Emerging markets are fraught with uncertainty, diverse global players, rapid technological change, wide-spread price wars, and seemingly endless reorganization (Ilinitch, 1996). These changes have presented challenges to organizations in the form of shorter product cycles, increased segment fragmentation, blurring industry boundaries, breaking corporate hierarchies, and increased interdependence of world markets (Ozsomer et. al., 1991). Organizations are responding to competition by capitalizing on global policies and adopting self-directed teams and horizontal structures that enhance external activities. To do this organizations are getting conscious of the boundaries they are operating in. With hyper competition and globalization organizations blur boundaries to gain maximum business opportunity from other geographic boundaries. For this to happen organizations must engage in boundary crossing behaviour. Competition is also managed by focussing on bringing out new products to the market. Product development (PD) is critical because new products are becoming the nexus of competition for firms (Clark and Fujimoto, 1991). They are the means by which members of organizations diversify, adapt, and even reinvent their firms to match evolving market and technological conditions (Schoonhoven et. al., 1990). This calls for a closer look at boundary crossing behaviour as part of the external activity during PD. The studies carried out in the process of PD identify external activity orientation as important criteria for success (Brown and Eisenhardt, 1995). PD processes involve project management activity. Unlike other processes of an organization, PD is a knowledge intensive activity, which brings together individuals having different skill sets and mindsets. These individuals need to interact regularly to understand and coordinate their activities. The non-routine nature of the process makes boundary-crossing activity more critical for successful PD. This thesis focuses on the boundary crossing behaviours performed by PD teams. Literature review showed that external activities play a crucial role in PD (Calantoue and Di Benedetto 1990a, b; Griffin and Hauser 1992; Olson et. al., 1995; Song et al., 2000; Souder 1987). The importance of external activities for successful project development was shown by Allen (1971, 1977) based on his seminal work on communication and organizations. He showed that R&D team’s frequency of communication within the team has no relationship to performance, while increased communication between teams and other parts of the laboratory was strongly related to project performance. Teams carrying out complex tasks in uncertain environments were found to perform higher levels of external activities (Ancona and Caldwell 1992). External activity was found to result in high percentages of successful projects and sales derived from new products (Cooper 1984; Dougherty 1987; Ancona and Caldwell, 1992; Ancona, 1990; Sheremata 2002). PD is an activity with high uncertainty. The external activities that are performed by PD teams and their nature of relationships shared are variously classified as interactive and collaborative behaviour (Kahn 1996). Underlying this classification is a dichotomous behaviour where in the former embodies presence of informal behaviour between partners, while the latter embodies formal behaviour. Further research on these behaviours have shown that informal type of external activity also known as collaborative behaviour plays an important role in the successful development of products. Collaboration represents the unstructured, affective nature of interdepartmental relationships. They were found to result in improved product development. A study on software product development teams by Kraut and Streeter(1995) also showed the importance of informal behaviour. He found that product development requires personal communication across functional boundaries to cope with uncertainty. The external activities performed by PD teams were also found to be influenced by variables like product development life cycle (Brodbeck, 2001; Sawyer & Guinan, 1998; Boehm, 1987), informal groups (Hirschhorn and Gilmore, 1992), awareness, (Pinto and Slevin, 1987), and open climate (Ashkenas et. al., 1990). After identifying the missing gaps in gaps were the objectives of the study was defined. The objectives of the study are as follows: To understand the interactive and collaborative boundary crossing behaviour of product development teams To study the difference in boundary crossing behaviour of horizontal, geographic and value chain boundaries of product development teams To understand the relationship of variables influencing boundary crossing behaviour of product development teams To give suggestions to better understand management of boundary crossing behaviour in product development teams A combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques was adopted to study these objectives. Based on the past literature a conceptual framework was developed. It consisted of defining the role of collaborative and interactive boundary crossing behaviours across product development teams and certain variables influencing this behaviour. The model was validated through preliminary interviews. These interviews were conducted across team members, team leaders and knowledge management experts. A few more variables were identified that were considered to influence the collaborative behaviour performed by PD teams. These variables are sharing behaviour and confidence with the time available for developing the product. The variables were operationally defined and measurement instrument, namely a questionnaire, was developed. The questionnaire was administered to team leaders and team members. The measurement instrument was tested for its psychometric properties namely, reliability and validity. Cronbach alphas are reported. For the main study, data was collected from 73 product development teams of IT organizations located in Bangalore. From the team leader the general characteristics of the PD team were understood, as well as the level of newness of the product developed. The latter was used as a measure of level of innovation. From team members, the interactive and collaborative behaviour of PD team members was studied. The statistical techniques that were used for analyzing the data are F-Test, t-test, Kruskall Wallis test, chi-square test , correlation and regression analyses. After the analysis it was found that the interactive and collaborative behaviour expressed by the teams across the three boundaries showed that as compared to collaborative behavior, product development teams more commonly used interactive behaviour. Interactive behaviours were also found to be used to the same extent across all the three boundaries. Since interactive behavior is formal and forced in organizations it is predominantly practiced although its efficiency may vary. The challenge for organizations hence is the collaborative behaviors. On the other hand, collaborative behaviour was seen used the most across horizontal boundary and the least across value chain boundary. Since the geographic distance across boundaries increases when moving from horizontal to value chain boundaries the chances of collaboration get decreased. Hence an influence of distance on boundary crossing behavior was sense influencing collaborative behaviour of product development teams. Hence further analysis focused on collaborative behaviors. The collaborative behaviour was further studied to understand its relationship with product development team behaviour, sharing behaviour of teams of outside the boundary, demographic variables and innovation level of product developed. Correlation analysis showed that the collaborative behaviour of teams were correlated with the sharing behaviour, informal groups, autonomous team leader behaviour, and open climate only. These variables were termed direct influencers of collaborative behavior.Innovation level did not play any significant role in influencing collaborative behavior.Collaboration behaviour was further studied to understand how they are causally related with these variables. Using regression analysis, the causal study considered collaboration behaviour of PD teams in general, as well as the collaboration behaviour across horizontal, geographical and value-chain boundary as the dependent variable. The independent variables studied are sharing behaviour, informal groups, open-climate behaviors, autonomous team leader behaviour. Regression results showed that open climate behaviours was causally related to overall collaboration behaviour of PD teams in all boundaries. With respect to collaboration across horizontal boundary, it was found that sharing behaviour, as well as autonomous team leader behaviour influenced them. Across geographical boundary, the open-climate was found causally related. Across value chain boundary sharing behaviour was found to influence collaborative behaviour. It was found that only some variables influence boundary crossing behavior namely, collaborative behavior, the most. These were open climate behaviors, sharing behaviour, and autonomous team leader behaviour. These were labeled direct influencers. The ones that did not show a direct influence were termed as indirect influencers. Since the role of direct influencers was clearly understood, the role of indirect influencers needed further analysis as these were variables selected from literature and expert interviews and expected to have influence on boundary crossing behaviour. Those variables that did not directly enter the regression analysis were further studied tounder stand if they had a relationship with the direct influencers independent of collaborative behaviors. It was assumed that if they did then they may indirectly influence collaborative behaviors. For this the indirect variables were correlated with the direct influencers. The results showed that open-climate was positively correlated with awareness of objectives, PD life cycle and the team’s confidence in time line of the project. Interestingly sharing behavior and autonomous behaviour of the team leader was not correlated with any potentially indirect influencer or variable. This meant that awareness of objectives, PD life cycle and the team’s confidence in time line of the project can influence collaborative behavior indirectly. In the next analysis the role of PD was understood deeper in the context of level of innovation and duration of projects vis-à-vis collaboration. This is specifically done as the poor influence of level of innovation and duration were a surprise since they were expected to have influence on boundary crossing behavior. Teams were classified into low, medium and high innovation level teams. The collaboration behaviour within these teams was then studied. The results showed that there was a pattern in the usage of collaboration behaviour across the different channels. Collaboration behaviour was used most across medium innovation level team as compared to low and high innovation level teams. This was the case of collaboration across horizontal and geographical boundary. In the case of value chain boundary, no such pattern was recognizable. Interestingly it meant that in low and high innovation collaborative behavior was lower and it increased only during medium innovation. Further to this, the influence of collaboration on duration of product developed was studied. The correlation study showed negative relation between the two only for horizontal boundaries. This meant that increase in collaborative behavior across horizontal boundaries result in lesser time taken to develop the product. The last chapter in this thesis describes the conclusions from this study and the managerial implications regarding nurturing and managing boundaries of PD teams.

本研究主要探討的是國際標準化商品的製造業者如何從事產品創新，特別是針對一個企業銷售的產品就是標準化的完成品，最典型的例子，就是台灣佔有亞太最大產能的影音DVD光碟片製造業。差異化是企業提升競爭力的主要手段，也是經常被企業採用的競爭策略。一個企業可以尋求差異化的空間顯然和自己產品或服務被標準化的程度有關。產品「被標準化」的程度越高，除了創意越容易受限，組織出現「核心僵固」的情形可能也越嚴重。 本研究延續組織知識創造學說「知識螺旋」理論的精髓，提出「創新螺旋」策略規劃程序的理論模型架構，「創新螺旋」模型是一個以產品創新為主軸的策略規劃程序，以行銷導向創新策略為其核心。行銷導向的創新是一個企業核心能耐經組織內部「共同化」，「外化」訴諸市場，再與市場需求「結合」串連，「內化」為企業策略的過程，意謂著企業核心價值與市場價值缺口產生共鳴的「知識螺旋」。「創新螺旋」模型描述企業應以「市場價值、創造價值、核心價值」做為產品創新的核心概念，以「創新是兩種看似不相干的事物將其成功結合」的中心思想，同時秉持「創新來自邊陲的精神」，尋求產品創新上的突破。 一般而言，國際標準規格的制訂是由大國大廠所主導，技術開發首動者的效益來自參與規格制訂及日後商品上市後收取的龐大權利金。一般小廠小國，市場影響力小、技術開發資源有限，不易參與規格角力的競賽，更遑論發揮舉足輕重的影響力，這是一個殘酷的國際現實。因此小廠小國的標準化商品的製造業者，如何從事產品創新就是本研究所要探討的課題。本研究探討的個案公司以「創新螺旋」策略規劃程序的理論模型做為其產品創新的藍本，檢視在此情境下的台灣影音DVD碟片的製造業者，在產品創新過程遭遇到的困境及其突圍的方式。本研究同時觀摩比較其他國際級的競爭同業，如何發揮其地理環境上的優勢及本身的核心能耐，在次世代藍光DVD來臨之繼，創造更有利的競爭條件。 / This thesis aims to study how to do the product innovation under the condition as the core product or service of one corporate is an international standardized end product. The typical example is such as the video DVD disc manufacturers in Taiwan, who own the major market share in the world wide total throughput. From the strategic point of view, “differentiation” has been widely used to build up a corporate core competency. However, the limitation for one corporate to do the product differentiation is corresponding to its product status being standardized. The higher standardized condition on product it is, the more limitation on creation it will be. It also will cause the organization to be inflexible, furthermore becomes stubborn. Generally speaking, international standard has been formulated by the strong or big countries and international corporate. The first mover advantage to develop the product should be as a format creator and as a licenser in the long run as into the commercialized phase. On the other hand, usually, for the small companies or countries, it has less technology resource and marketing power to influence the standard formation. Under such kind of situation, is there any chance for the small companies to do the product innovation? This is the main topic for the thesis to investigate. This research extends the organization knowledge creativity theory by Nonaka (1995) as the “Spiral of Knowledge” to a new model as “Spiral of Innovation”, which presents the sequence of strategy formation in term of product innovation. Marketing-oriented product developing pattern is the main pursuit of the “Spiral of Innovation”. The first step, through the ”socialization” inside the corporate, the common understanding of the corporate standing position can be created. As for product developing, targeting to find out the customers need or the lack in the marketing, those finding should be put into the step as “externalization”. After that, through “combination” of marketing need and corporate competency, the systematic concept can be developed. The final step, all the above can be converted into the organization function inside corporate, which is called as “internalization”. “Spiral of Innovation” theory states, for a corporate, it takes the “marketing value, creating value and corporate core value” as the core product developing concept. The innovation can be simply interpreted as “the success to combine two dissimilar or irrelevant matters”. Innovation usually generates from that being lack of concern or attention. This research studies the case, Taiwan No.1 video DVD disc manufacturer, which implements the “Spiral of Innovation” model as the framework of its product developing strategy formation. It shows the dilemma the corporate faces in the effort for product differentiation and those attempts it took for breakthrough. It also compares the product developing strategy with some other key and leading players from USA, Europe and Japan. From innovation point of view, those companies intend to exploit their advantage from location and core competency to find out the optimal position for the coming next generation high density DVD era.

This dissertation reports the results of case studies on innovation and new product development in eight Scottish food companies and a subsequent triangulation survey of 85 innovative Scottish companies. The case studies are carried out using qualitative research methods and a realistic inductive research strategy. It is found that the case study companies use an informal and cross-functional innovation process, which is independent of the age of enterprise. It is also discovered that these companies develop new products, often luxuriant variants of their existing products, which are mainly indulgences rather than healthy foods and are sold mostly to large retailers. Use of production methods that are amenable to quick changes in final products and networking with customers, suppliers, other food companies and Scottish Enterprise is also observed. Creative people with high innovative proclivity, who often travel to new locations in search of product ideas, drive the process. The case study companies are high-variety-low-volume businesses, possess good understanding of customer needs and circumstances and are able to achieve a good fit between needs of the market and their own resources. Not facing financial constraints, these companies are able to attract and retain talent, needed to develop new products. Continuously learning from their NPD endeavours, they sell their products without any major advertising or marketing effort. The subsequent triangulation survey of 85 innovative Scottish companies, from food as well as non-food sectors, confirms most of the above-mentioned findings. Contrary to the case study results however, the survey discovers that innovative Scottish companies face financial constraints while developing new products, do not sell most of their new products to large retailers or undertake travel to new locations in search of product ideas. The main contributions to knowledge by this research include crystallisation of the new product development practices in Scotland, highlighting difference in product innovation between various sub-groups of enterprises, a new conceptual construct within which all notions and definitions of innovation can be accommodated and identification of a basic flaw in the present innovation policy in Scotland.

Este trabalho tem por objetivo realizar uma contribuição ao corpo de conhecimento existente acerca das variáveis de contexto organizacional a serem consideradas no projeto de sistemas de recompensas que buscam incentivar a inovação em produtos nas organizações. Inicialmente, o trabalho resgata conceitos fundamentais tanto sobre os sistemas de recompensas quanto sobre o processo de inovação. Em seguida, apresenta alguns dos estudos já existentes sobre práticas de recompensas voltadas para inovação, buscando sistematizar, de forma abrangente, os aspectos já explorados por autores no tema, assim como evidenciar algumas lacunas identificadas. Com base nesse esforço, é elaborado um quadro de referência preliminar das variáveis de contexto e suas implicações sobre o projeto em questão, a saber: estratégia da organização, tipo de inovação que se pretende estimular, crenças e traços culturais da empresa e sistema de metas e recompensas previamente existentes. Uma pesquisa de campo então é realizada por meio de entrevistas qualitativas com cinco especialistas, consultores e acadêmicos em gestão estratégica de recursos humanos e em sistemas de recompensas, e por meio de estudos de casos em quatro empresas industriais de grande porte reconhecidamente inovadoras, de maneira a fazer uma análise crítica do quadro de referência preliminar, possibilitando seu refinamento. O assunto pesquisado se mostrou ainda distante da realidade tanto dos especialistas quanto dos projetistas de sistemas de recompensas de organizações que atuam no Brasil. Ainda assim, mesmo se mantendo as quatro principais variáveis de contexto elencadas previamente, a pesquisa de campo permitiu conferir maior robustez ao quadro de referência elaborado, uma vez que, a partir de sua realização, fizeram-se análises que alteraram aspectos relevantes do detalhamento desse quadro. Assim sendo, crê-se que a presente tese pôde contribuir para que fosse dado um primeiro adicional em direção ao estreitamento da lacuna existente na literatura sobre o projeto de recompensas para inovação. / This thesis aims to contribute to the existing body of knowledge regarding the organizational context variables to be considered in designing a rewards system geared towards fostering innovation in products at organizations. Initially, the paper takes a new look at fundamental concepts regarding both rewards systems and the innovation process. Next, some current studies on reward practices geared towards innovation are presented in an effort to broadly systematize the aspects explored by authors on this matter, while also showing some of the gaps identified. Based on this work, a preliminary reference chart is created using context variables and their implications for the design at issue, specifically: organizational strategy, type of innovation to be encouraged, beliefs and cultural traits of the company, and previously established systems of goals and rewards. Field research is then done using qualitative interviews with five specialists, consultants and scholars in strategic human resource management and in rewards systems, as well as by using case studies of four large-scale industrial companies known for being innovative, in order to perform a critical assessment of the preliminary reference chart and allow for its refinement. The subject researched proves to be even farther from the reality of specialists as well as designers of rewards systems at organizations operating in Brazil. Nevertheless and even having maintained the four main context variables listed previously, the field research made the reference chart created stronger, because based on its creation, analyses were done that changed relevant aspects of the details of this chart. This being the case, it is believed that this thesis could contribute to a first addition being made in an effort to close the gap that exists in literature on the design of rewards for innovation.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:26:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dalton Oswaldo Buccelli.pdf: 2831737 bytes, checksum: 4f576a32182eb524fa9adebecf93d6a1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-04-09 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This study analyses the relationship between the investment in innovative activities and domestic appliances and personal care companies growth from 2005 to 2008. The wide and diversified literature about the theme doesn t show any field results confirming this relationship in the sector. The theoretical references of this study are the works of Schumpeter (1949, 1950), Penrose (2006), Urabe (1988), Porter (1986, 1990), Stokes (2005), Dismukes (2005), Hannan e Freeman (1977), Hamel (2003) and OECD (2004). This study involved a double-step descriptive field research. In the first step, a quantitative research was developed with 48 manufacturers. In the second step, an exploratory case study was conducted in a worldwide industry leader. Finally, it is possible to conclude that innovative activities have a positive relationship with domestic appliances and personal care Brazilian companies growth and that a representative part of this growth came from product innovation. Other conclusions came from Philips case study, showing a new business value chain in the last few years with technological alliances assuming a strategic role in product, process and business models innovation system. / Este estudo analisa a relação existente entre o investimento em atividades inovativas e o crescimento das empresas fabricantes de eletrodomésticos, no período de 2005 a 2008. A ampla e diversificada literatura existente sobre o tema não apresenta resultados empíricos que evidenciem essa relação no setor. Como referenciais teóricos foram utilizados os trabalhos de Schumpeter (1949, 1950), Penrose (2006), Urabe (1988), Porter (1986, 1990), Stokes (2005), Dismukes (2005), Hannan e Freeman (1977), Hamel (2003) e OECD (2004). O trabalho compreendeu uma pesquisa descritiva, desenvolvida em duas etapas. Na primeira etapa foi desenvolvida uma pesquisa quantitativa junto a uma amostra de 48 fabricantes de eletrodomésticos. Na segunda etapa foi conduzido um estudo de caso exploratório numa empresa líder mundial da indústria. Os resultados do estudo permitem concluir que o modelo teórico proposto se confirma na prática, ou seja, o investimento em atividades inovativas possui relação positiva com o crescimento das empresas de eletrodomésticos brasileiras e que uma parcela representativa desse crescimento se deve ao fato de que as empresas inovam em produto. Outras conclusões extraídas do estudo de caso são que a cadeia de valor nos negócios da Philips sofreu uma reconfiguração nos últimos anos e as alianças tecnológicas passaram a assumir um papel estratégico no seu sistema de inovação de produtos, processos e modelos de negócio.

Companies attempt to overcome their competitors by creating and sustaining competitive advantage. Innovation, understood as the introduction of a new good or service in the economic system by the producers, who educate consumers to look for new things that differ from those already on the market (SCHUMPETER, 1989) is configured as one of the most important means to achieve advantage over the rivals. Allied to this, the need for preservation of natural resources and the growing environmental appeal in recent years has motivated organizations to think green during the process and manufacture of its goods or services. Inserted in this scenario, the present study aimed to verify how the adoption of green innovation influences the achieving competitive advantage of companies in the electrical and electronic sectors Brazilian. Using a quantitative/descriptive model, the study adopted the conceptual model proposed by Chen, Lai and Wen (2006), which are presented two research hypotheses: (H1) green product innovation has a positive effect the pursuit of competitive advantage of organizations and (H2) green process innovation has a positive effect the pursuit of competitive advantage of organizations. Using a target population of the companies linked to the Brazilian Association of Electrical and Electronics Industry (ABINEE), the sample consisted of 113 organizations representing 20.62% of this population. Data collection occurred between the months of October to December 2011 and used a Likert-type questionnaire with five-point scale. The results showed that the level of adoption of green innovative practices, as well as the level of adoption of factors that lead to competitive advantage between the firms is high, because all the variables measured presented averages above the midpoint of the scale (3.00). Also it was verified by means Regression Analysis, that the relationship between green product innovation and achieving competitive advantage, and the relationship between green process innovation and achieving competitive advantage is considered significant, but at the moderate level, because the value of R2 was found 0.274, indicating that 27.4% of the variation of competitive advantage can be explained from the green innovation. Thus, it was found that both the green product innovation and green process innovation affect positively the pursuit of competitive advantage, and innovation process with greater intensity. / As empresas buscam superar suas concorrentes por meio da criação e sustentação de vantagens competitivas. A inovação, entendida como a introdução de um novo bem ou serviço no sistema econômico por meio dos produtores, que educam os consumidores a buscarem coisas novas que diferem daquelas já existentes no mercado (SCHUMPETER, 1989) configura-se como um dos mais importantes meios para alcançar vantagem frente às rivais. Aliado a isso, a necessidade de preservação dos recursos naturais e o apelo ambiental crescente dos últimos anos tem motivado as organizações a pensarem de maneira verde durante os processos e fabricação de seus bens ou serviços. Inserido nesse cenário, a presente pesquisa teve por objetivo verificar como a adoção de inovações verdes influencia na obtenção de vantagem competitiva das empresas dos setores elétrico e eletrônico brasileiro. De natureza quantitativa/descritiva, o estudo adotou o modelo conceitual proposto por Chen, Lai e Wen (2006), onde são apresentadas duas hipóteses de investigação: (H1) a inovação de produtos verdes afeta positivamente a busca por vantagem competitiva das organizações e (H2) a inovação de processos verdes afeta positivamente a busca por vantagem competitiva das organizações. Utilizando como população-alvo as empresas vinculadas à Associação Brasileira da Indústria Elétrica e Eletrônica (ABINEE), a amostra foi composta por 113 organizações que representaram 20,62% dessa população. A coleta de dados ocorreu entre os meses de Outubro a Dezembro de 2011, por meio de questionário do tipo Likert, com escala de cinco pontos. Os resultados apontaram que o nível de adoção de práticas inovativas verdes, bem como de fatores que conduzem à vantagem competitiva entre as empresas participantes é elevado, uma vez que todas as variáveis mensuradas apresentaram médias acima do ponto intermediário da escala (3,00). Também constatou-se, por meio da Análise de Regressão, que a relação entre a inovação de produtos verdes e a obtenção de vantagem competitiva, bem como a relação entre a inovação de processos verdes e a obtenção de vantagem competitiva é considerada significativa, mas ao nível moderado, já que o valor encontrado de R2 foi de 0,274, indicando que 27,4% da variação da vantagem competitiva podem ser explicados a partir da inovação verde. Assim, verificou-se que tanto a inovação de produtos verdes quanto a inovação de processos verdes afetam positivamente a busca por vantagem competitiva, sendo que as inovações de processos com maior intensidade.

This study develops an original theoretical model of critical managerially controllable factors that have high potential for achieving significant improvements in the (intermediate and ultimate) outcome(s) of product innovation efforts. To this end, the author draws on the relevant empirical literature and integrates four complementary theoretical perspectives, namely; the critical success factors (CSFs) approach, the resource-based view (RBV), the input-process-output (IPO) model, and the system(s) approach. The model (hereafter CFEMOs) aims to explicate the simultaneous direct and indirect/mediated interrelationships among the product innovation’s critical firm-based enablers (new-product fit-to-firm’s skills and resources, internal cross-functional integration, and top-management support), process execution proficiency, and performance outcomes (operation-level performance, product-level performance, and firm-level performance). Additionally, it aims to predict the variations of the process execution proficiency and the performance outcomes. The CFEMOs model was empirically tested using an online survey that was completed by 386 U.S. restaurants owners/senior executives on their recently innovated new menu-items. By utilising a partial least squares structural equation modelling, the statistical analysis substantiated that, compared to the models of the extant relevant empirical studies, the CFEMOs model has a broader scope and a superior predictive power. It simultaneously explains 72% of the process execution proficiency, 67% of the new menu-item superiority (quality, speed-to-market, and cost-efficiency), 76% of new menu-item performance (customer satisfaction, sales, and profits), and 75% of the new menu-item contribution to the overall restaurant performance (sales, profits, and market share). Furthermore, this study established that those restaurateurs who concurrently succeed in enhancing their internal cross-functional integration, top-management support, and new-product fit-to-firm’s skills and resources, descendingly ranked, would achieve high process execution proficiency, which subsequently would grant them superior operation-level performance, product-level performance, and firm-level performance. This thesis concludes by providing several key original contributions and crucial implications to product innovation research and practice, as well as offering several promising avenues for future research.

Aim of this master thesis is to determine whether the introduction of new functionality into mobile application based on existing competitive trends, can grant selected application a new position on the market. To evaluate the hypothesis we used data collection and feedback from users. Thesis shows introduces various aspects associated with product management in practice. The theoretical part defines the product management and mobile applications as products, product innovation and describes the methodology used within management of the product. The goal of the practical part is the selection process of the new functionality, which is corporate program, description of all aspects of the preparation of the functionality and consequently its development. Based on the data and the feedback from users we evaluate its contribution to the company Liftago and its new positioning on the market.

This thesis examines how regional-level factors combined with firm-level factors influence innovation in an emerging economy – India. Past literature has shown that differences in both country contexts and firm-level factors influence innovation. The bulk of this literature tended to focus on developed economies. The handful of studies that have considered contextual differences have studied these at the country-level or within regional blocks such as regions of Europe or Africa. There is a paucity of research, which investigates how differences in state-level factors within a single country combined with firm-level factors influence innovation within firms. Therefore, it is an open question whether the findings derived from developed economies and country-level studies apply equally to emerging economies, particularly at the state level within a single country. Thus, there is a gap in the literature regarding our understanding of the impact of combined state- and firm-level factors on innovation within a single country. This thesis aims to contribute to a better understanding of how state and firm-level factors drive innovation in India, an emerging economy. India is selected because it is a fast-growing emerging economy that is increasingly being integrated into the globalized world economy and thus understanding how these factors influence innovation in an emerging economy would complement the literature that focuses on developed countries. Moreover, India is a huge country with substantial varieties in resources, capabilities, institutions (both formal and informal institutions) as well as ethnic, religious, and cultural varieties. Contextually, these state-level differences are quite different from regions in the developed world where institutional differences tend to be relatively consistent (less varieties). Thus, the insights generated from this study of the Indian context complement prior research by identifying the state and firm factors that combine to drive firm-level innovation. This study also extends the innovation literature by focussing on state-level differences within a single emerging economy, for which there is limited research. The findings could also have practical managerial and policy implications. From a policy perspective, policymakers in India can get a deeper understanding of the relevant factors that influence firm-level innovation so that they can direct policy and resources to promote innovation in their respective states. From a managerial perspective, managers can also get a better understanding of strategies and investments they should take to enhance innovation within their firms. This study is based on data gathered from various sources including the World Bank Enterprise Survey and several sources from within India (Indiastat.com, NCAER State Investment Potential Index, India Innovation Index). The World Bank Enterprise Survey provides firm-level data while state-level data were obtained from the other reputable sources in India. The data were analyzed using logistic regression and multi-level modeling, given that firms are nested within states, thus, we can simultaneously model the micro and macro levels to assess the relevance of the regional context. The results of this study show that regional factors such as regulatory quality, corruption, and rule of law barriers negatively influence innovation in firms that invest in internal R&D to promote innovation. The results also show that regions that devote a higher proportion of their gross domestic product to innovation achieve higher levels of innovation. Further, regions that have higher levels of human capital stock (more skilled workers) and export technology tend to be more innovative. At the firm level, investments in both internal and external R&D and those that have highly experienced managers are more innovative than their peers. These results suggest that governments and policymakers can increase innovative activities of firms by providing a highly skilled labor force, invest heavily in R&D, reduce corruption, regulatory quality, and the rule of law barriers. For firm-level managers, this study indicates that higher levels of managerial capability and greater investments in both internal and external R&D can enhance the technical and innovative capabilities (absorptive capacity) of their firms. This may result in a competitive advantage through increased innovation.

La presente investigación evalúa el efecto de la innovación sobre la productividad laboral mediante el enfoque de Crepon – Duguet – Mairesse (CDM), aplicado a una base de datos panel de empresas manufactureras peruanas. Los resultados revelan que la innovación en procesos y organización permiten una reducción de costos, mientras que la innovación en comercialización un incremento de las ventas, teniendo en ambos casos una mejora de la productividad. No se encuentra un efecto positivo de la innovación en productos. Adicionalmente, se encuentra evidencia de que la inversión en innovación es rentable, por lo que resulta relevante hallar mecanismos y condiciones para impulsarla como motor de crecimiento. Al respecto, se identifica que una mayor apertura comercial extranjera, colaboración entre empresas y acceso a servicios y programas públicos de apoyo a la innovación son factores clave para que una empresa invierta en innovación. / This research assesses the effect of innovation on labor productivity through the Crepon - Duguet - Mairesse (CDM) approach, applied to a panel database of Peruvian manufacturing companies. The results reveal that innovation in processes and organization allows a reduction in costs, while innovation in marketing an increase in sales, in both cases having an improvement in productivity. No positive effect of product innovation is found. Additionally, there is evidence that investment in innovation is profitable, so it is relevant to find mechanisms and conditions to promote it as a growth engine. In this regard, it is identified that greater foreign trade openness, collaboration between companies and access to services and public programs to support innovation are key factors for a company to invest in innovation. / Tesis