In daily life, information of losing weight or improving fitness can be seen everywhere. For example, being skinny is pretty and healthy. No matter in Western or Asian countries, we can observe that standardized ideal image has been established for years through models in advertising. Also, physical attractiveness pursuit becomes important in the global society because of advertising. Hence, more and more researchers interested in body image will take appearance and body shape into account. However, most of previous research focuses on the negative effect of self-consciousness induced by images of being thin. By distinguishing model¡¦s body size into slim and large size, this research examines the factors that may influence the effects of model¡¦s body size in advertising. The present study uses experimental design to investigate the advertising effects of model¡¦s body size (slim vs. large), model¡¦s race (Asia vs. Western), and product type (utilitarian vs. hedonic). Thus, a 2¡Ñ2¡Ñ2 factorial design is conducted. The ad effects are measured by product evaluation and attitude toward the model to observe the response under eight different and fictitious scenarios. The results indicate that, a model with slim-size is more effective that with large-size. Such influences are stronger when an Asian model is used. Howerever, no matter slim or large the model¡¦s size is, the effect of advertising on utilitarian product and hedonic product are identical when using a Western model. In addition, female participants generally give lower credit on advertising evaluation than male ones, reflecting obviously in their preference of model. According to these findings, this study suggests that marketers should consider not only the product they promote but also the congruency of race between ad model and target consumers, as well as attractive slim-size models, in order to enhance the advertising effects.

New product development quality has been found to be a key determinant of the market success and profitability of a new product because of its contribution to superior customer value, the cornerstone of a firm¡¦s competitive advantage in the marketplace. Therefore, enterprises are increasingly utilizing new product development teams for new product development. Previous studies have suggested that the diverse backgrounds of cross-functional team members can increase the amount and variety of information available to design products, thereby improving design process efficiency and product development performance. However, researchers still know very little about how such teams can improve new product quality. Thus, our first research question was; what are the relationships between team characteristics and organization contextual factors and new product quality? In addition, as nationality has been shown to influence individual¡¦s cognitive schema, values, and nonverbal behavior, all of which influence behavior in teams, new product development teams pose a particular type of challenge in different countries. Team-based work designs have been easier to implement in countries with collectivist as opposed to individualist cultures. To address that issue, this study will examine the differences of how team characteristics and contextual influences affect new product quality in collectivist and individualist cultures. Thus, our second research question was; do team characteristics and organization contextual factors affect new product quality differently in collectivist cultures and individualist cultures? Because this was a cross-national research, samples were taken from two countries, one in Taiwan and the other in the U.S.A. We received 184 completed questionnaires from Taiwanese teams, and 176 completed questionnaires from American teams. In order to make sure that the instrument used in this study could measure what it was intended to measure, we used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to examine the validity of the measurement models of both dependent variables and independent variables. We then used hierarchical moderated regression analysis to test the contingency hypotheses. Research results reveal two different outcomes of hypotheses testing. For Taiwanese teams, new product quality is positively affected by the capability of information integration in the team and quality orientation in the firm, but is negatively influenced by speed-to-market pressure and product innovativeness in the firm. Functional and tenure diversity have a moderate no effect on new product quality. The capability of information integration in a team can also reduce the negative effect of speed-to-market pressure on new product quality. In contrast, for American teams, new product quality is positively affected by functional diversity and the capability of information integration in the team and quality orientation in the firm, but is moderately negatively influenced by supplier involvement in the firm. Customer involvement in a firm can increase the positive effect of the capability of information integration on new product quality. In conclusion, the present study contributes to the literature on new product development teams in several ways. First, it extends research on new product development teams across collectivist and individualist cultures and identifies boundary conditions for theories of new product development teams. Second, this study is the first to empirically examine how team characteristics and organization contextual factors affect new product quality across cultures. Third, it provides a thorough and integrative review of the literature from diverse disciplines such as new product development, organizational behavior, and management and innovation as a means of establishing links among team characteristics, organization contextual factors, and new product quality. Finally, the model we have provided will assist managers in identifying the team characteristics and organization contextual factors needed to assist new product development teams in collectivist and individualist cultures to develop high-quality products. Since these factors can be directly manipulated by managers, they can create the effective conditions, specific to the industry characteristics they are engaged in, for new product development teams to develop high-quality products.

Product quality is regarded as one of the most important factors that consumers consider while purchasing products. However, contrary to objective quality, perceived product quality includes consumer&#039 / s judgment about the overall superiority or excellence of a product. This study mainly concentrates on the relationship between product appearance and perceived product quality especially for durable goods. The definitions of product quality and perceived product quality are reviewed to explain different dimensions of perceived product quality. Product appearance and the importance of product appearance are explained to reveal the relationship between the consumer and the appearance of the product. Four types of information communicated through the appearance are revealed: aesthetic information, symbolic information, functional information and ergonomic information. In the field study, how these four types of information communicated by the product appearance influence the consumers&rsquo / quality perception is questioned through a quantitative study. Conducted with 100 participants, the results of the questionnaire shows that the appearance influences quality perception in various stages of consumer/product context for durable goods. At the end of the study, it is observed that aesthetic, functional and ergonomic information directly influence consumer&rsquo / s quality perception / wheras, the influence of symbolic information on the perceived quality is found to be limited and indirect.

<p>Syftet med uppsatsen är att analysera utlokaliseringen av tekoindustrin i EU15. Man finner svaren i följande frågor: Vilka faktorer bidrar till omflyttning av produktionen till låglöne-länder? Vilka är vinnarna och förlorarna på denna omstrukturering? Hur klarar den Euro-peiska tekoindustrin av dessa utmaningar? Att redogöra för varje EU-land är för omfattan-de därför valdes Sverige och Portugal beroende på att respektive land har en utvecklad och mindre utvecklad ekonomi. Därutöver riktas deras produktion mot olika sektorer av teko-industrin vilket möjliggjorde landsjämförelsen. Största delen av datan har samlats från SourceOECD’s hemsida då den innehåller information som är viktigast for uppsatsen. Re-sultatet visar att när industrin utvecklas och marknaden till slut blir överhettad börjar indu-strilandet att flytta produktionen utomlands, fokuseringen ändras och impörten blir allt vik-tigare. Denna process sker gradvis med hjälp av liberalisering av världshandel och EU ut-ökning.</p> / <p>The purpose of this paper is to analyze the location dynamics of textile and clothing industries in the EU15. Specifically, it seeks to answer the following questions: What are the factors that contribute to the relocation of European production to low-wage countries? Who are hurt by these changes and who gain? How does the European textile and clothing industry cope with these challenges? It is beyond the scope of this paper to analyze the T/C industry of each EU15 member state. Instead, it specifically investigates Sweden and Portugal’s textile and clothing sectors simply because the former represents Europe’s old economy while the latter the most recent one. In addition, each country devotes its production to the different sectors of the industry, hence this cross-country comparison. Majority of the data is gathered from SourceOECD as the webpage contains information of most value to this paper. The result of this study shows that as an industry matures and competition heats up pricing measures, the developed country moves production operations overseas, ends up as a net importer of the good and shifts focus toward other activities. This process takes effect gradually but the liberalisation of world trade and European enlargement are a few contributing factors which helped anchor relocation decisions.</p>

The goal of the study was to explore African Americans’ perceptions and acceptance of products used for placement in movies and to compare their perceptions to those of Anglo Americans. A mix between and repeated measures ANOVA was run to test four hypotheses dealing with race, gender and product differences. A factor analysis was run on the 30 attitudinal measures. A content analysis was done on the comments obtained from the open-ended question. Cross-tabulations were run on product and media consumption data. The results indicated that there are differences in the perceptions and acceptance of products used for placement in movies across ethnic and cultural groups in the U.S., specifically African American and Anglo Americans. Not only were African Americans less likely to accept ethically charged products for product placement in movies than Anglo Americans, their product acceptance ratings, in general, were lower than those of Anglo Americans. In fact, African American males rated all of the products lower than African American females and Anglo American males and females. The implications are that product, race, gender, frequency of movie watching and attitudinal differences should be considered when the product placement strategy is used. Advertisers and marketers should use caution when using the product placement strategy to target the African American market and when selecting the types of products to be used for placement. / text

The recent trend of mass customization has redefined the way companies do business. Each individual customer is now their own market, requiring products specific to their wants and needs at mass production prices. This need for ever-increasing variety is a significant challenge for industry that many times leads to ballooning manufacturing costs and lower product performance. One approach that has received widespread attention and implementation is to develop families of products from standardized product platforms. While, many methods have been developed to address different challenges within product platform design, they are not without their limitations/tradeoffs and therefore leave much room for development and improvement. The Product Platform Constructal Theory Method (PPCTM), developed by Dr. Gabriel Hernandez, is a novel approach for developing product platforms that enable customizable products. Rooted in the tenants of hierarchic systems theory and constructal theory, the PPCTM solves for the product platform as a problem of optimization of access in a geometric space. The result is a hierarchical organization of the modes for managing variety and the specification of their commonality across the product platform. Overall, the PPCTM offers an extremely comprehensive product platform design method, with the ability to accommodate multi-platform design, multiple design specifications, non-uniform demand modeling, and multi-objective decision-making. One limitation of this method is that the selection of platform variables and the modes for managing product variety must be pre-specified or determined ad hoc by the designer. This thesis seeks to address this limitation through the integration of a sensitivity-based analysis method to determine the effect of platform variable variation on the family performance. The result of this work is a Sensitivity-based PPCTM that facilitates the selection of common platform variables, such that modes for managing variety can be ranked and applied to the space element hierarchy. The proposed method is illustrated with three examples: the design of a line of customizable pressure vessels, universal electric motors, and finger pumps.

This thesis presents a new metric-based Life-cycle Assessment (LCA) method for assessing the sustainability performance of metallic automotive components. The unique feature of this research work include the development and use of a metrics-based product sustainability index (ProdSI) methodology by considering the total life-cycle approach and the triple bottom line (TBL) with the 6R methodology. It has been shown that the manufactured product’s sustainability performance can be comprehensively assessed using this new methodology. The major focus of this research is the integration of the 6R activities (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover, Redesign and Remanufacture). Four life-cycle stages of the product, with various end-of-life (EOL) product scenarios, are modeled and analyzed. These scenarios include: reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling the products at EOL. Furthermore, a new mathematical model is developed and presented to determine the optimum percentage mix for various product EOL strategic options. By using the 6R methodology, the overall product sustainability was significantly improved. This improvement was quantitatively assessed by computing the ProdSI score. Ultimately, this research shows that a closed-loop material flow can be achieved.

Modular product architectures have generated numerous benefits for companies in terms of cost, lead-time and quality. The defined interfaces and the module’s properties decrease the effort to develop new product variants, and provide an opportunity to perform parallel tasks in design, manufacturing and assembly. The background of this thesis is that companies perform verifications (tests, inspections and controls) of products late, when most of the parts have been assembled. This extends the lead-time to delivery and ruins benefits from a modular product architecture; specifically when the verifications are extensive and the frequency of detected defects is high. Due to the number of product variants obtained from the modular product architecture, verifications must handle a wide range of equipment, instructions and goal values to ensure that high quality products can be delivered. As a result, the total benefits from a modular product architecture are difficult to achieve. This thesis describes a method for planning and performing verifications within a modular product architecture. The method supports companies by utilizing the defined modules for verifications already at module level, so called MPV (Module Property Verification). With MPV, defects are detected at an earlier point, compared to verification of a complete product, and the number of verifications is decreased. The MPV method is built up of three phases. In Phase A, candidate modules are evaluated on the basis of costs and lead-time of the verifications and the repair of defects. An MPV-index is obtained which quantifies the module and indicates if the module should be verified at product level or by MPV. In Phase B, the interface interaction between the modules is evaluated, as well as the distribution of properties among the modules. The purpose is to evaluate the extent to which supplementary verifications at product level is needed. Phase C supports a selection of the final verification strategy. The cost and lead-time for the supplementary verifications are considered together with the results from Phase A and B. The MPV method is based on a set of qualitative and quantitative measures and tools which provide an overview and support the achievement of cost and time efficient company specific verifications. A practical application in industry shows how the MPV method can be used, and the subsequent benefits / <p>QC 20100906</p>

This research investigates the role of product design on technology switching in the context of a capital-intensive product. I focus on switching rather than on new sales because switching is the primary means of changing market share in nearly mature markets. Further, the dominant logic ??? is that, because of switching costs and the related consequences, incumbents have a strong advantage when upgrading or replacing equipment. However, the literature on lead users suggests that those users at the cutting-edge are willing to meet the costs of changing technology because they have the capabilities needed to leverage significant advantages from the new technology. The extant literature on switching focuses primarily on consumers in highly competitive markets. There is little understanding of the antecedents of switching in business markets, especially in markets for capital-intensive technology-based products. This research investigates the influence of product design on switching behavior for capital-intensive high technology products, where buyers are faced with numerous implications and significant costs at each step of the process. The switching behavior for capital-intensive products has not been studied previously; because of this deficiency, we do not know the consequences for theory, that is, how different theoretical assumptions will contribute to the final decision to switch, or for managerial practice, that is, the kind of strategies managers should follow to retain existing buyers under such conditions. Previous literature did not explore explicitly the concept of product design as an influence on switching, because satisfaction and switching cost were widely used as determinants of switching decisions in competitive markets. This gap in knowledge is due to the difficulty in identifying a method that would allow one to differentiate among the products??? performance and how the difference would impact consumers??? objectives. It is also difficult for researchers to define the characteristics of high technology products that make certain products more attractive on the market than others, without substantial assistance from experts in particular products. These conditions create a barrier to investigating switching behavior for high technology products. This research is positioned in the overlapping area between product design and switching behavior. The linkage between these two bodies of literature has never been explored. The research answers two important questions: (1) what are the antecedents of technology switching in a context where there are considerable costs?, and (2) does product design encourage technology switching behavior? Dynamic capabilities theory is used to explain this research, because the decision to switch an old technology for a new one in rapidly changing technology markets is about renewing resources and capabilities to maintain competitive advantages. This research is conducted in the context of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) industry as a case study. Considerable switching has occurred in this industry over the last decade, resulting in this industry offering a good opportunity to investigate the reasons why. The market is divided into different segments based on the region and the health care system. I selected the university hospitals segment, MRI research centers, to conduct this research study, because it is feasible to track the technology switching process for this segment over time and because this segment???s market is nearly mature. Data were collected from multiple sources including personal interviews, online surveys, annual conference database, product technical reports, and patent data. In this study, the independent variable is product design and other variables related to switching costs and marketing strategies. The dependent variable is switching behavior, which has two values: (1) ???switched,??? defined as purchasing a new technology from a different supplier, and (2) ???not switched,??? defined as repurchasing from the same supplier. After collecting surveys from decision makers who purchased MRI technology, I use logistic regression analysis to test the hypothesis that the product design has a direct impact on the switching decision of capital-intensive products. Research findings have shown that buyers are willing to switch to a different technology in spite of high associated costs, particularly when they are faced with a product that restricts their capabilities. Product design represents the most influential factor underpinning switching, because it provides more capabilities that motivate switching. Notwithstanding the fact that moving to a new supplier imposes significant challenges, including technology and relationship incompatibility, findings confirm that this distinction in product capabilities has induced some MRI buyers to move to a new supplier in order to maintain a competitive market position. The findings also confirm that support during the transition process can be achieved through marketing strategies. The findings of this research clarify our understanding of the switching behavior of capital-intensive products where successful product design is expected to play a significant role. This behavior is expected to be different from the behavior identified in previous research, because the previous research was conducted using mainly competitive markets with frequently purchased products. For lead users faced with products that restrict their capabilities, switching is an expected option despite high switching costs. Those early switchers, having capitalized on the real value of the new product, serve to encourage other users to pursue the same behavior later. The outcomes from this MRI study ??? as one example of a high technology device ??? could be applied to the different industries that share the same characteristics in terms of high rates of technological change and high switching costs, for example, military devices, aircrafts, and advanced medical and industrial devices.

User-product interaction is a multi-dimensional, multi-faceted and multi-modal everyday encounter. This study concentrates on the two most prominent actors of this interaction, namely, the user and the product, whereby user expertise and product innovativeness are given special attention. Prominence of user expertise in new product encounters, especially those with innovative products, is established through the findings of two case studies.