W. Austin Spivey

Improving the new product development process: A fractal paradigm for high-technology products

Abstract Those professionals who are charged with improving the new product development (NPD) process may well feel as though they have been asked to bring order out of chaos. For every level in the organization, and for every step in the NPD process, they must contend with myriad, often interdependent choices—of products and processes; of tools and technologies; of proven best practices and hypothesized solutions. In turn, each choice may cascade into several additional decisions. With so many issues to address and so many variables to consider, practioners and researchers alike need a clear, but complete, framework for exploring, understanding, and improving the NPD process. To help bring some order to the study and the practice of NPD management, W. Austin Spivey, J. Michael Munson, and John H. Wolcott introduce a new metaphor, or paradigm, for product development: a fractal paradigm. Like some fractal images, their framework for understanding the essence of NPD rests on the concept of self-similarity. In other words, the picture their framework provides for understanding and managing the NPD process consists of the same set of concerns, regardless of the level at which the process is viewed. They developed this fractal paradigm during an empirical study of technology transition in a highly successful federal laboratory organization. Whether the focus is on the organization, the division, the team, or the individual, the essence of the NPD process as viewed through their framework comes down to two sets of factors: management factors and resource factors. In turn, each of these factors cascades into several interrelated sets of concerns. For example, the management factors comprise concerns about leadership and the management system. The resource factors include concerns about information, infrastructure, time, and money. Regardless of the level of detail at which the framework is viewed, improving the NPD process requires attention to all of these factors, by all levels within the organization. For example, visionary leadership on the part of senior management will have little effect if middle management and line supervisors fail to provide the necessary leadership for their respective groups of subordinates. Notwithstanding the complexity of the NPD process, the fractal paradigm focuses attention on those few key factors that must be managed continually, throughout all levels of the organization, to ensure successful commercialization of new products.

Improving the effectiveness of persuasive communications: Matching message with functional profile

Abstract The functional approach to improving communication strategy has received little attention. This research attempts to partially correct this oversight by experimentally verifying the major functional hypothesis: matching message with functional profile brings about attitude change. Working adults were integrated into an experiment which was a before-after with control. The major functional hypothesis was confirmed at the 0.10 level. An associated hypothesis regarding the relative ease of changing value- expressive attitudes compared to utilitarian attitudes was confirmed at the 0.10 level. The results show the importance of matching message with functional profile and highlight the potential inherent in the functional approach.

Understanding the environs that impact technology transfer and transition

Since the mythical time of King Arthur, technology transfer has interested governments. Arthurian history revels in the exploits of the knights as they search for the Holy Grail. Always, it seems, finding it must mean the end to poverty, hunger, illness-all the sufferings of the kingdom. In early renditions of the legend, the Grail was a set of magical talismans to be stolen from the Celtic otherworld. With the coming of Christianity, the Grail evolved into a eucharistic vessel.This paper focuses on the differences between technology transfer and technology transition while simultaneously emphasizing the impact of laboratory mission on the perceived importance of each task. The conceptual model presented highlights the difficulties inherent in changing the culture at federal laboratories.

Improving MBA Teaching Evaluation: Insights from Critical Incident Methodology

Improvement of the quality of MBA teaching requires use of evaluation instruments unique to the problems and concerns of MBA students. This study used critical incident methodology to develop and evaluate a behaviorally based system to gauge the perception of MBA students regarding teaching quality. Perceptions fell into five distinct categories: instructors accessibility to the student; instructors application of course material; instructors knowledge of the subject; instructors preparation and organization; and instructors empathy for the student.

Take a portfolio view of CRADAs

OVERVIEW: Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) continue to be an important means of transferring technology. By incorporating the perspective of portfolio management, technology managers can use CRADAs to add value to their new product development process at any stage. Analysis of 124 alliances from a U.S. government facility known as a center of excellence for its R&D highlights the advantages of managing CRADAs by using a two-dimensional taxonomy: including both the type of agreement (constellation, exchange, process), and the stage in the technology life cycle (pre-versus post-dominant design). The portfolio should reflect the enterprises strategic approach for achieving sustainable competitive advantage and creating customer value. Successful enterprises will remain mindful of the emergence of a dominant design and think broadly about portfolio structure. Long-term success will result from continual innovation that adds value to the network of relationships among competitors, vendors and customers.

A generic value tree for high-technology enterprises

Successful strategic planning determines the ultimate fate of an enterprise. Many high-technology enterprises lack a comprehensive framework that facilitates an integrated approach. Derived from the diverse, extant literature on leadership, technology management, marketing and new product development, a Generic Value Tree offers a solution. This comprehensive schema highlights the linkage between technology and marketplace. It represents an objectives hierarchy that asserts that maximising enterprise equity demands a strategic focus on four branches: pursuing strategic intent; nurturing an intelligent enterprise; designing innovative goods and services; and amassing user preference. Its usefulness is tested in two settings: one relies on secondary data; the other relies on primary data collected in a field setting at an actual strategic planning session. The Generic Value Tree is a valuable diagnostic tool in the search for sustainable competitive advantage.

Interest in technology transfer across academic disciplines: Publication trends, 1981 Thru 1989

Interest in technology transfer across academic disciplines highlights this paper. We reviewed an abstracting service via computer for the years 1981 thru 1989, concentrating on publication titles that included any of four key terms: diffusion of innovation; intrapreneurshipl internal corporate venturing; and technology transfer. This computerized search located 828 pages in science and engineering and 1765 pages in the social sciences. In science and engineering, about 44% of the pages relate to specific cases of technology transfer, and about 27% have an international focus. The opposite is true in the social sciences: cases comprise about 25% of the pages, while 55% have an international focus. Economics, with 470 pages, dominates the writings within the social sciences, as well as elsewhere. In science and engineering, three areas published the most: electrical engineering (147 pages), agriculture (127), and multidisciplinary science (126). The findings suggest that researchers interested in technology transfer would benefit by adopting a multidisciplinary perspective.

Growth among technology service firms: insights from the balanced scorecard

This research explores the relationship between the balanced scorecard framework and revenue growth among small, technology service firms. Consulting engineers alone are an important part of any economy, generating about 250 billion US dollars annually in worldwide GDP. Moreover, they represent about 17% of the total workforce. They fight for survival in a dynamic and turbulent environment where the critical strategic resource is an individuals ability to manage the convergence of rapidly evolving technologies. Two separate surveys of enterprises ranked by the Zweig Letter Hot Firm List, emphasising growth among US architecture, engineering and environmental consulting firms were conducted. The focus was on those smaller firms that changed classification upward based on gross revenue. Results highlight not only the advantages of pursuing a balanced approach to growth but also the importance of client intimacy as a key to generating wealth in knowledge-driven, innovative societies.

The Factorial Validity of an Inventory Assessing Horney's Interpersonal Response Traits of Compliance, Aggression, and Detachment

This research was concerned with the factorial validity of Cohens (1967) 35-item CAD inventory which attempts to operationalize Karen Horneys typology of three interpersonal response traits: compliance, aggression, and detachment (CAD). Personal interview data were collected from 203 women within upper, middle, and lower social classes. Principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation indicated little support for Cohens contention that CAD measures three orthogonal constructs. Results of other factor solutions revealed that the constructs are perhaps nonorthogonal. The results suggest needed modifications in the inventory.

The Impact of CRISPR on Precision Medicine: Revolutionizing Melanoma Standards of Care

About 132,000 new diagnoses of skin melanoma are made worldwide each year. The deadliest of skin cancers, in the US, incidence has risen by 3 fold over the last 3 decades; it is the most common cancer among young women; treatment nationally costs over