Inclusion of territorial resources in the product development process

Abstract

Facing globalization, territorial competitiveness is considered by (French) public policy makers as promising both economic and social value creation locally. Companies consider territorial specificities when selecting a location (e.g. low production costs, highly qualified labor pool) in a utilitarian perspective. This research proposes encouraging companies to consider territory as a value creation network where exploitable resources flow. The proposal presented in this paper is to integrate these latent territorial resources into the product development process to create value for both the company and its territory in a sustainable perspective. The literature review highlights that current eco design practices have great impact on territories, but that this dimension is not considered in terms of resources. Moreover, current assessment practices are not adapted to overall performance evaluation and need revision to meet the system innovation goal. After clarifying the concept of territory, two industrial cases are provided to analyze how territorial resources were included in the design process and how it improved the overall performance of the company-territory system. From the success factors emerging from literature and cases, a method to release the potential of territorial resources is presented. A revised strategic process dedicated to senior management is proposed as the enabler of system innovation with the intention of improving the design of sustainable products. This paper concludes with the necessary cultural evolution that every stakeholder in the value network must undergo to promote territorial values in a sustainable perspective. This study contributes to the emerging discipline of design for local value creation.

Local Value Creation and Eco-design: A New Paradigm

“…Allais et al [1] highlight that the integration of territorial resources into product development process requires a deep evolution in strategic processes. They also underline that the use of both tangible and intangible territorial resources has the potential to improve the overall performance of a company and its territory [16].…”

Performance measurement in product development process (PDP): literature review and gaps for further research

“…According to Genç and Benedetto (2015), the unite of an environmental professional in a PDP team during the concept development phase, commercialization stage, and product launch influences the product performance positively. Allais et al (2015) propose the inclusion of territorial resources in the design process for the purpose of adding value for both the organization and society.…”

Territorial Knowledge Ontology as a Guide for the Identification of Resource of the Territory Toward Sustainability

“…Innovation not sufficiently valued in strategic level of the industry because don't inform the strategic decision making that must be taken into account through knowledge management and governance in the company (Allais et al, 2017). Sharing of value for customers is created by the network that supports the design activity (Allais et al, 2015). Also, geographical information system (GIS) can help product designers to analyze the environmental impacts before and after design, which change design characteristics and product specifications based on the environmental status of each geography (Vadoudi et al, 2017).…”

“…Also, integration of tangible and intangible resources of territory (e.g. knowledge or materials) to industries activities can create economic and social value locally for sustainable objective (Allais et al, 2015). Also, the literature review is demonstrated which there is not enough knowledge about the territory's feature within industries and companies.…”