Marc Wouters, Susana Morales, Sven Grollmuss and Michael Scheer
The paper provides an overview of research published in the innovation and operations management (IOM) literature on 15 methods for cost management in new product development, and…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper provides an overview of research published in the innovation and operations management (IOM) literature on 15 methods for cost management in new product development, and it provides a comparison to an earlier review of the management accounting (MA) literature (Wouters & Morales, 2014).
Methodology/approach
This structured literature search covers papers published in 23 journals in IOM in the period 1990–2014.
Findings
The search yielded a sample of 208 unique papers with 275 results (one paper could refer to multiple cost management methods). The top 3 methods are modular design, component commonality, and product platforms, with 115 results (42%) together. In the MA literature, these three methods accounted for 29%, but target costing was the most researched cost management method by far (26%). Simulation is the most frequently used research method in the IOM literature, whereas this was averagely used in the MA literature; qualitative studies were the most frequently used research method in the MA literature, whereas this was averagely used in the IOM literature. We found a lot of papers presenting practical approaches or decision models as a further development of a particular cost management method, which is a clear difference from the MA literature.
Research limitations/implications
This review focused on the same cost management methods, and future research could also consider other cost management methods which are likely to be more important in the IOM literature compared to the MA literature. Future research could also investigate innovative cost management practices in more detail through longitudinal case studies.
Originality/value
This review of research on methods for cost management published outside the MA literature provides an overview for MA researchers. It highlights key differences between both literatures in their research of the same cost management methods.
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Antonio K.W. Lau, Richard C.M. Yam and Esther P.Y. Tang
Recent studies have advocated the impact of technological innovation capabilities (TIC) on firms' competitive performances. This paper adopts a study framework of innovation audit…
Abstract
Purpose
Recent studies have advocated the impact of technological innovation capabilities (TIC) on firms' competitive performances. This paper adopts a study framework of innovation audit to examine the relevance of TIC on the innovation performance of the electronics industry in Hong Kong (HK)/Pearl River Delta region.
Design/methodology/approach
Empirical data were acquired through a recent survey of electronics firms in the region. Pearson correlation and regression analysis were employed to examine the relationship between TIC and innovation performance.
Findings
The results verify that R&D, resource allocation, learning, and strategy planning capabilities can significantly improve the innovation sales. R&D and resource allocation capabilities can also significantly improve new product introduction.
Research limitations/implications
The paper contributes to existing literature by studying the impact of TIC on innovation performance in HK. It also explores two out of seven TIC – R&D and resource allocation capabilities – to improve firms' innovation performance in the region.
Originality/value
This paper is one of very few that provide empirical evidence of the TIC and innovation performance in HK. It also revisits the audit framework proposed by recent innovation studies, which helps theoretical development.
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Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess the main and interaction effects of activity-based costing (ABC), internal information systems integration (IISI), and external…
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess the main and interaction effects of activity-based costing (ABC), internal information systems integration (IISI), and external information systems integration (EISI) on manufacturing plant operational performance, controlling for plant characteristics.
Methodology/approach: The study uses survey data from a cross-section of 369 U.S. manufacturing plants. Data were analyzed using hierarchical regression model.
Findings and implications: The results indicate partial support for the main and two-way interaction effects on plant operational performance. The three-way interaction effects are significant and positive, suggesting that deploying all three resources (i.e., ABC, IISI, and EISI) leads to the higher plant operational performance.
Originality/value: The paper significantly extends prior research and contributes to the understanding of the main and interaction effects of ABC, IISI, and EISI on manufacturing plant operational performance. The paper would also be of interest to practitioners interested in keeping up with academic literature.
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The purpose of this research is to review empirical research on customer involvement in innovation and identify future research directions that can better connect this research…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to review empirical research on customer involvement in innovation and identify future research directions that can better connect this research with marketing strategy literatures and offer opportunities for further theoretical development.
Methodology/approach
We conduct a review of empirical articles published in eight leading marketing and innovation journals between 2001 and 2017.
Findings
The review shows that the literature on customer involvement in innovation is highly diverse and fragmented, lacking a common understanding of what constitutes customer involvement in innovation and its theoretical underpinnings. There exists a multitude of conceptualizations of customer involvement in innovation, which limits effective accumulation of domain knowledge. A large number of studies have taken the customer’s perspective to examine their motivation to participate and ability to contribute, whereas less research has been done from the firm’s perspective to understand how firms may effectively manage the well-recognized challenges of customer involvement as well as the implications of customer involvement for long-term innovation strategy and overall performance. Based on the review, we offer recommendations for future research.
Practical implications
We identify important questions for future research that are highly relevant for the practice of customer involvement in innovation.
Originality/value
We provide a systematic review of the rapidly growing empirical research on customer involvement in innovation. We evaluate key points of differences in the literature and offer a synthesis that helps identify opportunities for future research.
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A multi-state linear k-within-(r, s)-of-(m, n): F lattice system consists of m×n components arranged in m rows and n columns. The possible states of the system and its components…
Abstract
Purpose
A multi-state linear k-within-(r, s)-of-(m, n): F lattice system consists of m×n components arranged in m rows and n columns. The possible states of the system and its components are: 0, 1, 2, …, H. According to k values, the system can be categorized into three special cases: decreasing, increasing and constant. The system reliability of decreasing and constant cases exists. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the system reliability in increasing case with i.i.d components, where there is no any algorithm for evaluating the system reliability in this case.
Design/methodology/approach
The Boole-Bonferroni bounds were applied for evaluating the reliability of many systems. In this paper, the author reformulated the second-order Boole-Bonferroni bounds to be suitable for the evaluation of the multi-state system reliability. And the author applied these bounds for deriving the lower bound and upper bound of increasing multi-state linear k-within-(r, s)-of-(m, n): F lattice system.
Findings
An illustrated example of the proposed bounds and many numerical examples are given. The author tested these examples and concluded the cases that make the new bounds are sharper.
Practical implications
In this paper, the author considered an important and complex system, the multi-state linear k-within-(r, s)-of-(m, n): F lattice system; it is a model for many applications, for example, telecommunication, radar detection, oil pipeline, mobile communications, inspection procedures and series of microwave towers systems.
Originality/value
This paper suggests a method for the computation of the bounds of increasing multi-state linear k-within-(r,s)-of-(m,n): F lattice system. Furthermore, the author concluded that the cases that make these bounds are sharper.
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Lijun Liu and Zuhua Jiang
The purpose of this paper is to shed light on how technological innovation capabilities (TICs) influence the product competitiveness of Chinese manufacturing enterprises and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to shed light on how technological innovation capabilities (TICs) influence the product competitiveness of Chinese manufacturing enterprises and identify the key technological innovation components.
Design/methodology/approach
Quantitative research setting was applied in Chinese Yangtze River Delta. Survey was carried out with 166 responses.
Findings
The study reveals that the firm’s strategies capabilities, knowledge resources, fundamental research, application R & D, and manufacturing capabilities have significant influence on the new product development performance and product competitiveness of Chinese manufacturing enterprises. Interestingly, firm’s organizational capabilities and human, finance, and material resource have no significant correlation with the product competitiveness.
Practical implications
From a practical perspective, the relationships among TICs enablers, processes, and product competitiveness may provide a clue regarding how firms can promote technological innovation to sustain their competitive advantage. Moreover, the key factors of TICs found in the study are useful for policy makers and managers of Chinese firms to make decision.
Originality/value
This study is one of the first studies to apply the structure equation model method to measure the relationship between TICs and product competitiveness under the background of Chinese manufacturing. The results provide a new framework on the how technological innovation capability influence product competitiveness of Chinese manufacturing firms. From a managerial perspective, this study identifies several crucial TICs factors to support product competitiveness, and discusses the implications of these factors for developing organizational strategies that encourage technological innovation.
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The purpose of this study is to empirically explore the impact of government subsidies for the digital economy on corporate innovation. It aims to determine whether these…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to empirically explore the impact of government subsidies for the digital economy on corporate innovation. It aims to determine whether these subsidies promote innovation, and to examine the specific ways in which they inspire corporate innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
This study selects Chinese A-share listed companies during the period from 2007 to 2019 as the research object. It employs panel data to empirically examine the impact of government subsidies in the digital economy on corporate innovation.
Findings
The findings reveal that government subsidies for the digital economy effectively promote corporate innovation. They significantly increase the number and share of invention patents and improve the quality of corporate innovation. Moreover, it is noted that the positive impact is largely confined to non-state-owned enterprises, small firms and those in highly competitive markets.
Originality/value
The contribution of this paper lies in focusing on government subsidies in the digital economy, which is distinct from the general government subsidies in a broad sense.
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Cláudia Fabiana Gohr, Maryana Scoralick de Almeida Tavares and Sandra Naomi Morioka
This paper aims to propose an assessment framework to evaluate companies' innovation capability in the context of industrial clusters.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose an assessment framework to evaluate companies' innovation capability in the context of industrial clusters.
Design/methodology/approach
The assessment framework was built based on the Graph-Theoretic Approach (GTA) to measure the influence of the factors and sub-factors of innovation capabilities. To quantify the level of interdependence between factors and sub-factors of innovation capability Delphi method was adopted. The authors developed five case studies in firms from an Information and Communications Technology and Creative Economy cluster in Northeastern Brazil to test the framework's applicability.
Findings
The results showed that identifying and evaluating the factors of innovation capability allows a larger understanding of what affects these capabilities to a greater or lesser extent and contributes to strategic decision-making.
Research limitations/implications
The framework evaluates the innovation capability of each firm, not providing an index for the whole industrial cluster. Besides, the framework does not consider the innovations developed by the companies through the innovation's capabilities. As the Delphi technique was adopted to analyze the levels of influence or interdependence between factors and sub-factors of innovation capability, different experts may lead to different results.
Practical implications
Among the managerial implications, the authors can highlight the innovation capability index as a practical performance measure to stimulate improvement initiatives regarding innovations in industrial clusters. Besides, as the proposed framework is generic, research organizations, public institutions and regional governments can adopt it to analyze innovation capabilities in cluster-based companies.
Originality/value
Previous industrial cluster studies have concentrated on knowledge transfer as the main attribute influencing innovation capabilities. The literature also presents assessment frameworks focusing on qualitative analyses or innovation capabilities outcomes (patents and products). Differently, the authors proposed a quantitative assessment framework considering specific factors (and sub-factors) of innovation capabilities in industrial clusters.
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Valdir Antonio Vitorino Filho and Roberto Giro Moori
This study aims to examine the role of technological capabilities in the competitive advantage of supply chains for the “countryside” hub of São Paulo state.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the role of technological capabilities in the competitive advantage of supply chains for the “countryside” hub of São Paulo state.
Design/methodology/approach
An interdisciplinary approach was adopted by combining the strategic orientation of supply chain management as a link between market and operational activities, with technological capabilities as an essential factor for competitive advantage. This exploratory, mixed-method study was conducted in the Campinas technology hub, which has become important for its available skilled workforce, and broad and structured supply chain. The study sample included ten companies and dealt with the techniques of content analysis and non-parametric statistics – the Mann–Whitney U technique.
Findings
The results revealed that strategic supply chain management has an impact on technological capabilities and competitive advantage.
Originality/value
They also showed that technological capabilities have a partial mediating effect on competitive advantage.
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Jorge Tello-Gamarra, David Jesus Mayorga Gutierrez, Martin Hernani-Merino and Julio Zevallos
In general, it is believed that firms belonging to the high technological intensity stratum have a more innovation capability. However, evidence has begun to appear in the…
Abstract
Purpose
In general, it is believed that firms belonging to the high technological intensity stratum have a more innovation capability. However, evidence has begun to appear in the literature demonstrating that firms in the low-tech stratum also have the innovation capability. This paper seeks to solve this dilemma. Through an analysis of industrial firms in an emerging country, this study aims to identify the existence of innovation capability in all strata of technological intensity.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors empirically assessed the impact of innovation capability on the performance of firms in all strata of technological intensity. The authors studied a sample of 910 firms from different industries and technology intensities operating in Peru, by applying a partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM).
Findings
This study obtained three important findings. First, the authors show that innovation capability is present in all strata of technological intensity. Second, innovation capability differs according to the technological stratum. Third, firms in the lowest technological stratum can use more capabilities than those in the other strata.
Originality/value
This study pioneers the empirical analysis of innovation capability and technological intensity simultaneously to verify that innovation capability exists in the four strata of technological intensity.