Perceived risks in product innovation projects : development of a risk skeleton

The essence of undertaking a product innovation project is to create or establish something new. Risk taking is an intrinsic part of that process. In today's markets, with heavy competition, advanced technology and tough economic conditions, successful product innovation has become critically important to maintaining and increasing competitive advantage. In consequence, the importance of diagnosing and managing risks throughout the development process has increased accordingly. As risks are inherent to innovation, a strategy based on risk avoidance cannot be a realistic option. So if risks are unavoidable, management must develop an approach that will identify risks at an early stage of the innovation process and develop strategies to manage them. Risk diagnosis and handling should thus be seen as an essential part of successful product innovation management. In the paper a risk assessment framework is introduced for diagnosing risks in product innovation projects. In this framework three domains of innovation risk factors are distinguished: technological risks, organizational risks and business risks. Technological risks, are related to the intended product (components), the production process and production equipment to use and to specific intellectual property issues. Organizational risks, are related to such factors as the way the innovation project is organized and managed and possible external influences from the project environment. Business risks finally, address issues like the impact on the company's brand positioning, consumer and trade acceptance, commercial viability of the new product and possible actions from potential competitors.Traditionally, the scale of any risk has been defined as depending on its likelihood of occurrence and the magnitude of the consequence if it does occur. In the paper, we introduce a conceptual framework for diagnosing risks in product innovation projects. We propose that the true nature of a project risk is not only determined by the likelihood of its occurrence and the consequence if it does occur, but also on the perceived ability or inability to influence the risk factor within time and resource limits. Since many technological and organizational factors interact in an innovation process, they should all together be carefully considered in a structured way. We develop a risk skeleton for product innovation within a world-scale operating consumer goods company. Based on data from 114 in-depth interviews and 8 breakthrough projects, a risk skeleton consisting of 12 main risk categories and 142 connected critical innovation issues are identified. We conclude the paper with a discussion of the use of the risk skeleton as a risk assessment tool

Perceived risks in product innovation projects : development of a risk skeleton

The essence of undertaking a product innovation project is to create or establish something new. Risk taking is an intrinsic part of that process. In today's markets, with heavy competition, advanced technology and tough economic conditions, successful product innovation has become critically important to maintaining and increasing competitive advantage. In consequence, the importance of diagnosing and managing risks throughout the development process has increased accordingly. As risks are inherent to innovation, a strategy based on risk avoidance cannot be a realistic option. So if risks are unavoidable, management must develop an approach that will identify risks at an early stage of the innovation process and develop strategies to manage them. Risk diagnosis and handling should thus be seen as an essential part of successful product innovation management. In the paper a risk assessment framework is introduced for diagnosing risks in product innovation projects. In this framework three domains of innovation risk factors are distinguished: technological risks, organizational risks and business risks. Technological risks, are related to the intended product (components), the production process and production equipment to use and to specific intellectual property issues. Organizational risks, are related to such factors as the way the innovation project is organized and managed and possible external influences from the project environment. Business risks finally, address issues like the impact on the company's brand positioning, consumer and trade acceptance, commercial viability of the new product and possible actions from potential competitors.Traditionally, the scale of any risk has been defined as depending on its likelihood of occurrence and the magnitude of the consequence if it does occur. In the paper, we introduce a conceptual framework for diagnosing risks in product innovation projects. We propose that the true nature of a project risk is not only determined by the likelihood of its occurrence and the consequence if it does occur, but also on the perceived ability or inability to influence the risk factor within time and resource limits. Since many technological and organizational factors interact in an innovation process, they should all together be carefully considered in a structured way. We develop a risk skeleton for product innovation within a world-scale operating consumer goods company. Based on data from 114 in-depth interviews and 8 breakthrough projects, a risk skeleton consisting of 12 main risk categories and 142 connected critical innovation issues are identified. We conclude the paper with a discussion of the use of the risk skeleton as a risk assessment tool

An empirical investigation into the antecedents of knowledge dissemination at the strategic business unit level

The development of new products requires not only the continuous generation and acquisition of knowledge, but also the continuous dissemination of knowledge. New product development is a complex and multifunctional process that requires cross-functional input and effective coordination among specialized functional areas. However, the dissemination of knowledge does not always happen spontaneously. People with a technical background are often highly individualistic and do not naturally share knowledge. So, at least in a technical environment, the dissemination of knowledge must be fostered by the organization. In management research, particularly on technology and innovation management, there has been an explosion of interest in enhancing communication in new product development. The facilitating factors this research identifies would seem intuitively useful in enhancing knowledge dissemination; however, most of this research does not refer to knowledge dissemination explicitly, and these enhancing factors have not been empirically tested for this specific use. Research on knowledge and its management has not given much attention to the way knowledge in an organization is generated and disseminated, and the factors that can facilitate these processes. If such factors are mentioned, they are not empirically tested and their relative impact is not addressed. In this study we identified important factors in enhancing knowledge dissemination, validated the factors empirically, and determined their relative impact. We focused on technological knowledge, not on the individual level, but on the firm level. We deduced 17 potential facilitating factors from management research. After in-depth interviews executed at IBM, Philips, Microsoft, Motorola, Sony, Intel, and Merck, we made a selection of these factors on the basis of their perceived applicability by practitioners. In the end, 11 factors remained and these were empirically tested in 277 US high-technology firms, at the strategic business unit level. The results indicate that individual commitment to the firm, a long-term perspective on R&D, organizational crises, and the availability of lead user and supplier networks facilitate knowledge dissemination, while organization redundancy impedes it. Other potential factors, such as the use of information technologies, appear to be non-significant

Information technology, knowledge processes, and innovation success

Despite the obvious linkage between information technologies (IT) and knowledge processes and the apparent strategic importance of both, little research has done to explicitly examine how, if at all, IT and knowledge processes affect firm outcomes. The purpose of this study is to bridge this important gap and investigate whether knowledge processes mediate the relationship between IT and performance. An empirical test of research hypotheses involves collecting data from 277 high-technology firms. The results support our proposed mediating model, which provides a more complete understanding than heretofore of the IT-performance process. Our study concludes with a discussion of its implications for both IT design and knowledge management

Uptake and transformation of steroid estrogens as emerging contaminants influence plant development

Steroid estrogens are emerging contaminants of concern due to their devastating effects on reproduction and development in animals and humans at very low concentrations. The increasing steroid estrogen in the environment all over the world contrasts very few studies for potential impacts on plant development as a result of estrogen uptake. This study evaluated the uptake, transformation and effects of estradiol (17β-E2) and ethinyl estradiol (EE2) (0.1–1000 μg L−1) on lettuce. Uptake increased in leaves and roots in a dose-dependent manner, and roots were the major organ in which most of the estrogen was deposited. The transformation of estrogens to major metabolite and their further reverse biotransformation in lettuce tissue was identified. At low concentrations (0.1 and 50 μg L−1) estrogens resulted in enhanced photosynthetic pigments, root growth and shoot biomass. Application of higher concentrations of estrogens (10 mg L−1) significantly reduced total root growth and development. This was accompanied by increased levels of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and malondialdehyde (MDA), and activities of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX). Taken together, these findings suggest that at low concentrations estrogens may biostimulate growth and primary metabolism of lettuce, while at elevated levels they have adverse effects

Preliminary Design of Reactive Distillation Columns

A procedure that combines feasibility analysis, synthesis and design of reactive distillation columns is introduced. The main interest of this methodology lies on a progressive introduction of the process complexity. From minimal information concerning the physicochemical properties of the system, three steps lead to the design of the unit and the specification of its operating conditions. Most of the methodology exploits and enriches approaches found in the literature. Each step is described and our contribution is underlined. Its application is currently limited to equilibrium reactive systems where degree of freedom is equal to 2 or less than 2. This methodology which provides a reliable initialization point for the optimization of the process has been applied with success to different synthesis. The production of methyl-tert-butyl-ether (MTBE) and methyl acetate are presented as examples

EGAM Induced by Energetic-electrons and Nonlinear Interactions among EGAM, BAEs and Tearing Modes in a Toroidal Plasma

In this letter, it is reported that the first experimental results are associated with the GAM induced by energetic electrons (eEGAM) in HL-2A Ohmic plasma. The energetic-electrons are generated by parallel electric fields during magnetic reconnection associated with tearing mode (TM). The eEGAM localizes in the core plasma, i.e. in the vicinity of q=2 surface, and is very different from one excited by the drift-wave turbulence in the edge plasma. The analysis indicated that the eEGAM is provided with the magnetic components, whose intensities depend on the poloidal angles, and its mode numbers are jm/nj=2/0. Further, there exist intense nonlinear interactions among eEGAM, BAEs and strong tearing modes (TMs). These new findings shed light on the underlying physics mechanism for the excitation of the low frequency (LF) Alfv\'enic and acoustic uctuations.Comment: 5 pages,4 figure

Quantum Ferromagnetism and Phase Transitions in Double-Layer Quantum Hall Systems

Double layer quantum Hall systems have interesting properties associated with interlayer correlations. At $\nu =1/m$ where $m$ is an odd integer they exhibit spontaneous symmetry breaking equivalent to that of spin $1/2$ easy-plane ferromagnets, with the layer degree of freedom playing the role of spin. We explore the rich variety of quantum and finite temperature phase transitions in these systems. In particular, we show that a magnetic field oriented parallel to the layers induces a highly collective commensurate-incommensurate phase transition in the magnetic order.Comment: 4 pages, REVTEX 3.0, IUCM93-013, 1 FIGURE, hardcopy available from: [email protected]

Partial Wave Analysis of J/ψ→γ(K+K−π+π−)J/\psi \to \gamma (K^+K^-\pi^+\pi^-)

BES data on $J/\psi \to \gamma (K^+K^-\pi^+\pi^-)$ are presented. The $K^*\bar K^*$ contribution peaks strongly near threshold. It is fitted with a broad $0^{-+}$ resonance with mass $M = 1800 \pm 100$ MeV, width $\Gamma = 500 \pm 200$ MeV. A broad $2^{++}$ resonance peaking at 2020 MeV is also required with width $\sim 500$ MeV. There is further evidence for a $2^{-+}$ component peaking at 2.55 GeV. The non-$K^*\bar K^*$ contribution is close to phase space; it peaks at 2.6 GeV and is very different from $K^{*}\bar{K^{*}}$.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures, 1 table, Submitted to PL