Glauco Henrique de Sousa Mendes

Continuous improvement: critical factors in Brazilian industrial companies

Purpose – The objective of this article is to identify and analyze critical factors in the development of continuous improvement (CI) activities in Brazilian companies.Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual model of the relationship between practices and results was tested to identify the critical factors using a survey conducted in 46 industrial companies. Non‐parametric tests were used to test some hypotheses developed based on the literature.Findings – The results indicate the importance of staff training in problem solution tools, incentives for suggestions, face‐to‐face communication and regular shop floor visits such as critical factors for the success of continuous improvement activities (CI). Operational practices of CI contribute to company performance in relation to improvements in productivity, quality, lead time, cost, customer satisfaction and development of employees’ skills to solve problems.Research limitations/implications – Although the detected constructs are fairly accurate, they a...

Predicting Success in Product Development: The Application of Principal Component Analysis to Categorical Data and Binomial Logistic Regression

Critical success factors in new product development (NPD) in the Brazilian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are identified and analyzed. Critical success factors are best practices that can be used to improve NPD management and performance in a company. However, the traditional method for identifying these factors is survey methods. Subsequently, the collected data are reduced through traditional multivariate analysis. The objective of this work is to develop a logistic regression model for predicting the success or failure of the new product development. This model allows for an evaluation and prioritization of resource commitments. The results will be helpful for guiding management actions, as one way to improve NPD performance in those industries.

Critical success factors on product development management in Brazilian technological based companies

In order to minimize the proportion of unsuccessful projects in new products development (NPD), managers have become concerned in understanding which factors have an impact on the success of new products. The aim of this paper is to identify and analyze the critical success factors (CSF) when developing new products in technological based companies (TBCs). The data was obtained through a survey in 62 small TBCs of two sectors: the medical and hospital equipment and the process control automation, in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. This has resulted in a sample of 62 new product projects considered successful and 42 unsuccessful, from the firms’ point of view, developed in the last five years. The questionnaire was structured based on eleven management factors, deployed in 64 variables. The association of these variables with the project result (successful or unsuccessful) was measured through their respective contingency coefficients. Thus, we sought to determine which variables, considered in isolation, could explain new product’s success. We also tried to reduce the individual variables by using factorial analysis techniques, where three main components were associated to new product success: target-market characteristics, execution quality of NPD activities and integration between the areas involved in NPD.

Organizational characteristics in concurrent engineering: Evidence from Brazilian small and medium enterprises in the medical device industry:

The success of a new product is more probable in a concurrent engineering context for product development. Concurrent engineering creates a dynamic environment based on four interconnected dimensions: the organization of managers and employees involved in product development; their means of communicating; their unwavering focus on the requirements of all clients within the product life cycle, from concept through disposal; and the integration of the development process. This article analyzes impacts of some organizational practices of these dimensions in product success in Brazilian small and medium enterprises from the medical device industry. The data were collected from a survey in a sample of Brazilian small and medium enterprises and from four case studies. The results highlight the importance for these small and medium enterprises of practices such as cross-functional integration, the role of top management in projects, and the social capital of the project leader. The results will assist companies in adopting an evidence-based approach for improving their new product success.The success of a new product is more probable in a concurrent engineering context for product development. Concurrent engineering creates a dynamic environment based on four interconnected dimensions: the organization of managers and employees involved in product development; their means of communicating; their unwavering focus on the requirements of all clients within the product life cycle, from concept through disposal; and the integration of the development process. This article analyzes impacts of some organizational practices of these dimensions in product success in Brazilian small and medium enterprises from the medical device industry. The data were collected from a survey in a sample of Brazilian small and medium enterprises and from four case studies. The results highlight the importance for these small and medium enterprises of practices such as cross-functional integration, the role of top management in projects, and the social capital of the project leader. The results will assist companies ...

Factors Influencing New Products Success in Small Brazilian Medical and Hospital Equipment Firms

A research line in new product development (NPD) management is identifying success factors, that is, best practices that contribute towards reducing the unsuccessful in launching new products. The objective of this paper is identify and analyze these factors that influence project development success of new products in the Brazilian High Technology Small Firms (HTSF) of the medical-hospital equipments sector. The data were obtained by a survey in 30 HTSFs, located in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The application resulted in a sample of 49 new product projects: 30 were considered as successful and 19 were considered unsuccessful. Initially, the association of the 64 variables investigated was measured with the result of the project product (successful and unsuccessful) by means of the respective coefficients of contingency. It was also sought to reduce the individual variables by using the Analysis of Main Components. Considering the characteristics of market-target the pre-development activities stand out. The successful projects are those in which user requirements are well served and correctly interpreted concerning specifications. Moreover, market assessment was properly carried out and the clients wanted the new product. Therefore, these companies should carefully manage such factors in the development of new products.

Gestão do pré-desenvolvimento de produto: estudo de casos na indústria de equipamentos médico-hospitalares

The fuzzy front end encompasses the first stages of new product development process. In that phase and period, the decisions are more strategic and are usually made with a high degree of uncertainty. This article aims to analyze and discuss the fuzzy front end management practices in small and medium medical device companies. The analysis is based on a conceptual model that was developed from the literature review and it consists of five dimensions of management: strategic orientation, process, organization, evaluation and tools. The results provide evidence that the studied companies have deficiencies in the adoption of best practices for managing the fuzzy front end, and the conceptual model suggested could serve as a basis for analysis, structuring and improving the fuzzy front end activities and performance.

Uncovering the structures and maturity of the new service development research field through a bibliometric study (1984-2014)

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a deeper understanding of the new service development (NSD) research field. It addresses its scientific production, social and intellectual structures, and maturity. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a bibliometric-based literature review. Quantitative and qualitative analyses are performed on a sample of 277 NSD articles (published from 1984 to 2014). These articles are organized into four periods to improve the analyses from an evolutionary perspective: Early Writings (1984-1995), Advancing of Literature (1996-2001), Progressive Literature (2002-2008), and Recent Works (2009-2014). Findings The scientific production in the NSD field has grown significantly over these four periods, and the entry of new authors has extended the social structure. However, collaboration networks seem disconnected from one another. Nonetheless, the intellectual structure has shown great progress, making NSD an independent area of research and discovery from the new product development domain, with its own foundations and expansions into new topics. Although the NSD research field has not yet reached maturity, it is consistently moving toward it. Originality/value This study delivers a multiperspective view of research on NSD using a mixed quantitative and qualitative approach. It provides new insights into the discussion of the field’s maturity and can be used as a roadmap for academics and practitioners who would like to understand the state of existing knowledge and are looking for research opportunities.

Bibliometric analysis of the front-end of innovation

The research into the front end of innovation has increased substantially in the last decades. In spite of this, it seems that many studies lack alignment in terms of knowledge building, which results in disconnected lines of research. This fact indicates the need of addressing the state-of-the-art concerning the front-end of innovation research field, guiding new attempts towards the most important knowledge gaps. Currently, few attempts have been made to provide an overview of this field. This paper presents a bibliometric analysis conducted to describe the evolution of the knowledge structure of the front-end of innovation. It considers a sample of papers published from 1988 to 2014 and indexed in the Web of Science scientific. This sample is used to develop metrics regarding journal publications and investigate collaboration networks, clarifying opportunities for partnerships and supporting the formulation of research policies. As a result, this study provides useful information for new entrants assimilate the state-of-the-art of the front-end of innovation as well as for experts consolidate their view of the knowledge structure.

Acreditação hospitalar como estratégia de melhoria: impactos em seis hospitais acreditados

Accreditation has been used by many countries to encourage improvements in hospital service quality. In Brazil, the dissemination of the Brazilian Accreditation System is a responsibility of the National Accreditation Organization (ONA). Studies on the impact of hospital accreditation have aroused the interest of the academic community. This article aims to analyze the impact of accreditation on organizational performance of hospitals. A qualitative research approach and the method of multiple cases were adopted for this study. Cases were performed in six accredited hospitals in the state of Sao Paulo. One of the main conclusions of this study is that hospital accreditation promotes improvements related to the process management, customer safety, and development of healthcare professionals. This paper contributes to expand the studies on accreditation in Brazil.

Fatores críticos para a melhoria contínua em indústrias brasileiras

O objetivo deste artigo e identificar e analisar fatores criticos no desenvolvimento de atividades de melhoria continua (MC) em empresas industriais brasileiras. Um modelo conceitual de relacionamento entre praticas e resultados foi testado por meio de um survey utilizando uma amostra de 46 empresas industriais. Fatores como: treinamento em ferramentas de solucao de problemas, o incentivo a sugestoes, a comunicacao face a face, visitas ao chao de fabrica e adocao de sistemas de incentivos, se mostraram criticos para alcance de sucesso em atividades de MC. Identificaram pela analise fatorial dois constructos criticos relacionados ao processo de melhoria continua: 1) a promocao das atividades de melhoria continua por meio de politicas de incentivos; e 2) o suporte e lideranca da alta administracao e ativa participacao da gerencia. Observou-se que ha relacao estatisticamente significativa entre o uso de tecnicas de solucao de problemas e mecanismos de incentivos com o desempenho das empresas.