Table 12.4 The role of market information in achieving critical success factors
Success factor Studies citing importance Operationalization of success factors Expected market information elements
STRATEGIC SUCCESS FACTORS
Product
advantage
Cooper, 1990; Cooper and
Kleinschmidt, 1987, 1990.
Excellent relative product quality in comparison
to competitive offerings; good value for money
(perceived by the customer); excellence in
meeting customer needs; inclusion of benefits
perceived by the customer as useful; benefits
which are obvious to the customer; superior
price/performance characteristics; unique
attributes
Customer perceptions of competitive offerings; technological
dimensions of competitive offerings; customer perceptions of
new product’s attributes and benefits; Feedback from
customers after trial; feedback on customer understanding of
the message; perceptual maps – based on customer data;
technical specifications, product design information; attributes
and features specifications
Well specified
protocol
As above: Rothwell 1972;
Rothwell et al., 1974;
Rubensteinet al., 1976.
Firm’s knowledge and understanding, prior to
development, of: the target market; customer
needs, wants, preferences; The product concept;
product specifications and requirements
Research information detailing market
demographics/psycographics; customer needs, wants and
preferences; technical specifications, product design
information, attributes and features specifications (prior to
development)
Market
attractiveness
Maidique and Zirger, 1984; de
Brentani, 1991.
High growth rates, high market need for product
type; stability of demand; relative price
insensitivity; high trial of new products
Economic market data; economic trends; level of employment;
income levels; inflation rates
To p
management
support
Ramanujam and Mensch,
McDonough, 1986.
Levels of risk aversion; aspects of corporate
culture
Risk involved; identification of product champions; power and
influence distribution among managers
Synergy/
familiarity
Maidique and Zirger, 1984;
Rothwell et al., 1972, 1974.
Knowledge of technology; relevance to other
projects; access to scientific institutes and
laboratories
Extent of new knowledge involved; technology centres where
knowledge resides; key scientists; technological networks of
firms
DEVELOPMENT PROCESS ISSUES
Proficiency of
pre-
development
activities
Cooper & Cooper and Klein-
schmidt as above, Rubenstein
et al., 1976; Voss, 1985.
Proficiency of concept screening; preliminary
market and technical assessment; preliminary
business analysis; preliminary technical
assessment
Research on customer perceptions, gap analysis, needs analysis,
concept tests; market size potential, market segments; technical
feasibility, preliminary costs; market size, likely price, profit,
break-even etc.
Proficiency of
marketing
activities
Roberts and Burke, 1974;
Rothwell et al., 1972, 1974;
Cooper, 1979, 1980;
Maidique and Zirger, 1984;
Link, 1987
Proficiency of concept, product and market
tests, service, advertising, distribution and
elements of market launch
Market information for the acceptance of alternative product
concepts or designs, customer preference data; market profile
information, information concerning the distribution channels
of interest
Proficiency of
technological
activities
Rothwell et al., 1972, 1974;
Maidique and Zirger, 1984.
Proficiency in physical product development;
in-house and in-use test iterations; trial
production runs; technology acquisition
Technical solutions to functional and marketing problems;
technical information on test performance; information on
production costs and problems; information on suppliers’
developments and adjacent technologies
Integration of
R&D and
marketing
Maidique and Zirger, 1984;
Takeuchi and Nonaka, 1986;
Rubensteinet al., 1976; Gupta
and Wilemon, 1990; Rochford
and Rudelius, 1992.
Amount of information shared; agreement on
decision-making authority; functional
involvement at each stage
Relevance, novelty, credibility, comprehensibility of information
Timeliness of information provision
Speed in
development
Takeuchi and Nonaka, 1986;
Dumaine, 1992; Cooper and
Kleinschmidt, 1994.
Time-to-market; product launched on schedule;
no. of competitors on market at time of launch
Timeliness of information exchange; competitive information