John H. Friar

Factors for success in R&D projects and new product innovation: a contextual framework

There have been many attempts to discover the critical factors that can indicate the success or failure of R&D projects and new product introductions. Because of the large number of studies that exist, the authors undertook an extensive review of the germane literature to find whether a general agreement exists about the factors leading to success or failure in new product development and R&D projects. The review shows first that even with a conservative approach to listing significant factors, the list is very long. Second, comparing the factors across studies demonstrates that different authors have found that the magnitude of significance and the direction of influence vary. Third, given the differences in context, the meaning of similar factors may also vary. The contradictory findings lead us to propose a contingency framework for the new product and R&D project models. This framework consists of a contingency cube with three contextual dimensions. Based on this framework, we propose a set of propositions. We conclude this paper with a discussion of the implications of a contingent approach for both researchers and managers in the area of management of new products and R&D projects.

Entrepreneurship and Start-Ups in the Boston Region: Factors Differentiating High-Growth Ventures from Micro-Ventures

The use of entrepreneurship to stimulate economic growth in lagging regions of the world has grown over the last decade. The type of business needed for job creation is a new venture rather than a micro-business. The experience of a major program in the U.S., empowerment zones, has failed to produce many jobs, mostly because the program has stimulated micro-businesses rather than growth ventures. This paper analyzed the factors differentiating between the formation of high-growth ventures and micro businesses, and discussed how these factors may best influence the activities of organizations that either nurture ventures or create government policies for regional development. The data consisted of ninety business plans submitted to a business plan competition in Boston. The results showed that founders of high-growth ventures have work experience or advanced training in their technologies, and teams rather than individuals created the plans. The results suggest that a combination of exogenous and endogenous approaches may be needed to stimulate a lagging regions economic growth.

An approach to selling high-tech solutions

Abstract This practitioner-oriented paper argues for the need to reconceptualize our understanding of how technology is bought and sold. The article reviews the traditional selling approach used in high tech, discusses pressures to change, and presents an emerging selling model used by leading technology companies. Research finding are based on 12 company case histories.

The university entrepreneur: a census and survey of attributes and outcomes

This study looks at 400 technology transfer disclosures and their inventors over a 10‐year period at a large US research university. We find that faculty productivity in terms of patenting is not related to commercialization success, but entrepreneurial qualities are significantly correlated. Results indicate that the significant factors in successfully forming a university spin‐out are the level of experience of the faculty member and participation in an industry sponsored research agreement. We also find that the academic inventors entrepreneurial experience and inclination toward commercialization have the most positive impacts on the formation of a new venture.

Making Connections for Success: A Networking Exercise

Networking is important, and it is a skill. The authors have developed an exercise that provides students with a realistic networking experience within the safe environment of the classroom. The exercise provides a lead-in to the discussion of networking techniques, active listening, the cultivation of secondary networks, appropriate ways to prepare for a networking opportunity, and tactics for cultivating relationships after a networking event. This exercise has an experiential learning and reflective assessment component so that it is aimed at giving students concrete experience, feedback, and an opportunity to reflect on ways to improve their current skill level.

Managing Global Outsourcing to Enhance Lean Innovation

OVERVIEW: A key to effective and efficient R&D is the ability to commercialize new products quickly and effectively while leveraging the advantages of global outsourcing. The growing role of global outsourcing in new product development (NPD) represents a paradigm shift that has had a large impact on innovation and commercialization. In this article the use of outside innovation and commercialization resources, from contract employees to short-run manufacturers, is explored. We synthesize our research into four areas where R&D managers can most effectively leverage outsourcing throughout the innovation continuum. Opportunities include developing strong strategic partnerships with outside vendors, using rapid prototyping resources to support agile development, using short-run manufacturers to test products and markets before building to volume, and using expert contractors to reduce fixed personnel costs.

The evolution of technology generations and associated markets: a double helix model

Studies analyzing the impact of technological innovations on how an industry develops focus on the different effects produced by radical innovations versus incremental innovations. The studies either examine the technology cycles or the market development cycles in isolation without really explaining the interaction between the two. In this paper, we present a model of industry development that takes into account the dynamics of innovation in the industry accentuated by the interplay between technology development cycles and application development cycles. The model proposes that these two cycles go through a linked, predictable double helix pattern. The personal computer (PC) industry is used as an example of this models operation, as the PC industry has gone through three distinct technology cycles (8-b, 16-b, and 32-b processors) and corresponding three distinct application cycles. We draw some important conclusions about how companies can use this understanding to develop better technology and market strategies to succeed in the various stages of the industrys development.

The role of technology agility on business processes and organizational agilities

Organizational agility has been regarded as one of the most important critical resources for enabling better firm performance. This study extends the existing literature by introducing technology agility as an antecedent to organizational agilities, which, subsequently, impact business processes and, ultimately, firm performance. Technology agility is the firms ability to quickly react to technological changes. Our conceptual framework bridges the dynamic capabilities framework with the process-based view of the organization. We test our conceptual framework using a survey data set from the Brazilian automotive industry. The results confirm that technology agility is a significant antecedent to key organizational agilities and these agilities impact both financial and market performance through intermediate business processes. We conclude that technology agility plays a key strategic role in shaping the firms dynamic capabilities that further enhance firm performance.

The role of cross-national knowledge on organizational ambidexterity: A case of the global pharmaceutical industry

Using a sample of 70 global pharmaceutical firms, this study examined how cross-national knowledge affected the creation of exploitative (incremental) and explorative (breakthrough) types of technological innovations both of which are necessary for organizational ambidexterity. We found that there were significant differences for effectively using cross-national knowledge, which reinforces the need for organizational ambidexterity. The data used to study cross-national knowledge consisted of patent analyses of commercialized products, which is a step further than most studies that stop at just the patents themselves. Through the use of double-log regression analysis, the results suggested a notable conclusion: while the sourcing of intrafirm, cross-national knowledge enhanced explorative or breakthrough innovation, it did not enhance the development of exploitative or incremental innovation. The article concludes with managerial implications for managing ambidexterity.

Pitching to the Home Shopping Network: An Exercise in Opportunity Assessment and Personal Selling

The purpose of this exercise is to help students of entrepreneurship understand opportunity assessment and the personal selling process. After watching a short video about the challenges and opportunities of launching a product on the Home Shopping Network (video is optional), students are asked to identify a unique product that could be successfully sold on the Home Shopping Network (HSN). Students are then required to pitch their product to the class demonstrating how their product suits HSNs requirements, meets customer needs, and can be personally sold effectively to the networks audience. By participating in this exercise students will experience the opportunity assessment process, aspects of marketing strategies, and the importance of personal selling.