This paper is based on the proposition that the choice of different product tactics is influenced by the nature of the firm’s external environment. It illustrates the type of product activities suggested for a complex and turbulent environment, when viewing the environment through a chaos and complexity theory lens. A qualitative, case method, using depth interviews,investigated the product activities in two companies to identify the product activities adopted in a more successful, versus a less successful, firm in a complex/turbulent environment. The results showed that the more successful company uses some destabilizing product activities but also partially uses stabilizing product activities. These findings are of benefit to marketers as they emphasize a new way to consider future product activities in their firms. Since businesses and markets are complex adaptive systems, using complexity theory to understand how to cope in complex, turbulent environments is necessary, but has not been widely researched, with even less emphasis on individual components of the marketing mix.

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In the increasingly competitive business environment reduced project cost, improved time-to-market, better quality products, and customer involvement are becoming the key success factors for any product development process. Many organisations within different industries are now focusing on Concurrent Engineering (CE) to bring improvements to their product development process in order to keep pace with the competitive environment. The adoption of CE has shown positive effects on project quality, cost, lead time, schedule, and customer satisfaction. For a targeted and effective implementation, it is recommended to carry out a readiness assessment of an organisation prior to the adoption of CE. This thesis discusses the adoption of CE within the construction industry, reviews existing CE readinessa ssessmentto ols used in other industry sectors,a nd assessesth eir applicability to construction. It then presentsa new developedC E readinessa ssessmentto ol for construction called the 'BEACON Model', its associated questionnaire, and an associated software. Description and results of CE readiness assessment case studies, which were conducted within five sectors of the construction industry, are then presented. At the end of the thesis, CE implementation strategiesa nd considerationsa re presentedb asedo n the assessmenrte sults, followed by conclusions, recommendations and future work. The most important conclusion, which could be drawn from the research, is that the construction industry as a whole still needs improvements in most of the critical areas identified by the BEACON Model in order to adopt CE effectively.

This thesis investigates relationships between external linkages and new product innovativenessf ocusing particularly on the perspectiveo f a knowledge-enabledv iew of new product development. Building on organisational learning theory and knowledge-basedth eorieso f inter-firm collaboration,t his thesis arguest hat the effects of external linkages on new product innovativeness vary and these are largely contingent upon a finn's absorptive capacity. The finn's level of absorptive capacity determines how effectively knowledge from external collaborators relevant to the new product project is absorbed, resulting in the creation of new knowledge that the finn can apply for its own commercial use. It considers why some firms are more effective than others at absorbing new product related knowledge from external collaborators to facilitate more innovative product development. Based on an empirical study of 116 new product development projects in Taiwanese Information Technology (IT) firms, the thesis assesses the relative importance of external linkages in increasing new product innovativeness. The results showt hat the impacto f horizontall inks (that is, collaborationw ith otherc ompanies, research institutes, and universities) on gains in new product related knowledge is greater than that of vertical linkages (that is, supplier and customer involvement). Compared to links with customers, universities, and research institutes, corporate linkages play the most prominent and consistent role in enhancing the accumulation of new product related knowledge. This knowledge namely pertains to predevelopmenat ssessmentR, &D, manufacturinga nd marketing. The thesis confirms that the firm's absorptive capacity positively affects its gains in new product related knowledge. In addition, absorptive capacity's interactions with corporate linkages have significant, positive effects on gains in new product related knowledge. However such interaction effects were not observed for the other external linkages, with exception of industry-based research institute linkage. Moreover, the results confinn that the positive impacts of absorptive capacity, corporation linkages, and supplier linkages on new product innovativeness are mediated by the extent of new product related knowledge gained. This thesis bridges the gap between theories of organisational absorptive capacity and the effective generation of new products. It contributes to our understanding of the role of a firm's absorptive capacity in NPD research. It examines this issue from a knowledge-enabled view of new product development. The findings will assist managers to more effectively formulate NPD strategy by incorporating firms' internal learning capacity with the complementary knowledge and technology that external collaborators can provide.

Zugl.: Münster (Westfalen), Univ., Magisterarbeit, 2006

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Zugl.: Magisterarbeit.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Linköping : Linköpings universitet, 2005. / Härtill 5 uppsatser + 4 appendix.

Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2005.