Management of knowledge involved in the new product development (NPD) projects is critical to the success of firms competing in environments that require rapid innovation. Unfortunately, many firms lack an understanding of how to develop knowledge management (KM) strategies that drive successful outcomes. In this thesis I develop a rich and multifaceted understanding of how KM strategies drive successful NPD outcomes. I examine KM strategies for NPD at two different decision making levels. First, I consider the how the manager of a single NPD project should pursue knowledge acquisition for its product and process design teams and knowledge transfer between the teams over time throughout the development project. The ability to develop and integrate knowledge drives the net revenue earned at the product release time. I show that two different dynamic KM strategies arise: a delay strategy and a front-loading strategy. I characterize drivers of each strategy and the drivers of the market entry time strategy. In contrast to the deterministic approach above, I introduce a stochastic model. The manager of a single NPD project maximizes expected net revenue which reflects the effectiveness of product and process development. I consider the effect of rework that occurs as a result of the KM activities. Although manager's strategies for knowledge creation satisfy either the delay or front-loading strategy the drivers of each strategy in this model are substantially different from those in the first model reflecting the stochastic nature of the project and the effect of rework. In a third model, I consider the strategic level question of how a firm engages in relationships with its competitor regarding the sharing or transfer of knowledge resources for NPD. I consider two cooperative mechanisms: knowledge transfer when both firms ultimately enter the market separately as competitors versus knowledge sharing when both firms enter the market together following the joint development of a new product. In this thesis, I develop the KM strategies followed by the firms for each cooperation mechanism. In addition, I analyze the impact of firm and market characteristics on firms decision to whether to cooperate or not, and other KM decisions.

The motion picture industry is characterized by a high degree of artistic innovation that revolves around the project rather than the firm. Success is elusive and firms operate in an environment of symmetrical ignorance, that is, high levels of demand uncertainty as well as product uncertainty. This makes managing the commercial development of new products difficult. The study of the factors that drive success in new product development have been significant, however, little attention has been given to experiential and creatively driven products such as motion pictures. While a number of studies have attempted to find accurate means to predict performance in motion pictures, most of these have met with limited results, yet few, if any, have linked the knowledge gained from the study of new product development with the industry. Similarly, the impact of market orientation on firm performance and new product success has been the focus of much empirical research since the late 1980's and has been shown to be significantly associated with new product performance. Here, the marketing literature and the NPD literature converge, yet few studies have attempted to study how the same concepts might apply in motion picture production. The primary focus of this study was to explore the feasibility of the NPD and market orientation literature in the development of successful motion picture and whether or not similar application of this knowledge is tenable. As such, the study centers around two broad research issues: RESEARCH ISSUE 1: How can Australian films perform better? In other words, what are the factors that drive success in Australian motion picture production? RESEARCH ISSUE 2: What is the role of the audience in the development of successful Motion Pictures in Australia? Or in other words, do Australian filmmakers need to be "close" to their audience (market oriented) in order to attain higher levels of success. Australia has been used as a context primarily due to the accessibility of data. This represents a relatively new setting for the study of NPD and market orientation and a new industry. Therefore, an exploratory study was designed which utilized in-depth interviews with experts from three sectors of the Australian motion picture industry. This was deemed to be the best approach given the dearth of previous studies in this setting and the fact that the majority of past industry studies have been quantitative. The findings reveal some support for a significant relationship between success and new product development activities such as product advantage, market orientation, up-front homework, early product definition, cross-functional and coordinated teams, and launch. Product advantage, however, is better understood in terms of a movie's marketability and playability, that is, the perceived superiority of its attributes before and after its viewing. A market orientation is likely to be more effective in the motion picture industry when it helps a firm lead its customers rather than encourages a firm to be led by them. Finally, despite previous studies in the Australian industry, the number of scripts in development is unlikely to matter. What matters is that the scripts that are ready to move into production are evaluated fully and that full support is provided to those that make it through in order to give them the best chance for success.

Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) face enormous financial risk when embarking on a new product launch. SMEs are less likely to implement more formal risk minimization strategies for new product development (NPD) such as StageGate, often citing reasons of resource constraints or the more prevalent notion that “this stuff doesn’t apply to us”. Two key elements of any such risk minimization strategies are an early emphasis on benchmarking competitors and a thorough study of the attitudes and behaviours of potential customers. The SME’s investment of time and resource in early acquisition of this knowledge is a critical factor for success (Cooper 2001). Armed with this information, the SME is able to adopt a Customer Focused Design (CFD) strategy, whereby the product development effort is remains focused on the external customers wants and needs through all phases. SMEs that are able to satisfy these needs more effectively enjoy an obvious competitive advantage (Matzler and Hinterhuber 1998; Lüthje 2004). SMEs are often challenged by these tasks (Freel 2000; Larsen and Lewis 2007; Owens 2007). They may be overwhelmed by the prospect of expected costs, lack of expertise, and financial pressures to rush to market. Too often the more conventional path is chosen, whereby a solution is proposed, developed and tested in the market to “see if it sticks”. Such methodologies are less effective and subject the SME to increased financial risk. International studies of SMEs attitudes and behaviour towards NPD reveal common challenges of resource limitations, skills deficiencies and organizational issues (Xueli, Soutar et al. 2002; de Jong and Vermeulen 2006; Siu, Lin et al. 2006; Murphy and Ledwith 2007; Owens 2007). New Zealand firms are no exception, and are burdened with similar challenges as their international counterparts. This study aims to propose a simple framework for small firms who wish to acquire knowledge about their target markets and potential customers with limited time and resources. The framework enables SMEs to incorporate customer focused design principles into their product definition phase, and better orient themselves to the consumer marketplace. The study makes use of a New Zealand based case study to evaluate how the framework may be employed to identify quick and inexpensive efforts that can reproduce some elements of more sophisticated CFD and benchmarking methods. The obtained results are incorporated into a product design specification and embodied into a physical prototype to further illuminate the process. In addition to the primary area of study, prospects for new adjacent product lines and new potential markets for future development are also gained from the research.

Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) face enormous financial risk when embarking on a new product launch. SMEs are less likely to implement more formal risk minimization strategies for new product development (NPD) such as StageGate, often citing reasons of resource constraints or the more prevalent notion that “this stuff doesn’t apply to us”. Two key elements of any such risk minimization strategies are an early emphasis on benchmarking competitors and a thorough study of the attitudes and behaviours of potential customers. The SME’s investment of time and resource in early acquisition of this knowledge is a critical factor for success (Cooper 2001). Armed with this information, the SME is able to adopt a Customer Focused Design (CFD) strategy, whereby the product development effort is remains focused on the external customers wants and needs through all phases. SMEs that are able to satisfy these needs more effectively enjoy an obvious competitive advantage (Matzler and Hinterhuber 1998; Lüthje 2004). SMEs are often challenged by these tasks (Freel 2000; Larsen and Lewis 2007; Owens 2007). They may be overwhelmed by the prospect of expected costs, lack of expertise, and financial pressures to rush to market. Too often the more conventional path is chosen, whereby a solution is proposed, developed and tested in the market to “see if it sticks”. Such methodologies are less effective and subject the SME to increased financial risk. International studies of SMEs attitudes and behaviour towards NPD reveal common challenges of resource limitations, skills deficiencies and organizational issues (Xueli, Soutar et al. 2002; de Jong and Vermeulen 2006; Siu, Lin et al. 2006; Murphy and Ledwith 2007; Owens 2007). New Zealand firms are no exception, and are burdened with similar challenges as their international counterparts. This study aims to propose a simple framework for small firms who wish to acquire knowledge about their target markets and potential customers with limited time and resources. The framework enables SMEs to incorporate customer focused design principles into their product definition phase, and better orient themselves to the consumer marketplace. The study makes use of a New Zealand based case study to evaluate how the framework may be employed to identify quick and inexpensive efforts that can reproduce some elements of more sophisticated CFD and benchmarking methods. The obtained results are incorporated into a product design specification and embodied into a physical prototype to further illuminate the process. In addition to the primary area of study, prospects for new adjacent product lines and new potential markets for future development are also gained from the research.

Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) face enormous financial risk when embarking on a new product launch. SMEs are less likely to implement more formal risk minimization strategies for new product development (NPD) such as StageGate, often citing reasons of resource constraints or the more prevalent notion that “this stuff doesn’t apply to us”. Two key elements of any such risk minimization strategies are an early emphasis on benchmarking competitors and a thorough study of the attitudes and behaviours of potential customers. The SME’s investment of time and resource in early acquisition of this knowledge is a critical factor for success (Cooper 2001). Armed with this information, the SME is able to adopt a Customer Focused Design (CFD) strategy, whereby the product development effort is remains focused on the external customers wants and needs through all phases. SMEs that are able to satisfy these needs more effectively enjoy an obvious competitive advantage (Matzler and Hinterhuber 1998; Lüthje 2004). SMEs are often challenged by these tasks (Freel 2000; Larsen and Lewis 2007; Owens 2007). They may be overwhelmed by the prospect of expected costs, lack of expertise, and financial pressures to rush to market. Too often the more conventional path is chosen, whereby a solution is proposed, developed and tested in the market to “see if it sticks”. Such methodologies are less effective and subject the SME to increased financial risk. International studies of SMEs attitudes and behaviour towards NPD reveal common challenges of resource limitations, skills deficiencies and organizational issues (Xueli, Soutar et al. 2002; de Jong and Vermeulen 2006; Siu, Lin et al. 2006; Murphy and Ledwith 2007; Owens 2007). New Zealand firms are no exception, and are burdened with similar challenges as their international counterparts. This study aims to propose a simple framework for small firms who wish to acquire knowledge about their target markets and potential customers with limited time and resources. The framework enables SMEs to incorporate customer focused design principles into their product definition phase, and better orient themselves to the consumer marketplace. The study makes use of a New Zealand based case study to evaluate how the framework may be employed to identify quick and inexpensive efforts that can reproduce some elements of more sophisticated CFD and benchmarking methods. The obtained results are incorporated into a product design specification and embodied into a physical prototype to further illuminate the process. In addition to the primary area of study, prospects for new adjacent product lines and new potential markets for future development are also gained from the research.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Handelshögsk., 2003. / Härtill 6 uppsatser.

Submitted by Cristiane Oliveira (cristiane.oliveira@fgv.br) on 2011-05-27T19:33:31Z No. of bitstreams: 1 68070200637.pdf: 3015909 bytes, checksum: 818e50c3b1c5fa166cfe49f931246fab (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Suzinei Teles Garcia Garcia(suzinei.garcia@fgv.br) on 2011-05-27T19:35:19Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 68070200637.pdf: 3015909 bytes, checksum: 818e50c3b1c5fa166cfe49f931246fab (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Suzinei Teles Garcia Garcia(suzinei.garcia@fgv.br) on 2011-05-27T19:35:56Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 68070200637.pdf: 3015909 bytes, checksum: 818e50c3b1c5fa166cfe49f931246fab (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2011-05-27T19:53:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 68070200637.pdf: 3015909 bytes, checksum: 818e50c3b1c5fa166cfe49f931246fab (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-05-18 / This study will collaborate by bringing some detailed analysis and findings on a special case study of a discontinuous product development process, trying to answer how the discontinuous product development process takes place and the main factors that influence this process. Additionally, it tried to explore some explanations for the difficulties generally faced by the companies to sustain innovation. The case is about the Motorola cell phone RAZR V3, launched in 2004. RAZR V3 was noted by industry experts as game-changing feat of design and engineering, selling more than 110 million units by end of 2008 and recognized as one of the fastest selling products in the industry. The study uses a single case methodology, which is appropriate given the access to a phenomenon that happened inside corporate dominium and it is not easily accessed for academic studies, besides being a rare case of success in the cellular phone industry. In order to magnify the understanding of the phenomenon, the exploration was extended to contrast the RAZR development process and the standard product development process in Motorola. Additionally, it was integrated a longitudinal reflection of the company product development evolution until the next breakthrough product hitting the cellular phone industry. The result of the analysis shows that discontinuous products do not fit well traditional product development process (in this case, stage-gate). This result reinforces the results obtained on previous studies of discontinuous product development conducted by other authors. Therefore, it is clear that the dynamics of discontinuous product development are different from the continuous product development, requiring different treatment to succeed. Moreover, this study highlighted the importance of the management influence in all the phases of the process as one of the most important factors, suggesting a key component to be carefully observed in future researches. Some other findings of the study that were considered very important for a discontinuous product development process: have champions (who believe and protect the project) and not only one champion; create a right atmosphere to make flow the creative process; question paradigms to create discontinuous products; simple guiding light to focus the team; company culture that accepts and knows how to deal with risks; and undoubtedly, have a company strategy that understands the different dynamics of continuous and discontinuous product development processes and treat them accordingly.

As pequenas empresas vêm ganhando destaque no contexto econômico brasileiro dado o importante papel que desempenham. Dentre estas empresas, destacam-se as pequenas empresas de base tecnológica (PEBTs), as quais são caracterizadas por focalizar a estratégia competitiva na inovação, participar ativamente das mudanças tecnológicas e atuar como fornecedores em diferentes cadeias produtivas. O processo de desenvolvimento de produtos (PDP) representa o conjunto de atividades pela qual as informações sobre o mercado são transformadas em requisitos de produto. É um processo complexo e com um elevado grau de incertezas. Grande parte da literatura sobre o tema está relacionada com o contexto das grandes empresas, entretanto, uma série de particularidades torna a realidade das pequenas empresas bastante diferente. Sendo assim, o objetivo deste trabalho é explorar as particularidades do PDP das PEBTs. Foi conduzido um levantamento dos fatores críticos de sucesso de PEBTs através de uma pesquisa qualitativa. Na sequência, foi realizado um mapeamento de artigos publicados em periódicos internacionais, entre os anos de 2002 e 2011, sobre a velocidade do PDP. Por fim, foi efetuado um estudo quantitativo para identificar associações entre as melhores práticas de gestão e os problemas mais frequentes encontrado no PDP destas empresas. / Small businesses are gaining prominence in the brazilian economic context given the important role they play. Among these firms, there are the small high technology companies, which are characterized by the competitive strategy focused on innovation, by the actively participation in technological changes and as suppliers in different production chains. The new product development (NPD) is a set of activities in which information about the market are transformed into product requirements. It is a complex process with a high degree of uncertainty. Most part of the literature on the topic is related to the large companies context, however, a variety of particularities makes the reality of small firms quite different. Therefore, the aim of this work is to explore the particularities of the NPD small high technology firms. It was conducted a survey of critical success factors through qualitative research. Further, a research mapping the articles published in international journals, between the years of 2002 and 2011, about the speed of the NPD. Finally, a quantitative study was conducted to identify associations between best management practices and most common problems found in the NPD of these companies.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:51:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissMMO.pdf: 1788461 bytes, checksum: c91e5052b5a23718a605943ed35a8163 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-08-09 / Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais / The capacity of introducing new products in the market has been considered as an important factor for companies competitiveness. This is the reality of the food industry that adopts technological and organizational changes in their productive processes, the materials supply and the products distribution, mainly for products differentiation. These changes evidence the suppliers and distributors growing to the food processed supply chain. Then, the importance of this study: its contribution for the understanding of the supplier s paper in the new beverage development process. Besides, the researched theme has relevance considering the shortage of works that analyze the relationship of ingredients suppliers in the food chain. It is had as presupposition, based on the literature, that the supplier involvement in the product development process propitiates time and cost reduction in the product development, quality improvement of the acquired materials and larger access facility and technology application. The analysis of the suppliers involvement in the supply chain focused in their participation in the buyer s new product development process, narrowing to the ingredients suppliers. This work was developed with multiple cases studies in four companies of the segments of no alcoholic drinks (fresh juice and powdered soft drinks) and drunk milky and a common ingredient supplier to those companies. Those segments were chosen due to the great growth of the demand by these products, given the appeal of their functional (health) and convenience (comfort). It was observed, mainly, that the responsibility degree of the supplier in the product development is function of its technical competence (knowledge and experience). It was also verified that the supplier s participation that happens in the initial phases of the new beverage process development, facilitates the access and technology application in the food product development process. / A capacidade de introduzir novos produtos no mercado tem sido considerada como importante fator de competitividade das empresas. Esta é a realidade da indústria de alimentos que adota mudanças tecnológicas e organizacionais em seus processos produtivos, no suprimento de seus materiais e na distribuição de seus produtos, principalmente para diferenciação de produtos. Estas mudanças evidenciam a crescente integração dos fornecedores (a montante) e de distribuidores (a jusante) à cadeia de suprimentos de processadoras de alimentos. Daí importância deste estudo: sua contribuição para a compreensão do papel do fornecedor no processo de desenvolvimento de novas bebidas. Além disso, o tema pesquisado tem relevância considerando a escassez de trabalhos que analisam a relação de fornecedores de ingredientes na cadeia de alimentos. Tem-se como pressuposto, baseado na literatura, que o envolvimento do fornecedor no processo de desenvolvimento de produto propicia redução de tempo e de custos no desenvolvimento de produtos, melhora da qualidade dos materiais adquiridos e maior facilidade de acesso e aplicação de tecnologia. A análise do envolvimento de fornecedores na cadeia de suprimento focou na sua participação no processo de desenvolvimento de novos produtos junto ao cliente industrial, restringindo-se aos fornecedores de ingredientes. Este trabalho foi desenvolvido com estudo de múltiplos casos em quatro empresas dos segmentos de bebidas não alcoólicas (sucos pronto para beber e refresco em pó) e bebidas lácteas e um fornecedor de ingrediente comum às empresas. Esses segmentos foram escolhidos devido ao grande crescimento da demanda por estes produtos, dado o apelo de serem funcionais (saúde) e de conveniência (comodidade). Observou-se, principalmente, que o grau de responsabilidade do fornecedor no desenvolvimento de produto é função de sua competência técnica (conhecimento e experiência). Constatou-se também que a participação do fornecedor que ocorre nas fases iniciais do processo de desenvolvimento de novas bebidas, facilita o acesso e aplicação de tecnologia no processo de desenvolvimento de produtos alimentícios.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-08T14:53:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 4041538 bytes, checksum: 728410878250239ee3b06a2310602806 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-10-08 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / In Brazil, especially in Northeastern region, the wood used in civil construction, is almost all from Amazonian forest. The reduction of its consumption will be an environmental benefit. The utilization of waste plastics that are randomly thrown everywhere, would also be beneficial to the environment. In this work, we tried to verify the technical viability of a product made from waste plastic as frechal for housing, replacing the wooden parts commonly used for such. A literature review on single-family construction, plastic material and new product development was initially made. Material properties such as density, compressive strength, flexural strength, resistance to concentrated loads were studied. The results showed that the tested product, although flexible, it applies well in frechal function because there it works continuously against the wall top. / A redução no campo da construção civil do consumo de madeira, que no Brasil, e sobretudo no Nordeste brasileiro, é quase toda originária do que resta da floresta amazônica, seria um benefício ambiental considerável para o país. O aproveitamento de resíduos plásticos que são lançados aleatoriamente por toda parte, também seria de muito valor para o meio ambiente. Neste trabalho, procurou-se verificar a viabilidade técnica do emprego de um produto feito com resíduos de plástico, desempenhando o papel de Frechal, para emprego em habitações, em substituição às peças de madeira comumente usadas para tal. Foi inicialmente feita uma revisão bibliográfica sobre construções unifamiliares, material plástico e desenvolvimento de novos produtos. Foram estudadas as propriedades do material tais como densidade, resistência à compressão, resistência à flexão, resistência a cargas concentradas. Os resultados mostraram que o produto testado, apesar de ser flexível, aplica-se bem na função de frechal, porque ali trabalha apoiado continuamente na parede.