The Function of Marketing and Industrial Structure in Alternating Product Development Innovation

by

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am very grateful to my supervisor for his support and kind help for the completion of this dissertation. I would like to offer my regards and blessing to my friends and family members who support me throughout this journey.

DECLARATION

I declare that the work submitted here is my own and expressed in my own words except where declared otherwise. Any work used by any other author(s) in any form has been properly acknowledged where used. A list of all the references used has also been included. This work has not already been submitted for any degree and is not being submitted concurrently for any degree.

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ABSTRACT

In this research study the function of marketing and industrial structure in alternating product development and innovation were analysed. The present study examines portfolio-level and product-level factors that facilitate continuous alternating product development. The specific factors have been chosen because of the insight they provide into how a firm learns from its alternating product development activity and how it utilizes that knowledge. The product development is a firm capability, and can even be viewed as a marketing capability that influences firm performance. While studying product development, it is also important to discuss the various outcomes of the product development process. Product development success is multidimensional and can be assessed using various categories of success. While some product development outcomes stress efficiencies in the use of resources, others are meant to capture other future oriented benefits of the product development program. Management is often criticized for overemphasizing short-term performance and neglecting the long-term effects of managerial decision making. With the multidimensionality of product development success, and increasing pressures to highlight the effectiveness of marketing activities, it is extremely important to seek a multidimensional assessment of product development success. The findings suggest that the product development and innovation programs focus on the concept of engineering and technology usage for product development. These programs enable them to act innovatively, complete business process and successfully develop projects. Future research is encouraged to understand the conditions where firms can achieve both short-term and long-term success while following open innovation. There are likely to be other meaningful indicators of performance that could be useful to managers.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

ABSTRACTIV

CHAPTER # 1: INTRODUCTION1

Background of the Study1

Problem Statement2

Aim of the Study3

Research Question3

Portfolio-Level Factors3

Product-Level Factors4

Study Significance5

Structure of Dissertation6

CHAPTER # 2: LITERATURE REVIEW7

Product Launch and Program Launch Rate7

Product Development Outcomes8

Innovativeness11

Product Options Creation13

Innovation14

Open and Closed Innovation15

Approaches to Innovation17

Inter-firm Relational Knowledge Stores19

Learning and Knowledge Management20

Product Life Cycle21

Structure: Breadth, Concentration, and Depth22

Product Attributes: Advancement and Applications24

Cooperative Development26

CHAPTER # 3: METHODOLOGY30

Introduction30

Mixed Research30

Instrument for data collection31

Sampling and Sample size32

Data analysis32

Confidentiality33

Instrument Reliability33

Validity33

Ethical Consideration35

CHAPTER # 4: RESULTS AND FINDINGS36

Introduction36

Analysis of Questionnaire36

Alternating Product Development Innovation36

Marketing Capabilities48

Correlation Analysis52

CHAPTER # 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS54

Discussion on Research Questions54

Portfolio-Level Factors54

Product-Level Factors55

Conclusion56

Recommendations and Future Directions57

REFERENCES61

APPENDIX65

Questionnaire65

CHAPTER # 1: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

New product development has received a great deal of attention in the strategy literature, and is a firm capability that can improve overall firm ...