Decision Making For New Product Development In Small Businesses

What goes on in a small firm that lives or dies by its capacity to innovate? How are decisions made on new product development, and how does that feed into the ecological, social and financial sustainability of the firm? This book answers the questions through an in-depth look at a small business that manufactures high-end carpet yarn. Using advanced analytical techniques to interrogate rich qualitative data, the book draws together established theories of decision-making and new product development, coupled with thinking about business sustainability to improve our understanding of this important area of business practice. The book further reinforces the importance and role of organizational learning in organizational decision-making, based on novel analysis of empirically developed qualitative data.

The global consumer product market is exploding. In 2006 alone, 150,000 new products were brought to market. Now for the bad news: of those, fewer than 5% were hits, and fewer than 15% will even exist five years from now. Written for small business owners and entrepreneurs looking for an inside track on new product development, New Product Development for Dummies offers you a unique opportunity to learn from two consummate insiders the secrets of successfully developing, marketing and making a bundle from a new product or service. You learn proven techniques for sizing up market potential and divining customer needs. You get tested-in-the-trenches strategies for launching a new product or service. And you get a frank, in-depth appraisal of the most challenging issues facing new product developers today, including the need to collaborate with global partners, optimizing technology development for a 21st century marketplace, getting start-up capital in an increasingly competitive environment, and much more. Key topics covered include: Developing a winning NPD strategy Generating bold new ideas for products and services Understanding what your customers really want Keeping projects on track, on budget, and on-time Building effective cross-functional teams Planning and executing a blockbuster launch Collaborating with global partners Maximizing your chances for success No matter what size or type of business you’re in, this book provides you with an unbeatable competitive advantage in the booming global marketplace for new products and services.

This book explores the new product development process of firms developing frugal innovation for the base-of-the-pyramid (BOP) markets in developing countries. Frugal innovations are products characterised by an affordable price-point, durability, usability and core functionalities that are highly adapted to BOP consumers’ needs. Frugal products have the potential to drive the development progress and living standards of low-income consumers. With an innovation framework developed from worldwide frugal case studies, this book provides detailed insights through two in-depth start-up firms in Indonesia that have successfully launched frugal products for the low-income market. These two start-ups have addressed two major development challenges for not just Indonesia, but also the global BOP market – traditional methods of cooking and access to clean drinking water. A detailed roadmap is developed from insights into the processes and management decisions of these two start-ups and combined with previous studies on frugal products. Providing a detailed roadmap across the different phases and stages of the new product development process when developing frugal products, this book will be insightful to not only innovators but also investors and government agencies supporting their activities.

Covers the entire process of product development from idea to launch without missing a step!

New products are the major driver of revenue growth in today's dynamic business environment. In this Handbook, the world's foremost experts on new product development bring together the latest thinking on this vitally important topic. These thought-leading authors organize knowledge into useful and insightful frameworks covering all aspects of new product development: companies, collaborators, customers, context, markets, and performance. Managers will benefit from the handbook by expanding their knowledge of new product development and researchers will learn about opportunities to continue expanding on this body of knowledge.

Although many companies have introduced product innovation processes, they are still struggling to achieve the financial results they expected. This book shows how to properly balance the need for speed with the drive for profitability. It demonstrates how to maximize the value of a new product portfolio, how to streamline the product innovation process, and how to achieve growth that is both profitable and sustainable. New product success is not simply about developing new products that sell; it's about getting them to market quickly with the lowest cost and the highest return. Dr. Robert G. Cooper and Dr. Scott J. Edgett use their latest research and draw upon their combined 60 years of experience in the field to show you what the companies that continuously win at new products are doing. Top performers have discovered how to properly balance the need for speed with profitability. With a new process they call NexGen(TM) Stage-Gate(R), Dr. Cooper and Dr. Edgett show precisely how you can ensure that your innovation is not only lean and rapid but profitable as well. For more information, visit: www.stage-gate.com