An Exploration of New Product Development's Front‐end Knowledge Conceptualization Process in Discontinuous Innovations

Akbar, Hammad; Tzokas, Nikolaos

doi:10.1111/j.1467-8551.2011.00801.x

Cited by 32 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 104 publications

(133 reference statements)

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“…Our model shows that the frequency, characteristics and types of loops are not uniform across the front-end. In line with the varying frequency of social interactions (Akbar and Tzokas, 2013), loops gradually increase from the generation-evaluation interface to maximize at the expansion-refinement interface, and decrease at the crystallization stage. In addition, loops diverge and magnify along the expansion-refinement interface, and converge thereafter.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Feedback Loops as Dynamic Processes of Organizational Knowledge Creation in the Context of the Innovations’ Front‐end

Akbar

Baruch

Tzokas³

2017

British J of Management

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Feedback loops are instrumental in the organizational knowledge creation (OKC) process across the highly uncertain and dynamic innovation's front‐end. Therefore, managers should be aware of how these loops unfold, how to recognize meaningful patterns and how to steer them towards planned and emergent outcomes. Easy to say, difficult to practise! This empirical paper focuses on knowledge–conceptualization – the new knowledge's generation‐crystallization journey – and develops a unique model of feedback loops as dynamic processes of OKC in the context of the innovations’ front‐end. Using ten qualitatively studied innovations, the authors identify five front‐end OKC stages (generation, evaluation, expansion, refinement and crystallization) and pattern these based on their overlaps to explore the associated feedback loops. This model distinctively illustrates increasing–decreasing, diverging–converging and frequent negative‐cum‐positive loops, and illuminates the complex and rich patterns of loops not captured before.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Feedback Loops as Dynamic Processes of Organizational Knowledge Creation in the Context of the Innovations’ Front‐end

Akbar

Baruch

Tzokas³

2017

British J of Management

Self Cite

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“…Using different technologies and methods can increase the speed of problem solving, prototyping and continuous testing (Saff & Ernst, 2003), or improve the FFE by using information systems and knowledge sharing (Gordon et al, 2008) or knowledge management (Akbar & Tzokas, 2013).…”

Section: Improved Analysis and Information Processing And Intuitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to some authors, intelligent planning and the reduction of technical and market uncertainty explain later success (Verworn, Herstatt & Nagahira, 2008) for example by using tools to help innovators track and assess front-end fuzziness from different sources (Chang, Chen & Wey, 2007) and having engaged management attention to reduce uncertainty (Poskela & Martinsuo, 2009). Uncertainty affects the FFE, therefore early involvement of all departments, planning prior to development, and reducing market and technical uncertainty positively affect product development success (Akbar & Tzokas, 2013). A contingency argument has been presented; as uncertainty reduction seems to be a viable strategy, especially for incremental innovation, improved analysis and preparation can facilitate a better outcome (Verworn, Herstatt & Nagahira, 2008).…”

Section: Uncertainty Reductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing Controversies in the Fuzzy Front End

Christiansen¹,

Gasparin²

2016

Creat Innov Manage

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This research investigates the controversies that emerge in the fuzzy front end (FFE) and how they are closed so the innovation process can move on. The fuzzy front has been characterized in the literature as a very critical phase, but controversies in the FFE have not been studied before. The analysis investigates the microprocesses around the controversies that emerge during the fuzzy front end of four products. Five different types of controversies are identified: profit, production, design, brand and customers/market. Each controversy represents a threat, but also an opportunity to search for new solutions in the unpredictable non-linear processes. The study uses an ethnographic approach using qualitative data from interviews, company documents, external communication and marketing material, minutes of meetings, informal conversations and observations. The analysis of four FFE processes demonstrates how the fuzzy front requires managers to deal with controversies that emerge from many different places and involve both human and non-human actors. Closing the controversies requires managers to take account of the situation, identify the problem that needs to be addressed, and initiate a search for solutions. Management is actively involved in this process, in many different ways. Among the implications from this analysis is that the managers' role in the FFE is multifaceted and each controversy seems to require different skills and competencies.

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“…Prior research on managing NPD has shown that the front end of NPD often has a dynamic and interactive nature (Akbar and Tzokas 2013). This stage is characterized by complex information processing (Khurana and Rosenthal 1997;De Brentani and Reid 2012), ad hoc decision-making (Montoya-Weiss and O'Driscoll 2000), and conflicting organizational pressures caused by, for example, high degrees of complexity and uncertainty (Chang et al 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Critical success factors in early new product development: a review and a conceptual model

et al. 2017

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The literature on the front end in the New Product Development (NPD) literature is fragmented with respect to the identification and analysis of the factors that are critical to successful product development. The article has a two-fold purpose. First, it describes, analyses, and synthesizes those factors through a literature review of the research on the front end in NPD. Second, it conceptualizes a framework that features two types of success factors: foundational success factors (common to all the firm's projects) and project-specific success factors (appropriate for the firm's individual projects). The article makes recommendations for the management of this important phase of product development, discusses limitations of relevant previous research, and offers suggestions for future research. The article makes a theoretical contribution with its analysis and synthesis of the reasons for success in front-end activities and a practical contribution with its conceptual framework that can be used as an analytical tool by firms and their product managers.

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An Exploration of New Product Development's Front‐end Knowledge Conceptualization Process in Discontinuous Innovations

Cited by 32 publications

References 104 publications

Feedback Loops as Dynamic Processes of Organizational Knowledge Creation in the Context of the Innovations’ Front‐end

Feedback Loops as Dynamic Processes of Organizational Knowledge Creation in the Context of the Innovations’ Front‐end

Managing Controversies in the Fuzzy Front End

Critical success factors in early new product development: a review and a conceptual model

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