Fiona Lettice

Measuring knowledge in the new product development process

Purpose – To present a measurement framework to capture the importance of the use of knowledge within the new product development (NPD) process.Design/methodology/approach – A literature review enabled 200 product development measures to be compiled. These were categorised into six dimensions: stakeholder contribution, operating context, reuse, invention, exploitation, and NPD performance. Four companies applied selected measures and assessed the cube for its ability to improve measurement and management of their NPD process. This process refined the approach. A web‐based questionnaire (with 130 responses) assessed how a wider population perceived their performance and capability to measure performance in each of the six dimensions.Findings – Respondents consider themselves capable of delivering good products and services, but are less confident in their ability to manage and measure knowledge reuse, invention and exploitation activities.Research limitations/implications – Full implementation of the measu...

Environmentally conscious design: matching industry requirements with academic research

Abstract This paper examines academic research in the area of environmentally conscious design and the extent to which this supports industrial practices in the same area. Results are presented from a survey of 20 industrialists and academics conducted in the UK. A number of research areas are highlighted where industry requirements are not being met. Also shown are the areas where academics wish to begin researching, but have not yet managed to gain suitable industrial commitment.

The impact of social capital on mass customisation and product innovation capabilities

Social capital with customers has three dimensions: structural, relational and cognitive capital. We propose a research model on the joint effects of the three dimensions of social capital on mass customisation capability (MCC) and product innovation capability (PIC). The hypotheses are empirically tested using structural equation modelling and data collected from 276 manufacturing firms in China. The results show that the three dimensions of social capital contribute to MCC and PIC development through different mechanisms. In particular, cognitive capital has a significant impact on MCC; relational capital significantly influences PIC; and structural capital indirectly associates with both MCC and PIC. We also find that structural capital enhances both relational and cognitive capital. MCC improves PIC and fully mediates cognitive capital’s effect on PIC. The findings extend current understanding about the complex interrelationships among structural, relational and cognitive capital and how to develop MCC and PIC by investing in social capital.

Allocating resources to disruptive innovation projects: challenging mental models and overcoming management resistance

This research, based on four in-depth case studies, probes an overlooked unit of analysis in innovation management literature, namely, management action and cognition, and offers a new qualitative contribution into resource allocation approaches that support radical innovation. The interpretivist approach revealed that a management teams resource and path dependencies and prevailing mental models underpin resource allocation routines, which prevent managers from pursuing radical innovations. Of particular interest were the innovations that disrupt and re-shape the existing terms of economic engagement in established industries. It was found that managers with restrictive mental models will adopt up to five disruptive innovation rejection strategies: rewarding incrementalism; ignoring the positive aspects of disruptive innovations; focusing on historical perceptions of success; creating perceptions of success with high effort; and holding beliefs in the face of disconfirming information. Initial longitudinal data suggests that rejection strategies can be overcome with holistic portfolio approaches.

Market based organizational learning, dynamic, and substantive capabilities: An integrative framework

This paper aims to contribute to our understanding of the antecedents to sustainable competitive advantage by integrating insights from the perspectives of both marketing and strategic management. This approach is innovative because it focuses on synergistic insights from different management fields, and contributes to our understanding of how firm performance may be affected, both directly and indirectly, by the marketing and learning orientations of the firm, as well as by the capabilities it develops as a result of the learning processes informed by these orientations. To achieve this aim we start by reviewing the literature in the fields of both marketing and strategic management to examine the current trends, limitations and commonalities between these fields. We then propose a conceptual model and propositions that can help link these two fields into an integrative framework. Our model portrays both direct and mediated effects, and highlights the mediating role of learning processes in understanding how marketing and learning orientations might influence a firms dynamic and substantive capabilities.

A workbook-based methodology for implementing concurrent engineering

Abstract Concurrent Engineering demands a new way of working and many organisations experience difficulty during implementation. The research described in this paper has the aim to develop a paper-based workbook style methodology that companies can use to increase the benefits generated by Concurrent Engineering, while reducing implementation costs, risk and time. The three-stage methodology provides guidance based on knowledge accumulated from implementation experience and best practitioners. It encourages companies to learn to manage their Concurrent Engineering implementation by taking actions which expose them to new and valuable experiences. This helps to continuously improve understanding of how to maximise the benefits from Concurrent Engineering. The methodology is particularly designed to cater for organisational and contextual uniqueness, as Concurrent Engineering implementations will vary from company to company. Using key actions which improve the Concurrent Engineering implementation process, individual companies can develop their own ‘best practice’ for product development. The methodology ensures that key implementation issues, which are primarily human and organisational, are addressed using simple but proven techniques. This paper describes the key issues that the majority of companies face when implementing Concurrent Engineering. The structure of the methodology is described to show how the issues are addressed and resolved. The key actions used to improve the Concurrent Engineering implementation process are explained and their inclusion in the implementation methodology described. Relevance to industry Implementation of Concurrent Engineering concepts in manufacturing industry has not been a straightforward process. This paper describes a workbook-style tool that manufacturing companies can use to accelerate and improve their Concurrent Engineering implementation.

Research Framework for Analyzing the Relationship Between Greening of Suppliers and Green Innovation on Firms’ Performance

In recent years, environmental performance has become part of a company’s strategic value. This is partly attributed by the recent regulatory development in this area. For example the WEEE and RoHS directives were enforced by the European Union to require manufacturers to take recycling (and reuse) and selection of material into design consideration. These initiatives exemplify the importance of green supply chain management. Although companies can make use of green supply chain management to create a competitive advantage by generating more business opportunities, improper management of their supply chain activities in this regard may affect the ability to survival. Greening the suppliers is one of the many approaches to “green†a supply chain. In addition, green innovation can help companies pursue green supply chain management and hence improve environmental performance, as product design and process design are important aspects of any supply chains. Nevertheless, a need exists to develop a model to investigate the relationship between these factors (namely, greening of suppliers, green innovation, environmental performance and competitive advantage). The objective of this paper is to develop a research framework for investigating how future research can address these issues. Hypotheses, constructs, and their measures of the model are discussed.

Brand personality in higher education: anthropomorphized university marketing communications

ABSTRACT While the university prospectus is recognized as an important marketing communication tool for higher education recruitment strategies, it has become overlooked as many researchers have focused on other communication channels, such as social media and websites. Although focus has been placed upon Higher Education Institution (HEI) brand differentiation, little is known about the similarities and differences between institutional marketing communications utilized to build their brands. This research seeks to explore and analyze the prospectuses of the top 10 HEIs in the UK and to draw comparison between their relative positions using a brand personality lens. While the brand personality trait of sincerity was common for all of the HEIs, there was clear differentiation on the basis of other traits, demonstrating that brand personality deepens our understanding of HEI positioning. Two main brand personality groupings were evident among the top 10 institutions: excitement and competence.

Turning knowledge into value in professional service firms

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss the findings of research into the value perception of knowledge management among lawyers and staff from among the top ten global law firms.Design/methodology/approach – Interviews were conducted with lawyers as well as knowledge management (KM) service providers within the selected law firms. The results were then analysed by statistical means and compared to previous findings in literature. The methodology is inspired and broadly based on a research paper into the value perception of information by Broady‐Preston and Williams.Findings – The findings are that respondents showed strong support for the value of KM to law firm success through concepts such as improved efficiency, quality and other drivers for better performance.Research limitations/implications – The survey in the paper itself was limited to the top ten global law firms and is therefore not representative of the entire professional service sector or the law firm sector.Practical i...

A boundary-based view of product development: a feasibility study

Abstract The ‘Working the Boundaries’ research project investigates the organization structural changes in the Rover Group arm of the BMW AG corporation. An important aim of this research is to determine the feasibility of a ‘boundary-based’ view to organizing human resources during product development. This viewpoint stresses the need for firms to consider not only the strategic placement of formal organizational boundaries but also the concurrent development of innovative options for overcoming them. This paper presents some important grounded theoretical developments. They focus on the identification of an important mechanism—the informal organization used to overcome formal organization boundaries. The informal organization is based on a network of self-generated, self-organized and self-managed interrelationships between product developers. They form the foundations of effective and efficient flows of information, experience, knowledge and ideas during product development task activity. Consequently product development performance relies significantly on a formal recognition of the informal organization.