Satish Nambisan

Complementary Product Integration by High-Technology New Ventures: The Role of Initial Technology Strategy

In this paper, we investigate the relationship betweencomplementary product integration and theinitial technology strategy of a high-technology new venture. With customers placing considerable emphasis on cross-product integration, the success of a new venture is dependent as much on its ability to integrate its product with relevant complementary products as on the core product functionality itself. We identify three types of complementary product integration: value-added internal, add-on module, and data interface. We argue that the adoption of proactive initial technology strategy critically determines the ability of a high-technology new venture to rapidly and efficiently integrate its product with new and emerging complementary products. More specifically, we offer hypotheses that relate initial design and development strategies to the number and the type of complementary product integrations achieved by a new venture in the initial years. The hypotheses are tested using data from a set of U.S.-based software new ventures. The results support our arguments and imply the need for high-technology new ventures to adopt an explicit complementary product focus during initial product design.

Software firm evolution and innovation–orientation

Abstract The software industry is experiencing dramatic growth worldwide. This paper offers a theoretical framework to examine the growth and evolution of software firms from an innovation–orientation perspective. While it is apparent that the attitudes and perceptions of a firm’s key stakeholders towards innovative product development hold valuable insights on its future growth and evolution, such a perspective has received limited theoretical attention in studies on firm evolution. In this paper, we define a software firm growth stage model that reflects the changes in a firm’s process and product portfolios. We offer a set of research propositions that link the innovation-related attitudes and perceptions of a firm’s internal stakeholders to firm evolution. The research model has several important implications for both research and practice and can be extended to other high technology contexts.

A global study of graduate management of technology programs

Abstract In the last decade, the field of technology management has attracted considerable attention from practitioners and scholars. The rapid emergence of powerful and innovative technologies in manufacturing, computing, telecommunications and the life sciences, such as biotechnology are making the strategic management of technology, a critical task in virtually all organizations. Reflecting this trend, several universities offer graduate programs in the management of technology (MOT). These programs have originated from various academic schools and disciplines (business, engineering, public policy) creating considerable diversity of focus, themes emphasized, courses, and student backgrounds. The rise of these programs, in part, reflects the growing need for managers and technologists who are able to understand, contribute to, and manage a wide variety of technology-based programs and organizations. This paper presents the results of a global study of graduate MOT programs. Over fifty (50) universities participated in the research reported in this paper. Findings related to research trends, curriculum developments, staffing, program implementation, and program emphases are examined. Several recommendations are advanced for universities considering initiating or further developing their MOT program. In addition, observations about the future direction of the field are made.

Virtual Customer Environments: IT-Enabled Customer Co-innovation and Value Co-creation

In recent years, the establishment of IT-enabled customer co-innovation and value co-creation platforms or virtual customer environments (VCEs) has radically changed the nature and extent of customer involvement in product innovation and product support activities. VCEs offer facilities ranging from online customer discussion forums to virtual product design and prototyping centers and enhance the richness of customers’ interactions with one another and with the company. This chapter provides an introduction to the different research themes and issues that arise from the emergence of VCEs. Specifically, four broad set of research issues are discussed. First, what are the different customer co-innovation and value co-creation roles that are enabled by IT? Second, what are the factors that motivate customer participation in innovation and value creation in VCEs? Third, what are the critical dimensions of customers’ experience in VCEs? And, fourth, what are the different types of impact of customer participation in VCEs? Together, these four broad themes offer a rich and promising set of issues for future research in the area of IT-enabled customer co-innovation and value co-creation.

How to prepare tomorrow's technologists for global networks of innovation

University curricula must prepare them to be able to recognize and embrace technologies, components, markets, and customers wherever in the world they happen to be.

Graduate management of technology education: a global survey, critical issues and emerging trends

Over the past few years, several universities have started offering graduate programmes in Management of Technology (MOT). These MOT programmes have originated from different academic schools (business, engineering, etc.) and hence, there is considerable diversity in terms of focus, key themes emphasised, student backgrounds, etc. As this young and dynamic field evolves, it is critical that we take frequent snapshots of these programmes so that we build on each others strengths and identify common frameworks that provide direction to MOT education. This paper reports on an international study of graduate MOT programmes conducted recently covering schools in North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific regions. The study results highlight the emerging trends in terms of programme themes, technologies, and management issues addressed.

Deriving Business Value from IT Applications in Product Development: A Complementarities-Based Model

Many companies that have made considerable investments in IT applications to support their product development activities have realized limited value from such efforts. In this chapter, we argue that a deep understanding of the complementarities that exist in the product development context is critical to ensure that business value is derived from the IT applications. We propose a multi-level complementarities-based model of IT innovation and business value to explain the factors that shape the success of IT-enabled product development. Our model posits that firms will obtain more value from innovative IT investment initiatives when the resulting IT applications are fitted into a system of initiative or product development context-specific complementary organizational elements (strategies, structures, processes, etc.). Further, firms will get more value from IT initiatives when investment is combined with certain firm-level elements such as a business strategy that is especially amenable to IT support, strong IT capabilities, and a modern organizational architecture that incorporates a cluster of practices associated with “digital” organizations. The model can guide researchers and managers in identifying the firm-level pre-conditions for realizing value from investments in IT to support product development and specifying necessary complementary investments in organizational change associated with product development.

The Role of Information Technology in Product Development: An Introduction

Innovation has assumed considerable importance in the contemporary business world. In most industries, the very survival of firms is increasingly dependent on their ability to rapidly develop and introduce innovative products and services. At the same time, information technology (IT) has emerged as a critical resource for companies to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of their product development activities. This chapter provides an introduction to the book by tracing the evolution of research on product (service) development and the increasing focus on IT-related issues in this context. Both traditional and emerging areas of research on IT and product development are identified. The motivation for the book is set out in detail, and the chapter concludes by describing the organization of the book and the various chapters.

Online customer communities: redefining customer participation in NPD

The development of new products is a challenging task. With the underlying. knowledge base of most products becoming more diverse and dynamic, new product development (NPD) teams are increasingly seeking external resources to overcome the learning curves related to new technologies and new markets. The promise of customers as an external resource for new product development has been recognized in practice and in theory for a long time. However, customers have, until recently, played a limited and largely passive role in the development of new products. Specifically, this paper examines the potential impact of technology-based online customer networks on new product development.

Configurational Thinking and Value Creation from Digital Innovation: The Case of Product Lifecycle Management Implementation

Product lifecycle management (PLM) platforms . which consolidate activities across the development lifecycle under a common application umbrella . promise to help companies to address many contemporary challenges in NPD. Yet, as with other enterprise-scale platforms, managers have difficulty deploying PLM. Based on observations from six case studies, we find managers can enhance PLM deployments by employing configurational thinking. This means treating PLM technology as just one part of a larger system of reinforcing elements related to the creation of new business capabilities. We identify two distinct layers of configurational thinking . the mindset layer and the toolset layer . and derive six principles spanning these layers that embody configurational thinking on PLM projects. We conclude by discussing implications of our configurational perspective for research on digital innovation.