Innovating with customer (2)

Question 1

What are the four iterative non-technical sub-processes parallel to the technical product related processes in the model by La Rocca?

Answer 1

1. Defining opportunity space: A restricted informal group defines possibilities
2. Acquiring new customers: Presenting the product to other potential customers at an early stage
3. Legitimizing: Obtaining support and removing obstacles in the two organizations
4. Securing revenues: Effort to make customers contribute to the development cost

The above four sets of activities (sub-processes) are related to the other ongoing NPD activities of further refining the (product) solution.

Question 2

What is outside-in role of sales and difference between that and in-side out?

Answer 2

The notion sales is about a set of roles and activities in direct interaction with customers!

Outside-in role of sales is when the company is in a very early stage of NPD. They then uses customers to
require specific capabilities. Sales managers appear to acknowledge the importance of the sales activities for bringing customer issues and considerations into operation at various phases in the product innovation process.
Sales are shaping the pattern of interactions, and thus customer involvement, by selectively connecting, mobilizing, and motivating different roles in both own and customer’s organization.

In-side out sales: Is when the new product is developed and all other elements are defined. (typical case where the customers needs are well-known)

Question 3

What is the paper from La Rocca really about?

Answer 3

The paper is threefold: first, we
develop the concept of customer involvement as a pattern of interactions.
Second, we posit that NPD in a B2B context is an iterative process consisting of various
parallel sub-processes.
Third,we demonstrate that in a B2B context, sales function plays a central part in interfacing
the supplier and customer organizations
They want to understand customer involvement as interaction, but over time!

Question 4

What is the conncection between Van Echtelt model and the La Rocca model?

Answer 4

They are both two different approaches of managing supplier/customer involvement. Van Echtelt leans more towards suppliers and La Rocca to customers.

Question 5

The biggest difference between Van Echtelt and the La Rocca model?

Answer 5

La Rocca is much more about interaction and based over time, the NPD process cannot be defined upfront. You can say that is much more individually and complex.
Whereas Van Echtelt is more standard approach with more universal recommendations and anticipation of customer needs and preferences in the beginning of the NPD process.

Question 6

What’s the paper from Ritter, 2003 mainly about?

Answer 6

Relationship antecedents of customer involvement in NPD. (importance of relationship management)

Question 7

Mention the four importance terms of succesfull customer involvement? (tip: Mutual)

Answer 7

1. Mutual commitment:
   NPD commitment is needed on both sides by
   supplier and the customer. Both parties must invest their resources.
2. Mutual trust:
   exists to the extent that a supplier and customer in a relationship believe each other to be honest.
3. Mutual adaptations:
   both supplier and customer make adaptations to each other. In the present study mutual adaptations are defined as investments of a supplier and a customer in their knowledge, structures, and processes to make use of each other’s resources.
4. Mutual relationship management:
   is defined as the customer’s and supplier’s join fulfilment of tasks (e.g. coordination of cooperative activities, representing interests) that warrant relational exchange processes.

Question 8

Some managerial implication of the Ritter paper (just read)

Answer 8

1. Manufacturers should move from arm’s length, and to close relationships with customers they want to innovate with. The results of this study suggest that suppliers benefit in their innovation effort from adopting a strategy of developing trustful and committed relationships.
2. To achieve customer involvement, the partners involved need to develop trustful relationships and commit themselves to the relationship. This process includes performing relationship tasks as well as adaptations.
3. The potentials of inter-firm product development can only be achieved when both sides engage actively in the relationship
4. Involving international customers demand more trust, more commitment, more adaptation, and more relationship management.

Question 9

What are the technical subprocesses in La Rocca paper?

Answer 9

1) requirement definition,
2) customization and integration,
3) deployment, (implementering)
4) post-deployment

Question 10

What is NPD and NSD?

Answer 10

NPD stands for New product Development and NSD stands for New Solution Development