208KM Tutorial 8
Question 1
Explain why the process of new product development is frequently represented as a
linear process.
Answer:
Activity-based models of new product development have come to dominate thinking on the
subject of NPD. Unfortunately, many new marketing management textbooks continue to
represent the process as a linear activity with no provision for feedback. Moreover, new ideas
can be generated from many different sources, including marketing and manufacturing. The
linear activity-based models do not recognise this.
Question 2
Explain why screening should be viewed as a continual rather than a one-off activity.
Answer:
The screening-of-product idea is essentially an evaluation process. It is important to note that it
is not a single, one-off activity, as is portrayed in many textbooks. It occurs at every stage of the
new product development process, and involves questions such as:
Do we have the necessary commercial knowledge and experience?
Do we have the technical know-how to develop the idea further?
Would such a product be suitable for our business?
Are we sure there will be sufficient demand?
This is examined in more detail in Chapter 16.
Question 3
Discuss how the various groups of NPD models have contributed to our understanding
of the subject of NPD.
Answer:
This question requires students to examine and identify the strengths and limitations of the
various models of NPD. All have made a contribution to our understanding of the subject and all
have limitations. Together, however, they provide a clearer picture of the NPD process.
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Question 4
Evaluate the wide range of product development opportunities that exist.
Answer:
Ongoing corporate planning
The effects of any corporate planning may be important and long term. For example, the
decision by a sports footwear manufacturer to exit the tennis market and concentrate on the
basketball market due to changing social trends will have a significant impact on the business.
Ongoing market planning
Decisions by market planners may have equally significant effects. For example, the realisation
that a competitor is about to launch an improved tennis shoe that offers additional benefits may
force the business to establish five new product development projects.
Ongoing technology management
In most science- and technology-intensive industries such as the pharmaceutical and computer
software industries, this activity is probably more significant than ongoing market planning.
The nine development strategies that are shown in Figure 12.6 also help firms to organise for
new products.
Question 5
Examine the concept of a multidimensional product; how is this helpful?
Answer:
Figure 12.7 illustrates an abstract diagram of a product, any shape could be shown. The point
here is that by changing any dimension of a product it is possible in theory to create something
different and if it has not existed before something new. This concept is developed further in
Table 12.1 with different examples of newness.
Question 6
Explain Booz, Allen and Hamilton’s (1982) classification of new products.
Answer:
There have been many attempts to classify new products into certain categories. Very often, the
distinction between one category and another is one of degree and attempting to classify
products is subject to judgement. It is worthy of note, however, that only 10 per cent of all new
products are truly innovative. These products involve the greatest risk because they are new to
both the company and the marketplace. Most new product activity is devoted to improving
existing products. At Sony 80 per cent of new product activity is undertaken to modify and
improve the company’s existing products. The following classification (Booz, Allen and
Hamilton, 1982) identifies the commonly accepted categories of new product developments:
new to the world products;
new product lines (new to the firm);
additions to existing lines;
improvements and revisions to existing products;
cost reductions;
repositionings.
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Question 7
Why do some marketers and scientists often argue about whether a product is new
or not?
Answer:
Many scientists argue that without a scientific advance a product cannot be considered new
because it does not contain any new knowledge. Such a view represents the scientific
paradigm. Applied scientists are continually searching and exploring for technical improvements
that can be applied to products, whereas marketers are searching for new ways to improve a
product’s chance of being successful in the market. This, of course, may or may not involve a
technical development. And this is the key point. Because of their scientific background and
research training scientists adopt a much more restricted view about newness. Within the
scientific community new has a much stricter interpretation than that used by marketers.
Question 8
Discuss some of the strengths of network models of NPD.
Answer:
Essentially, network models emphasise the external linkages coupled with the internal activities
that have been shown to contribute to successful product development. There is substantial
evidence to suggest that external linkages can facilitate additional knowledge flows into the
organisation, thereby enhancing the product development process (Liker et al., 1995; Kamath
and Liker, 1994; Cusumano and Takeishi, 1991). These models suggest that NPD should be
viewed as a knowledge-accumulation process that requires inputs from a wide variety of
sources. The model in Figure 12.16 helps to highlight the accumulation of knowledge over time.
This may be thought of as a snowball gaining in size as it rolls down a snow-covered mountain.
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