Search results

This paper aims to identify critical factors that influence small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) suppliers’ involvement in their customers’ product development and contrast these with the factors identified from the customer perspective.

A multiple case study approach was used, including four companies. Data were collected through 32 semi-structured interviews, six workshops and documents.

A model is presented that merges this study’s nine identified critical factors with seven critical factors from the customer perspective. The model provides a dual perspective of supplier involvement in product development, wherein the supplier and customer perspectives are concurrently addressed. Some factors are unique for the supplier, but several mirror those on the customer side.

The study is based on data from SME suppliers in Northern Europe. As it is expected that SME companies are more constrained by limited resources, future studies could study critical factors at larger suppliers.

Customers and suppliers having insights about the critical factors can provide better conditions for product development for the other actor; for example, when evaluating customer–supplier integration.

The presented model of critical factors provides a more nuanced picture of supplier involvement in product development as prior research has been biased toward the customer perspective. This study emphasizes the importance of contextual information that has been unnoticed in the literature.

Despite increasing focus among scholars and practitioners on the design of product-service systems (PSS), there exists no compilation of current knowledge on the role played by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in designing such systems. Thus, this paper sets out to identify and organise the existing research and suggest questions for future research.

A systematic literature review was performed to identify and provide in-depth details on key themes in the literature addressing the design of PSS in SMEs.

This paper identifies five themes in the literature on the design of PSS in SMEs: motives, challenges, SME characteristics, methods and digitalisation. The themes are interrelated, and SME characteristics seem to be at the core as they are related to all the other themes. Gaps in the current knowledge are identified, and questions for future research are suggested.

The suggestions for future research provide a starting point for expanding the research on PSS design and devising practical support for SMEs.

Concern for environmental issues has entered the agenda in many companies within the manufacturing industry. The purpose of this paper is to analyse implications for the decision criteria when environmental issues are introduced into manufacturing strategy. Furthermore, the purpose is to present a framework illustrating how concern for environmental issues affects the manufacturing strategy formulation process.

The paper is based on a review of literature on environmentally conscious manufacturing and literature on manufacturing strategy. These two fields of research are merged in the analysis.

The analysis shows that concern for environmental issues may lead to a number of potential implications for the decision criteria. These implications may, in turn, affect the manufacturing strategy formulation process. A framework is presented that illustrates the interrelationships between the drivers for environmental concern, effects for the competitive priorities, implications for the decision criteria, and how it may affect the manufacturing strategy formulation process.

Inclusion of environmental issues potentially complicates the manufacturing strategy formulation process. This implies a need for further studies on the challenges companies face in the strategy formulation process.

The implications for the decision criteria and the framework presented in the paper may encourage companies to prepare for inclusion of environmental concern in the manufacturing strategy formulation process.

Manufacturing strategy has not traditionally included concern for environmental issues. The paper adopts a novel approach in which research findings on environmental concern are integrated with literature on manufacturing strategy.

To present the outcome from one case study in the EU project grEEEn (Cost Management System for greening Electrical and Electronic Equipment). The study addressed the material shift in printed wiring boards (PWBs), from the traditional FR4 material containing halogenated flame retardants to halogen‐free FR4 materials.

The paper presents by way of introduction the grEEEn method. From the product, process and scenario modelling the results from the analysis of cost, environmental profile and legal compliance are presented and discussed.

It was found that the shift to the halogen‐free material leads to a slight increase in environmental burden. However, the shift to a halogen‐free material could mean that toxic substances are eliminated or reduced resulting in an overall improvement of the environmental performance. The shift causes an increase in cost ranging between nearly zero and 10 ∈ per PWB panel.

The paper presents results from the first study on the shift from FR4 material containing halogenated flame retardants to halogen‐free FR4 materials and comprises an analysis of the economic, environmental and legislative implications.

The paper aims at providing empirically‐based insights into product development when environmental performance requirements are addressed. The purpose is to investigate characteristics of product development projects when environmental performance requirements are considered.

The research was carried out as in‐depth case studies of two commercial product development projects. Data was primarily collected via open‐ended semi‐structured interviews. Other sources of data include written project material, such as minutes from meetings, project and product specifications, company‐internal education material, etc. A few project meetings were also attended.

The paper indicates that the characteristics of product development projects differ when environmental performance requirements are considered. On the basis of the identified differences a two‐dimensional model is suggested. It contains the dimensions “level of ecodesign experience” and “environmental complexity”. The model outlines a tentative contingency framework that can be used for positioning different organisations concerning their level of experience in ecodesign and the challenges they face concerning complexity in the interrelationships between the products and the environment.

The findings presented in the paper provide some insights into the characteristics of projects carried out in organisations in which the “level of ecodesign experience” and “environmental complexity” differ. Aspects related to the two dimensions represented in the model are discussed in the paper. This should support companies to be better prepared for managing the challenges associated with the incorporation of environmental performance requirements into product development projects.

Although different issues have been addressed in earlier ecodesign research, one problem is that ecodesign research often addresses the environmental impacts exclusively, whereas other aspects of product development are omitted or only briefly discussed. Taking the starting point in a number of elements that have been outlined in the literature as representing vital areas of concern in product development, this paper contributes to the understanding of how development organisations consider environmental performance requirements in the product development projects.

On the basis of a literature review, 20 factors essential for successful integration of ecodesign in product development are presented in this paper. The success factors are structured according to six areas of concern: management, customer relationships, supplier relationships, development process, competence and motivation. By relating the factors to a number of product development elements that are generally claimed to be important for product development success, it is indicated that the integration of ecodesign to a great extent are related to the same elements. A few factors seem to be specific for the integration of ecodesign. These factors are related to competence and motivation. As many of the ecodesign integration success factors relate to those elements that are acknowledged to affect product development success, this implies that a company that manages product development well increases the likelihood of being successful when integrating ecodesign into product development.

On the basis of empirical studies, the purpose of this paper is to identify and analyse product properties that affect performance of end‐of‐life systems for electrical and electronic equipment (EEE).

The research was carried out as case studies of end‐of‐life management of EEE. Case A focused on disassembly of computer screens and TV‐sets, whereas Case B addressed logistics systems for recycling of various types of EEE. Data collection methods include interviews, on‐site visits and observations, video recording, and studies of documents.

In total, nine product properties that affect performance of end‐of‐life systems for EEE are identified. The properties relate to three different product levels: the product assortment, the product structure, and the component levels. A model is presented which indicates that choices made and decisions taken in the product development process affect the end‐of‐life system performance. Application of modular product architectures and component standardisation are suggested as relevant design strategies during product development.

The implications for managers are that the findings presented in this paper provide strengthened arguments that modular product architectures and component standardisation are favourable approaches to apply in product development. Complementary to the benefits for manufacturing and logistics also end‐of‐life system performance will improve when these approaches are applied.

Previous research has indicated some product properties that are supposed to influence performance of end‐of‐life systems. These properties originate primarily from conceptual discussions rather than empirical studies. This paper adds to current understanding by presenting empirically‐based insights regarding which specific product properties affect performance.

The purpose of this paper is to explore communication challenges related to geographic distance, with emphasis on differences in national culture and language between R&D and manufacturing engineers, in a development project faced with uncertainty and equivocality.

The results originate from a longitudinal single-case study of a commercial product development project.

Three communication challenges are identified: clarity of shared information, intention to share information, and responsiveness to information received. The challenges are strongly associated with differences in national culture and language. The study also indicates that the communication challenges cannot only be handled by the use of rich communication media, but also by employment of communication media of low richness such as e-mails or “picture books”.

The single-case study approach limits the ability to generalize the findings. Future research should thus focus on additional studies of geographically separated R&D and manufacturing.

The results from the study provide important insights for the management of product development in geographically dispersed settings. The findings emphasize the need to consider potential differences in national culture and language within a product development team. Acknowledging these differences and managing them properly can support efficiency of product development projects.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of challenges related to interfaces in industrial innovation processes, together with suggestions on how these interface challenges can be managed. The paper investigates similarities and differences between the interfaces and identified challenges in terms of required managerial issues.

The result presented in this paper is based on in-depth case studies of ten product development projects from five different manufacturing firms in Sweden. The empirical results are supplemented with results from a review of relevant literature.

To manage the interface challenges market uncertainty, technological uncertainty, product complexity and/or degree of change in product, production complexity and/or degree of change in production, geographical and/or organisational dispersion between technology development and product development, and between product development and production, it was found that several issues have to be considered. Most of the identified managerial issues concern transfer synchronisation, transfer management and transfer scope. The authors have shown that despite many differences between the different phases in the innovation process, a quite concordant picture emerges when it comes to how to manage interface challenges.

The classification of managerial issues into transfer synchronisation, transfer management and transfer scope provides an overview of areas that need to be addressed to manage interface challenges during the industrial innovation process. This knowledge provides some guidance for managers aiming at a smooth transition process, from technology development to production.

By addressing both the interface between technology development and product development, and between product development and production in the same study, the authors have been able to provide a comprehensive overview of managerial issues related to interfaces challenges in industrial innovation processes in manufacturing firms.