Awareness --- p.48 / Celebrity Awareness vs. Product Awareness --- p.49 / Respondents' Attitudes Towards Mr. Kon Beverages --- p.51 / Analysis of the Results of the Sensory Evaluation --- p.54 / Differences in Tastes among Brands --- p.54 / Preferences in Tastes among Brands --- p.56 / Chapter V. --- RECOMMENDATIONS --- p.58 / Target Segment --- p.58 / Brand Image --- p.59 / Products --- p.59 / Taste --- p.60 / Packaging --- p.61 / Price --- p.62 / Place --- p.63 / Promotion --- p.65 / Communication --- p.67 / Chapter VI. --- CONCLUSION --- p.69 / Chapter VII. --- APPENDICES --- p.71 / Chapter VIII. --- BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.100

Thesis (M. Tech.) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2009 / Children with Learning Problems (LP) are mostly identified in the primary grades. Early intervention is desirable to remediate LP. One strategy is to use visual aids as a cue during an intervention strategy. A visual aid can be tactile and can appeal to the child’s senses, such as hearing and touch. Three main cornerstones which influence Sensory Product Development (SPD) were identified. These are design factors such as illustrations, colour, and book themes, the senses of the children and supporting factors which include therapeutic practices and cultural sensitivity. It is envisaged that if these three cornerstones are integrated into a sensory product such as a book, that it will be able to stimulate a child with LP through play, touch and sound. The aim of the study is the development of a qualitative tool that can be used to asses sensory products and the development of a sensory product that are tested for the specific target group. The sensory product was designed according to the guidelines that were identified in a literature review. This qualitative tool includes the various cornerstones and serves as a checklist that teachers and therapists can use to evaluate a sensory product to establish its suitability for a child with LP. The second article in this study recorded the responses from children with LP towards the sensory product and recommendations for the improvement of the sensory product.

Innovation requires an ambidextrous knowledge creation strategy, which is defined as the simultaneous pursuit of both exploration and exploitation. A temporal ambidexterity strategy is one in which an organizational unit dynamically balances its investments in exploration and exploitation over time. This thesis provides new insights on various factors which should be considered when developing and executing a temporal ambidexterity strategy. In the Essay 1, I empirically examine the impact of exploration, exploitation and learning from cumulative innovation experience on the likelihood of successfully versus unsuccessfully generating a breakthrough innovation. The data sample, based on patents in the biomedical device industry, is drawn from the National Bureau of Economic Research patents database. I demonstrate three important tenets for developing a theory of temporal ambidexterity. First, I confirm, as conceptually expected, that when pursued independently, exploration and exploitation have opposing variance-generating versus variance-reducing impacts on innovation performance, respectively. Second, I find that when pursued jointly exploration and exploitation have a negative interaction effect on innovation performance. Third, I show that the benefits of ambidexterity accrue in the long-term, as a result of learning from prior failure experience. However, I demonstrate that prior failure experience and exploitation are jointly necessary, but not independently sufficient, for learning from failure to occur. In Essay 2, I introduce a dynamic optimization model of temporal ambidexterity. I examine the optimal sequencing of exploration and exploitation knowledge creation activities throughout the innovation process. I consider how an innovation manager’s optimal dynamic investments in exploration and exploitation are driven by the innovation team’s knowledge creation capabilities and prior innovation experience, and by the manager’s short-term and long-term innovation risk objectives. The results demonstrate the conditions under which various temporal ambidexterity strategies endogenously arise. Finally, in Essay 3, I extend the single firm model introduced in Essay 2, to develop a model of temporal ambidexterity for two firms jointly pursuing knowledge creation and knowledge-sharing under co-opetition. Here, I consider how co-opetition, that is, cooperative knowledge-sharing with a competitor, impacts a firm’s optimal ambidextrous knowledge creation strategy. I consider two-way knowledge sharing, and I assume that each firm freely reveals its knowledge to its competitor, without receiving compensation. The dynamic analytical results contribute to the open questions regarding optimal knowledge-sharing strategies under co-opetition, by demonstrating under what conditions knowledge-sharing with a co-opetitive partner is beneficial. Importantly, I also analytically examine the factors which drive empirically observed alliance dysfunctions, wherein organizations delay knowledge-sharing and withhold information from their alliance partners.

Thesis (MComm)--Stellenbosch University, 2001. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: New products are indispensable to the growth of the modem business enterprise. Increased global and local competition, better informed consumers, rapidly changing technology and the short life span of products are typical of the reasons why it is necessary to develop new products. Traditionally new product development took place in accordance with a rigid new product development process where a next phase was dependent on the completion of preceding phases. The increased pressure to produce new products in shorter time spans has led to the development and application of less streamlined and rigid processes for the development of new products. The pharmaceutical industry has certain unique characteristics important for new product development. It spends more than five times than the average of all industries on research and development. New product development in the pharmaceutical industry largely depends on the discovery of new clinical entities and the development process is furthermore also highly regulated by governments. The focus of product evaluation in the pharmaceutical industry has also undergone a major shift. Traditionally the industry dealt with diseases which were defined broadly and as such the focus was on diseases and not individuals. The result was that consumer acceptance was virtually never evaluated. The shift is now to consumer acceptance because consumers become increasingly better informed and take part in decisions regarding their health and medical care. A further reason for the consumer focus lies in the genetic understanding of patients and this enable pharmaceutical companies to segment patients on the basis of pharmaco-genomic descriptions. The objectives of the study are twofold. In the first instance, the study assesses whether marketing practitioners in the South African pharmaceutical industry agree with the fundamental principles of new product development which are identified in academic literature. The responses from marketing personnel were obtained and analysed to establish their beliefs regarding new product development. The fundamental principles of new product development which form the focus of this study, were those that Calantone, Di Benedetto and Haggblom (1995) used in their research. The second objective of the study is to compare the findings in respect of the South African pharmaceutical industry with those of the study undertaken by Calantone, Di Benedetto and Haggblom in 1995. The purpose of the study is to establish whether the new product development principles taught in marketing management courses are relevant for the pharmaceutical industry. The method of investigation was divided into two sections, i.e. a literature overview and an empirical study. The literature study commenced with research on new product development in the South African Pharmaceutical Industry and other parts of the world. The Calantone, Di Benedetto and Haggblom (1995) questionnaire was also used in this study for data collection. The 91 pharmaceutical companies listed in Volume 34 of the 1999 MIMS Desk formed the population of the study. After contacting these companies a more accurate list was set up. After taking into account all the mergers that took place, 65 companies eventually constituted the population. Twenty nine of the questionnaires sent were returned and could be used. This represents a response rate of 44.6%. The organisations involved were responsible for 69.4% of the annual turnover of the total pharmaceutical industry in 1998 and their responses could therefore be regarded as representative of the pharmaceutical industry of South Africa. The questionnaire attended to the following principles of new product development: • Product innovation • New product development and launch tasks • Product diffusion • Interface between marketing, research and development • Organisational issues The information collected in respect of each pharmaceutical company was the following: • Annual turnover • Number of products manufactured and marketed • Number of employees • Number of new products launched during the past five years The findings of this study indicate that marketing staff in the South African pharmaceutical industry strongly agreed with those fundamental principles of new product development which were identified in academic literature. There was also a significant correlation between this study and the study undertaken by Calantone, Di Benedetto and Haggblom with respect to the percentage agreement on the various statements. It may thus be concluded that new product development principles taught in marketing managing courses are relevant for and are applied by marketing staff in the pharmaceutical industry in South Africa. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Nuwe produkte is onontbeerlik vir die groei van die moderne sake-onderneming. 'n Toename in globale en lokale mededinging, beter ingeligte verbruikers, snel veranderende tegnologie en die kort lewensduur van produkte is tipies van die redes waarom dit belangrik is om nuwe produkte te ontwikkel. Tradisioneel het nuwe produk ontwikkeling volgens 'n rigiede nuwe produk ontwikkelingsproses plaasgevind waar 'n volgende fase afhanklik was van die voltooiing van voorafgaande fases. Die verhoogde druk om nuwe produkte in korter tye te vervaardig het tot die ontwikkeling en toepassing van minder stroombelynde en rigiede prosesse vir die ontwikkeling van nuwe produkte gelei. Die farmaseutiese bedryf het sekere unieke eienskappe wat belangrik is vir nuwe produk ontwikkeling. Die farmaseutiese bedryf bestee meer as vyfkeer die gemiddelde van alle bedrywe op navorsing en ontwikkeling. Nuwe produk ontwikkeling in die farmaseutiese bedryf is grootliks afhanklik van die ontdekking van nuwe kliniese entiteite en die ontwikkelingsproses word verder ook intensief gereguleer deur regerings. Die fokus van produkbeoordeling in die farmaseutiese bedryf het ook 'n verskuiwing ondergaan. Tradisioneel het die bedryf gehandel met siektes wat breed omskryf is en die fokus as sulks was op siektes en nie op individue nie. Die gevolg was dat verbruikersaanvaarding feitlik nooit beoordeel was nie. Die verskuiwing is nou na verbruikersaanvaarding omdat verbruikers toenemend beter ingelig word en deelneem aan besluite wat hulle gesondheid en mediese sorg raak. 'n Verdere rede vir die verbruikerfokus is daarin geleë dat pasiënte nou geneties verstaan kan word en dit maak vir farmaseutiese maatskappye moontlik om pasiënte op 'n farmakologies-genomiese basis te segmenteer. Die doelstellings van die studie is tweeledig. In die eerste instansie beoordeel die studie of bemarkingspersoneel werksaam in die die Suid-Afrikaanse farmaseutiese bedryf, saamstem met die fundamentele beginsels ten opsigte van nuwe produk ontwikkeling wat in die akademiese literatuur geïdentifiseer is. Die response van bemarkingpersoneel is verkry en ontleed om hulle oortuigings ten opsigte van nuwe produk ontwikkeling vas te stel. Die fundamentele beginsels van nuwe produk ontwikkeling wat die fokus van hierdie studie vorm, is dié wat Calantone, Di Benedetto en Haggblom (1995) in hulle navorsing gebruik het. Die tweede doelstelling van die studie is om die bevindings ten opsigte van die Suid-Afrikaanse farmaseutiese bedryf te vergelyk met dié van die studie onderneem deur Calantone, Di Benedetto en Haggblom in 1995. Die doel van die studie is om vas te stel of die nuwe produk ontwikkeling beginsels wat in bemarkingsbestuurkursusse onderrig word, relevant is vir die farmaseutiese bedryf. Die metode van ondersoek is onderverdeel in twee gedeeltes, naamlik 'n literatuuroorsig en 'n empiriese studie. Die literatuurstudie het begin met navorsing oor nuwe produk ontwikkeling in die Suid-Afrikaanse farmaseutiese bedryf en ander wêrelddele. Die Calantone, Di Benedetto en Haggblom (1995) vraelys is ook in hierdie studie vir die insameling van data gebruik. Die 91 farmaseutiese firmas wat in Volume 34 van die 1999 MIMS Desk gelys is, het die populasie van die studie gevorm. Na gesprekke met hierdie firmas en nadat alle samesmeltings in ag geneem is, is 'n meer akkurate lys opgestel en het die populasie uiteindelik uit 65 firmas bestaan. Nege en twintig van die vraelyste wat terugontvang is kon gebruik word. Hierdie verteenwoordig 'n responskoers van 44.6%. Die organisasies wat gereageer het was verantwoordelik vir 69.4% van die jaarlikse omset van die totale farmaseutiese bedryf in 1968 en die responses sou dus as verteenwoordigend van die farmaseutiese bedryf in Suid-Afrika beskou kon word. Die vraelys het aandag aan die volgende beginsels van nuweprodukontwikkeling gegee: • Nuweproduk ontwikkeling en loodstake • Produkdiffusie • Koppelvlakke tussen bemarking, navorsing en ontwikkeling • Organisatoriese kwessies Die inligting wat ten opsigte van elke farmaseutiese firma ingesamel is, is die volgende: • Jaarlikse omset • Aantal produkte vervaardig en bemark • Aantal werknemers • Aantal nuwe produkte wat gedurende die afgelope vyf jaar geloods is. Die bevindings van hierdie studie toon aan dat die bemarkingspersoneel in die Suid-Afrikaanse farmaseutiese bedryf sterk saamstem ten opsigte van die beginsels van nuwe produk ontwikkeling wat in die akademiese literatuur geïdentifiseer is. Daar bestaan ook 'n betekenisvolle korrelasie tussen hierdie studie en die Calantone, Di Benedetto en Haggblom studie ten opsigte van die persentasie wat saamgestem word oor die verskillende stellings. Die gevolgtrekking kan dus gemaak word dat die nuwe produk beginsels wat in bemarkingskursusse aangebied word, relevant is vir en toegepas word deur bemarkingspersoneel in die farmaseutiese bedryf in Suid- Afrika.

Dissertation (PhD)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The globalisation is increasing the complexity of product development in terms of product variants and the range of technologies implemented. It emphasises the requirement for developing various design information support systems for the world market. However, small and medium enterprises that employ a wide range of design procedures may not be able to afford customised information support systems, with the result that there is a need for flexible, i.e. easily adaptable, design support tools. Four case studies were carried out to investigate the requirements for an information support system aimed at the design process and design documents. They indicated that a design information support system aimed at supporting design teams in the pre-detail mechanical design phases should be able to adapt various design methods and handle design information in a flexible way. Flexible here means being applicable over a wide range of contexts and extendable without affecting data already captured. Ontology based approaches are widely applied where diverse information has to be handled. The development of the Internet today also makes a distributed design approach more and more popular for mechanical design. An internet-based design support system called DiDeas II (Distributed Design assistant) was developed here with an ontologybased approach implemented to provide distributed and flexible assistance during concept generation in small companies. The DiDeas II has separate server side and client side programs, which communicate through a TCP/IP connection. DiDeas II allows design teams to manage their design information according to various design methods, to decrease time-delays and to improve communication between team members. These benefits were confirmed in two case studies carried out to evaluate DiDeas II. Keywords: Distributed design; ontology; concept design, web-based system. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Globalisering verhoog die kompleksiteit van produkontwikkeling, in terme van produk variante en die bereik van tegnologieë wat geïmplementeer word. Dit beklemtoon die behoefte om verskeie ontwerp-inligting-ondersteuningstelsels vir die wêreldmark te ontwikkel. Klein en medium ondernemings wat 'n wye spektrum ontwerpsprosedures gebruik, kan egter nie doelgemaakte inligting-ondersteuningstelsels bekostig nie, met die gevolg dat daar 'n behoefte vir maklik-aanpasbare ontwerp ondersteuningstelsels is. Vier gevallestudies is uitgevoer om die vereistes vir 'n inligting-ondersteuningstelsel gemik op die ontwerpproses en ontwerp dokumente, te ondersoek. Dit het aangetoon dat 'n ontwerp-inligting-ondersteuningstelsel, wat ontwerpspanne in die voor-detail meganiese ontwerp fases moet ondersteun, by verskeie ontwerpmetodes moet kan aanpas en ontwerpsinligting op 'n aanpasbare manier kan hanteer. Aanpasbaarheid in hierdie konteks beteken toepaslik oor 'n wye spektrum kontekste en uitbreibaar sonder om data wat alreeds ingevoer is, te beïnvloed. Ontologie-gebaseerde benaderings word wyd toegepas waar diverse inligting hanteer moet word. Die ontwikkeling van die Internet maak 'n verspreide-ontwerpbenadering meer en meer gewild vir meganiese ontwerp. 'n Internet-gebaseerde ontwerpondersteuningstelstel genaamd DiDeas II (Distributed Design assistant) is hier ontwikkel met 'n ontologie-gebaseerde benadering wat daarop gemik is om verspreide, aanpasbare hulp te verleen aan klein maatskappye gedurende konsep- ontwikkeling. Die DiDeas II stelsel het afsonderlike bediener en kliënt programme wat deur 'n TCP/IP verbinding kommunikeer. DiDeas II laat ontwerpspanne toe om hulle ontwerp inligting volgens verskeie ontwerpmetodes te bestuur, tydvertragings te verminder en om kommunikasie tussen spanlede te verbeter. Hierdie voordele is bevestig in twee gevallestudies wat uitgevoer is om DiDeas II te evalueer. Sleutelwoorde: Verspreide ontwerp; ontologie; konsepontwerp; web-gebaseerde stelsel.

published_or_final_version / Business Administration / Master / Master of Business Administration

Darbo objektas: inovacijos kaimo turizmo sodybose. Tikslas: atskleisti vartotojų požiūrį į kaimo turizme diegiamas inovacijas ir jų poreikį. Uždaviniai: 1. Apibrėžti inovacijos sampratą ir paaiškinti inovacinės veiklos procesą; 2. Išnagrinėti inovacijų specifiką kaimo turizmo sektoriuje; 3. Nustatyti vartotojų požiūrį į inovacijų taikymą kaimo turizmo sektoriuje. Tiriamasis klausimas: 1. Koks vartotojų poreikis naujoms kaimo turizmo sodybų paslaugoms? Svarbiausi rezultatai, išvados ir pasiūlymai. Atlikus tyrimą, daroma išvada, kad respondentus pagal jų požiūrį į inovacijas galima skirti į tris grupes. Dalis respondentų mano, kad kaimo turizmo sodybų sektoriuje inovacijos reikalingos ir naudingos, jų diegimas populiarina sodybas, nauji įdiegti produktai ir paslaugos skatina apsilankyti ar rinktis vieną ar kitą kaimo turizmo sodybą. Šiai grupei vartotojų svarbu, kad sodyboje teikiamų paslaugų paketas būtų nuolat papildomas naujai siūlomomis paslaugomis. Kita respondentų dalis mano, kad inovacijos jiems nebūtinos, nes jų lankymosi tikslas kaimo turizmo sodybose – atšvęsti šventę (gimtadienį, vestuves, šeimos šventes, Naujuosius metus ir kitas šventes). Šie respondentai teigia, kad sodyboje yra tai, kas reikalinga švęsti šventei (maitinimo, apgyvendinimo paslaugos, pakankamai pramogų). Trečioji grupė apklaustųjų teigia, kad jiems inovacijos nerūpi, į inovacijas jie žiūri abejingai ar nežino, kokios gali būti inovacijos kaimo turizmo sektoriuje ir kam jų reikia. Kaimo turizmo... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Object of research: innovations in rural tourism homesteads. Aim of research: to expose consumers‘ attitudes to innovations in rural tourism. Goal: to gauge consumer opinion about innovations in a rural tourism sector. Aims: 1. To explain the conception of innovations and the process of administration; 2. To discuss the peculiarites of innovations in a rural tourism sector. 3. To evaluate the opportunities for innovations introduced in a rural tourism sector. Investigation: 1. What is the attitude of consumers to apply to innovation in rural tourism services? Final results, conclusions and suggestions Having undertaken the research we can come to the conclusion that respondents‘ attitude towards innovations in a rural tourism sector is different. Some respondents believe that innovations in a rural tourism sector are necessary and useful because they popularize homesteads. The number of consumers would like to see innovation in areas such as educational activities, tastings, presentations of culinary heritage and outdoor activities (winter entertainment adventure parks). The other part of consumers consider innovation as inessential because the purpose of their visit is to mark certain occations in rural tourism homesteads. For this purpose, in rural tourism homesteads clients find everything they need. The third of respondents mention that they neither miss nor need innovations in rural tourism sector. They do not know what kind of innovation in this sector can be and why... [to full text]