Exploring the impact of technological competence development on speed and NPD program performance

With growing levels of competition across industries, technological competence is increasingly viewed as crucial for businesses to maintain their long-term competitive advantage. Although there are many theoretical arguments about how firms' competences can yield competitive advantage and performance improvement, we have a limited understanding of where the capabilities originate in the context of NPD or what kind of product portfolios, internal climate and strategic alignment are required to build them. Moreover, empirical evidence for technological competence development is limited and comes primarily from case studies, anecdotal evidence, and management impressions. Accordingly, this research addresses these gaps by presenting and testing a conceptual model of technological competence development in NPD. This study makes advances in applying a dynamic capability approach to technological competence development in NPD, and investigates the impact of innovative climate, technological alignment, and project portfolio management on technological competence development as well as NPD speed. Moreover, the factors that might influence NPD program performance are also investigated. The analysis, based on data collected from 164 firms, shows that a firm's innovative climate, technological alignment and portfolio management are positively associated with technological competence development. While technological alignment was found to be negatively related to NPD speed, portfolio management and technological competence development were found to have positive effects on speed. However, innovative climate had no significant impact on speed. Moreover, technological competence development and portfolio management were found to be positively related to NPD program performance. Finally, the authors found no support for the relationship between speed and NPD program performance

Technical innovation success in China: The use of innovation mechanisms in Chinese SOEs

Climate for technical innovation has been improving in the past few years in China. This Paper describes a case research related to technical innovation in three Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the manufacturing industry, by applying a Western technical audit tool. The data and findings reveal that the investigated Chinese SOEs have already some mechanisms for innovation in place but there is room for improvement and enhancement with respect to the effect on innovation success. It is also concluded that benchmarking (through the application of the audit tool) may not guarantee improved innovation performance, but it does guide management toward deciding which innovation mechanisms to adopt so as to provide the basics for innovation success. Last but not least we draw the interesting conclusion that in the economy in transition in China, companies with less openness to the market (i.e. with high government involvement), there was a more widespread use of innovation mechanisms. This finding seems to contradict the positive relationship between market focus and innovativeness as suggested in ‘Western’ innovation management theories, and it enriches to a certain extent the theory of transition

Organisational Design and Management Characteristics of New Product Development Systems and (their Interactions with) their Context, Related to Performance, Part 1

Every day, many foreign nationals place their lives in danger for the benefit of the United States while serving with U.S. Armed Forces in hostile environments. In United States v. Ali, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces held that a combat interpreter did not have a substantial connection, as envisioned under United States v. Verdugo- Urquidez, with the United States to entitle the interpreter to Fifth and Sixth Amendment protections. Although the result is likely correct given that U.S. service members prosecuted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) are not entitled to the specific protections which were requested by the interpreter, the Ali decision creates concerns as to how future courts may apply the substantial connection test. Given the constraints the substantial connection test imposes within the military context, the practical emphasis of Boumediene v. Bush, and the interplay between the sufficient nexus and substantial connection tests, this Comment argues that military courts should utilize sufficient nexus factors, in addition to the Boumediene three-part test, when addressing whether foreign nationals are entitled to constitutional protections. Adopting this method would ensure that the connection emphasis of Verdugo-Urquidez is maintained, while also allowing foreign national contractors tried under the UCMJ to have a meaningful analysis into the extent of their connection with the United States