Customer and Competitor Insights, New Product Development Competence, and New Product Creativity: Differential, Integrative, and Substitution Effects

Abstract

Developing creative new products requires a synthesis among customer-oriented and competitor-oriented learning, and new product development competence. However, underlying this synthesis is a paradox: how to integrate both customer and competitor insights within a technology-centric new product development process. In order to examine the nature of this organizational tension, this study develops a conceptual framework and tests a series of six hypotheses with data generated from our study of creative new products within 187 high-technology ventures in China. Differential effects are found in the way in which customer-oriented learning (neutral) and competitor-oriented learning (positive) relate to new product creativity. Their integration, meanwhile, is positively related to this new product outcome. Results also reveal that new product development competence, both independently and when integrated with customer-oriented learning, positively impacts new product creativity. However, the study also reveals a surprising finding of a substitution effect where the combination of competitor-oriented learning with new product development competence is inversely related to new product creativity. These findings are discussed, and their implications are derived for further research and both market and technology management.

NPD process in active pharmaceutical ingredients industry: a case study in Iran

“…This in turn emphesises the concept free market in which both iranian suppliers and international companies can compete for taking more market share. Consistent with literature based on the Western experience (Bowman and Gatignon, 1996;Chuang et al, 2014;Grabowski, 2006;Gupta and Gupta, 2014;Li and Atuahene-Gima, 2002;Naranjo-Valencia et al, 2011;Perotti and Pray, 2014;Robinson and Min, 2002;Urban et al, 1986) and also the East Asian experience (Zheng Zhou, 2006) this research found that an imitation strategy has a greater impact on new product success in the Iranian API market, compared with an innovation strategy. The research also implies that reverse engineering and imitation forms are critical factors for dealing with the NPD process (Calantone et al, 2010;Grabowski, 2006;Gupta and Gupta, 2014;Jääskeläinen et al, 2013;Mortensen et al, 2008;Nepal et al, 2008;Witell et al, 2014).…”

“…The importance of innovation in NPD is well recognised (Li and Atuahene-Gima, 2002;Nepal et al, 2008;Wind and Mahajan, 1997;Witell et al, 2014), in which the market share can be extended by generating a competitive advantage over the long-term (Chuang et al, 2014;Hinkkanen et al, 2013;Kerin et al, 1992;Lieberman and Montgomery, 1998;Naranjo-Valencia et al, 2011). A successful innovator, therefore, can outsell even superior late entrants, build a large market share, and enjoy a sustainable competitive advantage (Bowman and Gatignon, 1996;Calantone et al, 2010;Carpenter and Nakamoto, 1994;Robinson and Min, 2002;Shekar, 2011).…”

“…Imitation is most useful in the face of uncertainty (Ginsberg and Venkatraman, 1985;Hinkkanen et al, 2013;Li and Atuahene-Gima, 2002;Lieberman and Asaba, 2006) and imitation under uncertainty presents simple tradeoffs on timing (Akhilesh, 2014;Dasgupta, 1988;Naranjo-Valencia et al, 2011). Imitation also reduces costs for the imitator by either helping update the beliefs of the imitator using information from the innovator or improving estimates of expected costs and benefits of pursuing a course of action (Chuang et al, 2014;Cyert and March, 1963;Ethiraj and Zhu, 2008;Maglio and Spohrer, 2008;Naranjo-Valencia et al, 2011;Yan and Kull, 2014).…”

“…This research on NPD includes findings and insights from marketing (Bendoly et al, 2012;Frambach et al, 1998;Victorino et al, 2005), operational management (Eisingerich et al, 2009;Spohrer and Maglio, 2008), social sciences (Gryszkiewicz et al, 2013;Gupta and Gupta, 2014;Osborne, 1998), entrepreneurship (Hu et al, 2009;Pesämaa et al, 2013;Windrum, 2008) and innovation (Chuang et al, 2014;Jääskeläinen et al, 2013;Perotti and Pray, 2014;Preissl, 2000;Van Riel et al, 2004). Along with the multidisciplinary nature of the field, some researchers believe that the origin of NPD comes from innovation in product (Baines et al, 2009;Chen et al, 2013;Gebauer et al, 2005), while others state that NPD is a development-based concept that includes innovation in process and organisational structure (Camacho and Rodriguez, 2008;Kleinknecht, 2000).…”

Company Offers to Meet the Needs of Business-to-Business Customers: Customer Strategy and Orientation

“…In case a company's offering does not meet their customers' needs, it is assumed that customers will find other suppliers. This explains why a company's offering can be extended and improved by its R&D activities (Svendsen et al, 2011;Chuang et al, 2015).…”