Theoretical lenses and domain definitions in innovation research

Purpose - This study aims to scrutinize the meaning and domain of "innovation" by providing an extensive theory-driven review of the new product literature in marketing, management and engineering. The overall objective is to classify the recent literature on innovation and to illustrate theoretically derived discourses in the study of innovation. Design/methodology/approach - The paper organizes this literature by providing typologies of discourses, which define innovation. Based on our review of 238 articles from a comprehensive set of journals publishing innovation research, we propose a theoretical divide in the innovation literature. Findings - Theoretical underpinnings, namely adoption/diffusion theory versus the resource-based/contingency theory view, form one dimension of the typology. Jointly considered with the other two dimensions - level of analysis and customer vs firm perspective - a framework is formed of the different discourses and conceptualisations in the innovation literature. Originality/value - Past researchers have always proposed a definition of innovation that was embedded in a typology of innovation types; in contrast, the paper allows the theoretical discourses to unveil meanings of innovation and associated constructs (and hence it starts with theory specification, not construct definition). It argues for starting with theory as the basic division and proposes a theory driven typology. Through its theoretical genesis, the paper wishes to create a shared understanding among academics and practitioners of what constitutes innovation and constructs within the related theoretical net. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited

How elephants learn the new dance when headquarters changes the music: Three case studies on innovation strategy change

Does a product innovation strategy change at company headquarters resonate the same way at different strategic business units (SBUs)? What factors play a role in differing implementation of new innovation strategies? A collective case study was conducted at three SBUs of an international conglomerate to investigate why the SBUs implement the same corporate innovation charter in vastly different manners, both in strategic processes and in organizing for new product development (NPD). This study's contribution to the literature is twofold. First, it develops initial insights into how three SBUs implement diverse SBU-level innovation strategies in response to the same product innovation charter. Second, it extends the findings of previous studies on NPD strategy by presenting how three SBUs reshape their structure and resource allocation, changing various dimensions of their innovation strategy while also fitting the competitive structure in their individual, non-high-tech, traditional manufacturing industries as they respond to the corporate mandate. In this study, several factors were observed to influence a firm when formulating a new product innovation strategy. First, past performance and strategic typology constrain the innovation paths available. Poor past performance limits available resources whereas the strategic typology managers use limits their ability to recognize other opportunities. Next, capacity constraints provide a catalyst in moving toward process improvements. Third, management involvement in the day-to-day implementation of change is necessary to ensure that the new processes are implemented. Finally, corporate performance metrics are quite influential in how SBUs adapt to change. This study identifies that even with the immense power corporate has over these SBUs, some still dance to their own tune, ignorant of their deviation from the corporate mandate because the metric is not sufficient to detect these deviations. This study suggests the use of multiple types of metrics to minimize the likelihood of nearsighted responses to innovation charter changes. © 2008 Product Development & Management Association

Artificial neural network decision support systems for new product development project selection

The authors extend and develop an artificial neural network decision support system and demonstrate how it can guide managers when they make complex new product development decisions. The authors use data from 612 projects to compare this new method with traditional methods for predicting various success outcomes for new product projects

The Effects on Launch Execution and Timing on New Product Performance

There is a substantial literature on the product development process but comparatively little on the impact of lean launch execution and launch timing on new product performance. Given the costs and risks involved in product commercialization, this research gap is surprising. Delays in product launch can lead to poor channel cooperation and coordination, missed market opportunities, and lost competitive opportunities, yet timing of the launch has not been included in many reported studies. In addition, managers at many firms have prioritized supply chain activities such as integration of logistics with other functional areas in order to obtain cost efficiencies and accelerate time to market; the role of lean launch execution in improving new product performance has also received little research attention. In this study, we build a conceptual model in which lean launch, launch timing, and quality of marketing effort are modeled as precursors to new product performance; we assess the role of market orientation and cross-functional integration in lean launch execution as well as indirect and direct effects of launch timing on performance. We empirically test our model with a sample of 183 U.S.-based corporate managers actively involved in new product launch. We find evidence that execution of a lean launch and effective marketing significantly improve new product performance, and that correct launch timing positively moderates the effect of lean launch on performance. These variables therefore should be carefully considered by managers of new product processes

The impact of industry environment on early market entry decisions by B2B managers in the U.S. and Japan

Managers form simplified mental models to cope with market environment uncertainties and to process information. A critical decision is whether to enter a high-potential market early. Large innovation and development investments involved in this decision increase uncertainty. We examine the importance ascribed by U.S. and Japanese managers to competitive forces when making early market entry decisions. We expect that the competitive forces will have different effects on the likelihood of early market entry in the U.S. versus Japan due to cultural and business environment differences, and we thereby develop several propositions. We develop a decision-making exercise simulating early market entry decisions, and tested our propositions with managers in medium to large business-to-business (B2B) firms from both countries. We assessed impacts of the competitive market forces on entry strategy selection via relative weights, repeated-measures analysis of variance, and frequency analysis. Our findings revealed differences in the mental models of Japanese and U.S. managers. Buyer power had a larger effect on the decision to make an early market entry for Japanese managers, while threat of new firm entry had a larger effect for U.S. managers; these findings were consistent with our propositions. We also found several areas of agreement between U.S. and Japanese managers. We conclude with theoretical implications and recommendations to B2B management

Launch Timing and Launch Activities Proficiency as Antecedents to New Product Performance

Accelerating time to market is widely viewed as a contributor to increased new product sales and profit performance. The new product literature also agrees that better performance of the activities related to product launch should result in improved product performance. Relatively less understood, however, is the important role played by launch timing. That is, the firm must choose the correct moment to launch the product with respect to the objectives of top management, distributors, and customers. The emerging literature on this topic suggests a complex relationship between launch timing, launch activities, and new product performance. Based on the literature on market orientation, time-to-market acceleration, launch timing, project management leadership, and cross-functional integration, we develop a conceptual model of new product performance. We empirically test the model using data from US-based product managers. We find that market orientation, cross-functional integration, and leadership style are significant antecedents to timing and speed to market as well as to launching activities proficiency, both of which lead to improved new product performance. We conclude with managerial recommendations and implications

Your new product development (NPD) is only as good as your process: An exploratory analysis of new NPD process design and implementation

Given industry competitiveness, how do firms' new product development (NPD) process designs differ when responding to an innovation mandate? How do NPD design elements differ across firms when implementing NPD processes? These design elements are strategic business unit (SBU) senior management involvement, business case content, customer interactions, and cross-functional integration. What are the consequences of different combinations of NPD process design elements for innovation productivity? We explore these questions via a collective case study of newly implemented NPD process designs at three different SBUs of a major US-based international conglomerate, 1 year after receiving the mandate to grow through innovation. Our analysis suggests that industry competitiveness and firm characteristics influence the NPD process design as SBUs employ distinct combinations of NPD design elements. The differential emphasis on design elements leads to variation in process design and divergence in innovation productivity. © 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Expecting marketing activities and new product launch execution to be different in the U.S. and China: an empirical study

Most new product studies focus on early steps in the process, trying to speed the process steps to market launch, or trying to control costs via staging and other efficiency actions to increase operations efficiency. Few studies examine the impact of commercialization and launch activities of marketers, the effects of marketing activities on launch execution and timing, and the impact of marketing and launch activities on new product performance. Launch activities are critical in the long term, since they influence the firm’s cash flow for the next five years, the average cash flow generating life of a successful innovative product. Our model explores the effects of marketing and launch activity execution, launch timing, and nature of the product on performance, considering also the SBU’s level of cross-functional integration and market orientation, and levels of channel cooperation. We empirically test the model using new product managers from the U.S. and China, and generate insights into cross cultural differences in marketing conduct, observe the robustness of our model, and provide contextual variations sufficient to reduce frame and sampling biases that haunt the study of innovation success