Giving the customer a voice: A study of market research methods and their perceived effectiveness in NPD

There is a widely held view that a lack of, “…customer understanding,” is one of the main reasons for product failure (Eliashberg et al., 1997, p. 219). This is despite the fact that new product development (NPD) is a crucial business process for many companies. The importance of integrating the voice of the customer (VoC) through market research is well documented (Davis, 1993; Mullins and Sutherland, 1998; Cooper et al., 2002; Flint, 2002; Davilla et al., 2006; Cooper and Edgett, 2008; Cooper and Dreher, 2010; Goffin and Mitchell, 2010). However, not all research methods are well received, for example there are studies that have strongly criticized focus groups, interviews and surveys (e.g. Ulwick, 2002; Goffin et al, 2010; Sandberg, 2002). In particular, a point is made that, “…traditional market research and development approaches proved to be particularly ill-suited to breakthrough products” (Deszca et al, 2010, p613). Therefore, in situations where traditional techniques—interviews and focus groups—are ineffective, the question is which market research techniques are appropriate, particularly for developing breakthrough products? To investigate this, an attempt was made to access the knowledge of market research practitioners from agencies with a reputation for their work on breakthrough NPD. We were surprised to find that this research had not been conducted previously. In order to make it possible for the sample of 24 market research experts identified for this study to share their knowledge, repertory grid technique was used. This psychology based method particularly seeks out tacit knowledge by using indepth interviews. In this case the interviews were conducted with professionals from leading market research agencies in two countries. The resulting data provided two unique insights: they highlighted the attributes of market research methods which made them effective at identifying customers’ needs and they showed how different methods were perceived against these attributes. This article starts with a review of the literature on different methods for conducting market research to identify customer needs. The conclusions from the literature are then used to define the research question. We explain our choice of methodology, including the data collection and analysis approach. Next the key results are presented. Finally, the discussion section identifies the key insights, clarifies the limitations of the research, suggests areas for future research, and draws implications for managers. We conclude that existing research is not aligned with regard to which methods (or combination of methods) are best suited to the various stages of the NPD process. We have set out the challenges and our own intended work in this regard in our section on ‘further research’. Also, the existing literature does not explicitly seek the perceptions of practitioner experts based in market research agencies. This we have started to address, and we acknowledge that further work is required. Although our research in ongoing, it has already yielded the first view of a model of the perceptions of 24 expert market researchers in the UK and Denmark. Based on the explanation of these experts, the model situates a derived set of categories in a manner that reflects the way in which they are inter-linked. We believe that our model begins to deal with the gaps and anomalies in the existing research into VoC methods

Lessons from Tau-Deficient Mice

Both Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are characterized by the deposition of hyperphosphorylated forms of the microtubule-associated protein tau in neurons and/or glia. This unifying pathology led to the umbrella term “tauopathies” for these conditions, also emphasizing the central role of tau in AD and FTD. Generation of transgenic mouse models expressing human tau in the brain has contributed to the understanding of the pathomechanistic role of tau in disease. To reveal the physiological functions of tau in vivo, several knockout mouse strains with deletion of the tau-encoding MAPT gene have been established over the past decade, using different gene targeting constructs. Surprisingly, when initially introduced tau knockout mice presented with no overt phenotype or malformations. The number of publications using tau knockout mice has recently markedly increased, and both behavioural changes and motor deficits have been identified in aged mice of certain strains. Moreover, tau knockout mice have been instrumental in identifying novel functions of tau, both in cultured neurons and in vivo. Importantly, tau knockout mice have significantly contributed to the understanding of the pathophysiological interplay between Aβ and tau in AD. Here, we review the literature that involves tau knockout mice to summarize what we have learned so far from depleting tau in vivo

On the role of technology and innovation leaders when planning or reacting to organisational discontinuities

The Role and Contribution of the Chief Technology Officer The role of the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) came about because of new organisational demands on technology leaders in the 1980s. The initial research objective of this dissertation was to provide a clear scope of activities (a remit) for the CTO role. However, the analysis did not support a generic description for the role. Therefore, the approach taken explores CTO perspectives on technology management priorities when the technology context changes. There is limited literature on the role and contribution of the CTO per se. The resulting gap in the knowledge about the role is amplified by a wide variety of research methods and academic perspectives. From a theoretical point of view, the existing research tends to focus in isolation on the work being done, the working context or the worker (i.e. the CTO). There are studies that consider how the working context is changing, and studies that consider the work of the CTO, for example, the technology management priorities. There are still other studies that consider the attributes of the CTO. In this dissertation, these three perspectives - the working context, the work and the worker - are investigated in an integrated way using a data collection technique called ‘personal role mapping’ that is based on cognitive mapping. The ‘personal role mapping’ approach has been developed as part of this work. The evidence collected and analysed shows that the role of the CTO is highly idiosyncratic. This is because the CTO role changes as the organisation adapts in order to compete. Also, the role differs from one industry to another and between organisations within the same industry. To help deal with these variations, a CTO/Context Framework has been derived for use in conjunction with ‘technology transition points’. The CTO/Context Framework has 20 sub-elements that support 6 primary elements including, ‘technology management infrastructure’, ‘technology entry/exit points’, ‘technology business case & funding’, ‘operational improvement’, ‘people management’ and ‘technology business model & strategy’. The CTO can review each element with related sub-elements in anticipation or at the point of a ‘technology transition’. This model for the CTO role is proposed as an alternative to a generic ‘job description’ (remit) for the CTO role. It is intended to be used as a platform for planning and decision-making. Together, the framework and the research approach for mapping an individual’s role are offered as a unique contribution to knowledge

Tacit knowledge development in a new product development teaching simulation

This paper describes our evaluation of whether participants perceive that they have developed new tacit knowledge during a New Product Development simulation. We assess this by asking the participants their key lessons learnt during the exercise, followed by the perceived level of ‘tacitness' of those lessons. We find that participants do not perceive these lessons learnt to be tacit. A second questionnaire finds that participants believe that the practical experience gained during the simulation would improve the performance of a subsequent project, but that extended classroom teaching would not. This discrepancy is thought to highlight the lack of a suitable measure for tacitness. Future studies should focus on experience variables rather than codification variables when assessing the development of tacit knowledge in teaching activiti

The tumor suppressor MIR139 is silenced by POLR2M to promote AML oncogenesis

MIR139 is a tumor suppressor and is commonly silenced in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, the tumor-suppressing activities of miR-139 and molecular mechanisms of MIR139-silencing remain largely unknown. Here, we studied the poorly prognostic MLL-AF9 fusion protein-expressing AML. We show that MLL-AF9 expression in hematopoietic precursors caused epigenetic silencing of MIR139, whereas overexpression of MIR139 inhibited in vitro and in vivo AML outgrowth. We identified novel miR-139 targets that mediate the tumor-suppressing activities of miR-139 in MLL-AF9 AML. We revealed that two enhancer regions control MIR139 expression and found that the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) downstream of MLL-AF9 epigenetically silenced MIR139 in AML. Finally, a genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 knockout screen revealed RNA Polymerase 2 Subunit M (POLR2M) as a novel MIR139-regulatory factor. Our findings elucidate the molecular control of tumor suppressor MIR139 and reveal a role for POLR2M in the MIR139-silencing mechanism, downstream of MLL-AF9 and PRC2 in AML. In addition, we confirmed these findings in human AML cell lines with different oncogenic aberrations, suggesting that this is a more common oncogenic mechanism in AML. Our results may pave the way for new targeted therapy in AML

Challenges and technological approaches for tackling emerging contaminants in drinking and wastewater

In recent decades, emerging contaminants (ECs) have surfaced as one of the key environmental problems threatening ecosystems and public health. Most emerging contaminants are present in low concentrations, and therefore often remain undetected and are also referred to as ‘micropollutants’. Despite this, many ECs raise considerable concerns regarding their impacts on human and environmental health. DEMEAU (Demonstration of promising technologies to address emerging contaminants in water and wastewater), a European Seventh Framework Programme (EU-FP7, 2013-2015) project, aimed to tackle ECs in drinking and wastewater by advancing the uptake of knowledge, prototypes, practices and removal technologies. The project followed a solutions-oriented approach using applied research and demonstration sites, and explored four promising technologies for EC removal and/or degradation: Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR), Hybrid Ceramic Membrane Filtration (HCMF), Automatic Neural Net Control Systems (ANCS) and Advanced Oxidation Techniques (AOT). Furthermore, Bioassays (BA) were investigated as an effect-based monitoring tool. This article shares new findings for each approach and their potential for widespread integration in the drinking- and wastewater sector. Research results from DEMEAU demonstration sites show that opportunities for synergies among these developments offer the most promising and effective methods for tackling ECs in the water sector