Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2016-04-01T12:47:51Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Vanessa N. Bischoff_.pdf: 2029295 bytes, checksum: 5c2dc2ad5471ff22b76f885e54bf45b7 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-01T12:47:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Vanessa N. Bischoff_.pdf: 2029295 bytes, checksum: 5c2dc2ad5471ff22b76f885e54bf45b7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-09-27 / Nenhuma / O presente trabalho apresenta a pesquisa que teve por objetivo identificar contribuições do design estratégico para o fomento de inovações no segmento de móveis residenciais de madeira - retilíneos seriados - do setor moveleiro gaúcho. O estudo baseou-se na análise de empresas localizadas no polo moveleiro da serra gaúcha e pertencentes a esse segmento. A investigação delineou-se por uma pesquisa qualitativa de estudo de caso. A partir deste, foram identificadas as lacunas existentes no segmento em estudo, em relação ao contexto de estímulo e desenvolvimento de inovações por meio do design. No que concerne à proposta de melhorias às lacunas identificadas, as contribuições referem-se, diretamente, ao uso do design estratégico. Com o intuito de promover o desenvolvimento de inovações, este estudo apresentou, através do design estratégico, sugestões e subsídios relevantes para aplicação no setor moveleiro gaúcho. / This paper presents the research which aimed at identifying contributions of strategic design for the stimulation of innovation at the wooden - rectilinear, in series – home furniture segment of Rio Grande do Sul State's furniture sector. The study was based on the analysis of companies located at the Rio Grande do Sul Sierra's furniture pole belonging to this segment. Investigation was outlined by a case study, qualitative research. From this case study, existing gaps were identified in the studied segment concerning the stimulus context and the development of innovations through design. As for the suggestions for improvement on the identified gaps, contributions point directly to the use of strategic design. Aiming at promoting innovation development, this study presented, through strategic design, relevant suggestions and subsidies for application on the Rio Grande to Sul State's furniture sector.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T16:44:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ADM - Ana Claudia Suszek.pdf: 579868 bytes, checksum: 2c469f181b0b072a8c7b73d0fb588200 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-11-28 / This research aim to analyze the communication importance in the organic products adoption process by the consumers. In order to reach this goal, a panorama about the organic products market was traced, identifying the consumer adoption process for new products and the influences on this consumer, as well as the communication between producers and intermediaries with the organic products consumers was analyzed. This study justifies itself in the increasing complexity an in the recent investigation about the theme in a scientific approach, not only trying to validate and generalize the results for the category, but intending to discuss the problem and not trying to reach conclusive results. In its Exploratory character and to achieve its goals, firstly a bibliographic survey in secondary sources was done to consist the Theoretical Reference and after that a Qualitative Research by a Focus Group was developed. The information achieved in this research was worked according to the Content Analysis proposed by Bardin. In this way, the results pointed out some errors or flaws in the communication process between the organic products suppliers and consumers, as well as the distribution channels drawing a consume inhibition / Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo principal analisar a importância da comunicação no processo de adoção de produtos orgânicos pelo consumidor. Para que isso fosse possível foi traçado o panorama sobre o mercado de produtos orgânicos; identificado o processo de adoção do consumidor por novos produtos e as influências exercidas sobre ele e, analisada a comunicação entre produtores e intermediários com os consumidores de produtos orgânicos. Tal estudo justifica-se pelo grau de complexidade e pela recente investigação do tema de forma científica, não tendo como proposta, no entanto, a validação e generalização dos resultados para toda a categoria, mas sim, a discussão do problema, sem a busca de resultados conclusivos. Por ter caráter Exploratório, e para o alcance dos objetivos, primeiramente foi realizado um levantamento bibliográfico em fontes secundárias para a composição do Referencial Teórico e posteriormente Pesquisa Qualitativa através de Grupo de Foco. As informações obtidas foram trabalhadas á luz da Análise de Conteúdo proposta por Bardin. Neste sentido, os resultados da pesquisa apontaram falhas no processo de comunicação entre fornecedores e consumidores de produtos orgânicos, bem como nos canais de distribuição, desta forma inibindo o consumo

The key objective of Part I is to synthesize 23 years of innovation research findings from economic, strategy, and marketing literatures and extend the current theoretical knowledge base in these domains through meta-analysis. In general, empirical evidence of the nature of the relationship between innovation and its antecedents and consequences is provided, while at the same time providing answers to conflicting conclusions within this field. The conclusions reached provide a more comprehensive understanding of the drivers of innovation as well as the implications associated with the phenomena. In addition, this study seeks to aid in building a strong theoretical foundation relating to the nature of the relationship of innovation with key antecedents and outcomes. It is demonstrated that innovation serves as a partial mediator of the relationships between organizational and environmental antecedents and firm performance. Part II builds upon the innovation foundations set forth in Part I and extends the focus to consider how innovations are commercialized outside traditional organizational boundaries. Drawing upon the Resource-based view of the firm, the impact of two dynamic capabilities (network ties and absorptive capacity) on marketing strategy formulation effectiveness is explored. Utilizing a unique sample of university pre-startup teams, this research is able to track these teams over time (longitudinal research design) and provide an empirical examination of the role of dynamic capabilities in the effective formulation of marketing strategies. There has been very little empirical research on the formation of strategies at the team level and furthermore, even less research examining marketing strategy making for technologies that were developed outside traditional organizational boundaries and without a predefined market application. Overall, this research will not only contribute significantly to the current innovation and marketing strategy literature, but will also open up new avenues of research in marketing entrepreneurship.

Personas, fictional user profiles based on research data, have gained popularity in the design field over recent years. These profiles include names, personalities, behaviors, and goals that are representative of a unique group of individuals. This paper examines the creation and utilization of personas as a tool for understanding others, specifically within the context of product design. A review of current literature revealed published methods for creating and using personas, along with the challenges and benefits associated with this tool. Current design industry practices were investigated through 15 semi-structured interviews with design professionals. Topics included persona creation and implementation, the tools use, and perceived outcomes from the inclusion of personas in the design process. Participatory research examined persona creation methods including user data collection and the selection of topics to be included in these profiles. Additionally, persona utilization was investigated through the tools integration into a 12-week Industrial Design student project. Observations and interviews with 8 student groups and instructors revealed the tools impact on the design process and potential within the educational environment, with specific attention being paid to universal design applications.

Researchers have paid relatively little attention to the fact that most design activities are actually more like redesign. These activities are characterized by an attempt to leverage experience, knowledge, and the capital that a company has already invested into existing engineering systems. In this dissertation, it is proposed that an approach be developed to aid designers in making decisions in redesign problems when there exist systems to be leveraged and multiple new systems to be created. In addition, strategy is introduced to the problem through the consideration that new systems may not be offered all at once, as is often assumed in product family design research. In this dissertation, the aim of the designer is assumed to be a creation, through redesign, of a series of new systems with desirable and distinct performance levels. In addition, a plan is required to involve as little redesign effort throughout the life of the family of systems as possible The proposed approach is based upon the concepts of Constructal Theory and previous work to create methods for the design of mass customized families of products. The existing methods are abstracted and heavily modified through the infusion of the compromise Decision Support Problems at all stages of the decision-making process. In addition, two indices are developed to represent considerations unique to redesign as opposed to original design. These indices for redesign effort and commonality value are utilized in the overall objective formulation for the approach. Through a thorough validation process and a large number of redesign scenarios, it is shown that the overall approach proposed can lead the designer towards promising redesign plans involving leveraging of existing systems, but that the constructal-inspired approach in and of itself has certain limitations when applied to redesign.

Convergence is a topic that many point to as the driving force behind modern product development. The merger of similar devices into a single product form can create a number of advantages for both producers and consumers, but successful design must take more than just this into account. Convergence is the evolution of a product through a disruptive and uncertain environment of technology and user needs. While the digital revolution has certainly been the biggest recent disrupter to society and design, there are signs of convergence in both form and function that have occurred across many products, and product categories. Producers and consumers always clamor for devices that are useful and convenient, take advantage of the latest technologies, and yet remain intuitive, attractive, and easy to use. This paper will dissect the meaning of convergence in product design and provide a framework for understanding and dialog. Combined with an extensive survey and product mapping, this definition will then be used to delineate approaches and principles for the effective design of evolving products in today's changing environment. The findings of this paper will help designers make decisions when considering the trade-offs between aesthetics, functionality, and ease of use in technology based products.

This thesis addresses important operational aspects relating to fundamental components of any successfully executed NPD strategy: the processes, incentives and structure of decision rights that should be implemented given the objectives and capabilities of the firm. The first chapter outlines when a firm might prefer to compensate members of a NPD project team either, as individuals (e.g. based on their functional contribution to overall value) or as a team (e.g. based on the overall profit generated). We find that neither team nor individual based compensation is preferred for all types of projects. Specifically, when there is higher uncertainty, the firm can benefit by employing team-based compensation. We discuss the implications of our findings towards the firm's ability to pursue different types of projects. In Chapter 3, we look at the strategic resource allocation processes that are employed by firms in order to decide whether NPD initiatives get funded or not. We find that there is not a "one size fits all" resource allocation process that all firms should employ. Furthermore,we extend this finding by further by providing a rationale explaining why even a single firm could benefit by employing multiple processes internal to the firm. Finally, in Chapter 4, we empirically explore how key managerial levers of the firm (i.e. incentives, tolerance for failure, and project management structure) affect an individual's propensity to invest in a project. Our analysis brings forth several under-explored and novel aspects. We examine how multiple managerial levers work in concert with one another (revealing interactions that, to our knowledge, have not been exposed). We also recognize an important aspect of most (if not all) NPD contexts: the probability of success is strongly tied to the level of resources that are invested.

Originally presented as the author's Thesis--Technische Universität Berlin, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

In the modem automotive industry product times to market are being increasingly compressed. In the earthmoving and construction machine industry this is also true with the manufacturer having to respond to new customer requirements quickly and decisively. Virtual prototyping is a vital tool in the vehicle engineer's armoury, allowing a large portion of developmental investigation to be done on the virtual model with the attendant savings in time and cost and allowing often dangerous manoeuvres to be predicted and investigated prior to actual physical prototype testing. The University of Natal BELL Equipment collaborative effort involves the vehicle dynamics modelling and model validation of a BELL Equipment manufactured B40C Articulated Dump Truck (ADT). The modelling was completed using the multibody system (MBS) simulation software package, ADAMS. Initial modelling and simulation results are presented with specific attention paid to the introduction of valid data for compliant joints in the MBS as well as modelling of the tire. The physical testing of the ADT is also presented as well as a discussion of the data acquisition system. Key results from the physical testing of the ADT are also presented and discussed. / Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of Natal,Durban, 2003.

Thesis (DBA)--Macquarie University, Graduate School of Management, 2008. / Bibliography: p. 267-292. / The telecommunications industry ('Telco'), a service provider business, is undergoing significant changes such as deregulations, technology changes and increasing competition. Managers face increased pressure to bring new products with the latest technology into the market faster. Few previous studies have analysed New Product Development (NPD) projects in this hypercompetitive industry. This research addresses this gap by investigating Telco NPD projects and the associated skill sets needed by successful project managers.--The study evaluated how project managers' various skills contribute to project management success. Incorporating clear definitions grounded in the recent literature on NPD, management and leadership, the research proposed a new organising framework of four groups of skill sets: technical, leadership, managerial and administrative. Technical skills are the knowledge of technologies on which the project work is based. Leadership skills involve influencing project stakeholders to deliver a quality product within time and budget. Managerial skills are needed to develop and execute project plans and to get project work done. Administrative skills include understanding an organisation's structure, culture, policies, processes, methods and tools.--Previous classifications for Telco NPD projects have over-emphasised product innovation and undervalued the process aspects. While small projects provide fewer management challenges, this study found that project managers of large and complex projects require all four skill sets. Managerial skills are mandatory. Technical and administrative skills enhance understanding of the technology and business processes. Leadership skills are limited at an operational level. Managerial and administrative skills are essential for developing and implementing project plans; technical skills are important in the initial project stages; leadership skills are needed from the beginning until delivering a new product.--The research outcomes can be used when hiring and developing NPD project manager professionals in the Telco industry to complement current project manager competency standards, which do not cover all the skill sets. Findings may be applicable to Telco companies in other countries new to such market conditions. Furthermore, other industries may adapt the skill set framework to suit their own particular requirements. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / xvi, 336 p. ill