In recent years, there has been a considerable interest in Malaysian manufacturing firms in New Product Development (NPD) which is considered to be indirectly a booster for the success of a firm. The purpose of the study is to highlight the NPD processes and methods used in Malaysian industry. This paper focuses only on the formal NPD-processes and NPD-strategies. From the available database, it is found that there are 250 confirmed companies from automotive, chemical, and electrical industries, which have R&D facilities; out of which 36% have agreed to participate in the survey, and 29% questionnaires have been used. The results show that the best firms have their R&D and NPD departments either overseas or partially in Malaysia.

Malaysian manufacturing firms are interested in New Product Development (NPD) methods, due to the fact that they are competitive tools for survival. The purpose of the present study is to investigate NPD practices in Malaysia, in particular the outsourcing of NPD and the organizing of NPD. We achieved our objectives by conducting a survey of 72 companies in the automotive, chemical, and electrical industries and analyzing the results. Managers involved in NPD will benefit from the findings presented in this paper. The results indicate that the NPD practices used in Malaysian firms focus more on production cost and manufacturability, whereas the need for increased knowledge receives lower priority.

Innovation is paramount to success. Over time firms must maintain their ability to innovate in order to maintain their competitive edge. In this paper we explore the role human resource management has in nurturing and enhancing the innovative capability of the firm. To explore HRM activities, functions and processes that enhance or impede innovativeness we conducted a literature review. Following this review, 10 propositions have been made that link HRM to both incremental and radical innovativeness respectively. Our results include suggestions for empirical studies to validate our propositions as well as some managerial implications.

Board roles in recently started firms have been of little interest in earlier research. The different context of smaller firms in relation to larger corporations makes the roles of the board different in different size of firms.

This study has two purposes. The first purpose is to explore if variables in the context of the firm can explain the existence of external board members in recently started firms and differences between manufacturing firms and IT-firms. The second purpose is to describe how the external board members effect the resource configuration in those firms.

Board roles in recently started firms are a rarely studied topic. A few studies of board roles in small and medium sized firms have been made (Huse and Halvorsen, 1995), and the results of these studies can be used as a framework for this study. One reason for the absence of research in the field is that these firms are often family firms where the board frequently has only a formal role, though they are organised as limited companies. Even though there has been little interest in research on boards of directors in recently started firms, society has shown an increasing interest in the phenomenon. For example, the Swedish National Board for Industrial and Technical Development (NUTEK) did not have one single note on the subject of boards of directors in their information regarding new firms in 1986 while, in 1997, the importance of a functioning board was mentioned various times in the corresponding brochure. In the guidebook which participants receive when taking part in the McKinsey business-plan competition Venture Cup, one of the six chapters discusses the importance of a well-functioning leading group and board of directors. The motivation is that new companies have a better chance to survive and reach the market with its products if it has a well-functioning board.

Information sharing is an important factor for effectiveness within the internal supply chain. In this paper we use a methodology for mapping information flows in an internal supply chain, and case studies in two Swedish multinational organizations. Eight retrospective cases were used to map, describe and analyze the information flow that supports the physical material flow from the receipt of an order to point of delivery. Every involved person was interviewed on at least one occasion each. The interviews were conducted to map and describe the information and physical material flow. The aim was to identify factors that could improve and rationalise information flows and generate a better flow within the organization.

The study shows the importance of an integrated information system, but also clearly indicates the importance of a collaborative culture and an awareness of the human-technology interface. The study also shows that three factors of interface distortions are most frequent in the cases: (1) changes registered in the database trigger no action among the staff, (2) new knowledge to staff is stored only orally and not in the database, and (3) interface between the paper system and the database, and between the old and the new information storage culture.

Forskning inom management och organisation indikerar att innovativa företag är dubbelt så lönsamma som andra företag (Tidd et. al., 1997). Innovationsverksamhet är riskabel och svår att organisera, men sedan 1980-talet har ett flertal modeller presenterats för att organisera innovationsverksamhet. Forskningen inom detta område benämns ibland Innovation management. TQM-konceptet är en managementfilosofi för att förbättra den operationella kvaliten i ett företag och som baseras på de anställdas deltagande, ständiga förbättringar och kundtillfredsställelse.

I denna artikel kommer vi att försöka skapa grunden till en kombinerad modell för TQM och innovationsledning som drar nytta av de båda filosofiernas respektive styrkor. Vi kommer också att diskutera hur modellen kan användas och vidareutvecklas av små och medelstora företag i samarbete med högskolan.

Information sharing is an important factor for cooperating within an integrated supply chain. This paper presents a methodology for mapping information flows in an integrated supply chain and a case study, using the mapping methodology, from two Swedish multinational organizations. Eight cases where used in a retro perspective way to map, describe and analyze the information flow, which supports the physical material flow, from receiving an order to the point of delivery. This paper also describes two types of information flows: Direct information and indirect information. The case study presented in this paper focus on the direct information. The present study indicates the importance of an integrated, updated and smoothly operating information system. The complexity and the performance of the information flow and the physical material flow within each case where also analyzed from three main perspectives: 1) the right information, 2) at the right time, 3) to the right place. Over 30 semi-structured interviews have been made to map and describe the information and physical material flow. Key personnel involved in the process from order to point of delivery where interviewed. One conclusion of the study is that three types of disturbances was domination the cases: 1) Procedures to handle changes in an order from a customer, 2) lack of information within the internal supply chain, and 3) Procedures to handle information about delays in internal production or wrong material delivered.

Managing a successful brand that is differentiated and consumer oriented can provide a comprehensive competitive advantage. The goal of this research is to identify drivers that influence the brand and to determine which drivers influence the brand more, in order to develop a more effective business strategy. The main question is how the drivers in a proposed model contribute to brand success. An abductive theory approach is adopted and food managers from Italy and Sweden were questioned. The paper explores the enriched-food brands in the Italian and Swedish markets. The measurement scales were constructed using theory combined with suggestions from industry. The authors modeled the eight constructs as nine correlated first-order factors. The model includes seven independent variables (consumer orientation, brand differentiation, brand knowledge, new brand development, values, organization and strategy) and the dependent variable brand success. All variables contain four to six items. The variance-based structural equation modeling approach, using PLS algorithm, have been applied. This study provides insight and empirical evidence on the development and enhancement of brand success. The findings can be employed as more effective brand strategies in a sector that has been under-investigated in academic literature and practice. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

Communication has been identified as the main barrier to strategy implementation. Using communications theory we develop a framework that can be used to understand important dimensions of communication when communicating innovation strategies. By means of a qualitative multi-case study approach, we analyze the strategy content, the communication channels used, and the communication uniformity among managers and relate these dimensions to strategy implementation success factors. We conducted a total of 32 interviews among senior managers in research and product development, HR managers, HR specialists, chief engineers, product managers, project managers, and engineers. We sought to understand how communication of an innovation strategy was performed and further how such communication was interpreted and acted upon. Our findings suggest that the content of the strategy together with the communication channels and the uniformity between managers will affect strategy implementation success. Further our findings suggest that intentional vagueness in strategy content, contrary to expectations, can be fruitful in certain cases.

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between HRM practices and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in large established firms. More specifically, the purpose is to add to the understanding of the influence of HRM practices on EO.

Design/methodology/approach

An e-mail survey was distributed to a sample of Swedish and German manufacturing firms in high-tech and medium high-tech manufacturing industries, and firms in knowledge-intensive services sectors, with more than 250 employees. In total, 810 surveys were distributed, with a response rate of 12.7 per cent. Findings - The results show that an emphasis on entrepreneurial aspects leads to an increased EO only in the case of training and development. A conclusion therefore is that it seems difficult to recruit personnel or to use appraisal and rewards as to create EO on a firm level.

Practical implications

The study indicates that firms aiming to increase their EO should make sure to emphasize entrepreneurial aspects during staff training and development activities. Originality/value - This empirical study paves the way towards a better understanding of the link between HRM practices and EO. The results should be of interest for both HR professionals and researchers interested in understanding this important relationship.

The purposes of this special issue were to connect Human Resource Management (HRM) research and innovation research and to contribute towards a better understanding of how HRM can be deployed to support organisations in their innovation efforts. In this commentary, we review the results from the five articles in this special issue in general and offer suggestions for future research from these five contributions. We do this by pinpointing a number of themes, contingencies, measurement challenges and ideas on working with other research areas that might be useful in future research on the relationship between HRM and innovation.

New product development (NPD) is a knowledge-intensive activity, perhaps even more so in recent years given the shift toward more open innovation processes, which involve active inward and outward technology transfer. While the extant literature has established that knowledge is critical for NPD performance, knowledge generated through NPD can have an additional impact on external technology exploitationas when firms go beyond pure internal application of knowledge to commercialize their technologies, for example, by means of technology outlicensing. Grounded in the knowledge-based view of the firm, this paper examines how the integration of domain-specific knowledge, procedural knowledge, and general knowledge generated through NPD affects a firm's proficiency in identifying technology commercialization opportunities. Additionally, analysis of how technology opportunity identification relates to technology commercialization performance is provided. Empirically, the paper draws on survey data from 193 Swedish medium-sized manufacturing firms in four industries active with NPD, and regression analyses and structural equation modeling were used to test the hypotheses. The results highlight the importance of integrating domain-specific and general NPD knowledge to proficiently identify technology licensing opportunities. The empirical findings also provide strong support for a subsequent link between technology opportunity identification and technology commercialization performance. Altogether, these results point to strong and previously unexplored complementarities between inward and outward technology exploitation, that is, between NPD and technology licensing. As such, the results provide important theoretical implications for research into the fields of knowledge integration, technology exploitation, opportunity identification, and technology markets. Moreover, the results have significant managerial implications concerning how knowledge generated through NPD can help firms to achieve both strategic and monetary benefits when trying to profit from technology. In particular, to set up proficient technology commercialization processes, it appears beneficial for firms to integrate knowledge that is gained through the ordinary activities of developing and commercializing products. Specifically, the integration of domain-specific knowledge and general knowledge helps firms to match their technologies with new applications and markets, which is often the critical barrier to successful technology commercialization activities. Managers are thus encouraged to integrate domain-specific knowledge and general knowledge from NPD to reap additional benefits in profiting from investments in innovation and technology.

The study, which compares the success factors for eco-innovations with those factors for other innovations, is intended to improve our understanding of how ecoinnovations achieve market success. A case study design is used. Six eco-innovations cases and six other innovations cases are compared. Data were obtained mainly from interviews with the eco-innovators and the other innovators, written materials about the innovations, and secondary data from an earlier quantitative study. The study shows that there are both similarities and differences in the success factors for the two types of innovations. One similarity is that a network with diverse competences supports successful innovators. However, for eco-innovators the network is used more for solving technological problems. Other innovators use the network to a greater extent for assistance with financing and marketing. In addition, eco-innovators have greater difficulty than other innovators in attracting venture capital for development. The results indicate that an interesting approach for future research would be to take a life-cycle perspective that identifies the factors that influence the further growth and development of eco-innovative firms. The identification of the success factors for eco-innovations’ development may improve their chances of success. Furthermore, the results can help policymakers improve the support system for commercialization of eco-innovations. As a comparative study of success factors for eco-innovations and other innovations, the study presents a new way to identify such factors for eco-innovators.

Formal new product development (NPD) processes have become an important tool in NPD management. However, our understanding of what makes formal NPD process implementation successful in terms of acceptance and performance is still limited. This paper contributes to an improved understanding of factors affecting the acceptance and use of formal NPD processes. Our results show that acceptance of formal NPD processes is determined by several factors, such as ease of use, transparency of discourse, continuous improvement, involvement of NPD actors, and the ability to bridge differences in thinking. Furthermore, that acceptance of formal NPD processes affects NPD performance positively. These results draw on data from a survey posted to employees working for nine large manufacturers of commercial vehicles worldwide. The results should encourage managers to consider and enhance the factors affecting acceptance. This could be done through using new media for publication to increase transparency and perceived ease of use of the NPD process. Further acceptance of the formal NPD process is increased if it mirrors an operative reality and if organisational structures for improvement of the process are implemented and inclusive to employees involved in NPD. © 2017 World Scientific Publishing Europe Ltd.

Product Development (PD) in Small and medium-sized Firms (SMEs) is a long-neglected research area, and little cumulative work has been conducted previously. The purpose of this paper is to provide a first overview of the area of PD in SMEs. In doing so, we draw upon a sample of 149 peer-reviewed research papers selected from an initial sample of 5694 papers. The review provides tentative answers to issues such as the analytical and methodological approaches of the papers, which topics or areas of research have been focused on by previous scholars, and what kinds of topics that are well covered.

To take advantage of knowledge and obtain better interaction between students, universities and companies, the University of Halmstad in Sweden has developed a method over the last thirty years that has produced significant results. This method contains a philosophy and a structure that promotes the university’s academic development, while fostering learning among students and directly adding long-term value to the companies of the region. The method is described in this chapter, along with reflections and the results. The conclusions are presented in relation to the program, the interaction and the significance of this process for students and companies.

To take advantage of knowledge and obtain better interaction between students, universities and companies, the University of Halmstad in Sweden has developed a method over the last thirty years that has produced significant results. This method contains a philosophy and a structure that promotes the university's academic development, while fostering learning among students and directly adding long-term value to the companies of the region. The method is described in this chapter, along with reflections and the results. The conclusions are presented in relation to the program, the interaction and the significance of this process for students and companies.

This article focuses on the outsourcing of NPD in medium sized firms and especially the decisions connected to outsourcing. Although the framework is probably also useful for small and large firms, the three empirical studies the results explored samples of medium sized firms. NPD is a knowledge intensive activity that requires the ability to handle uncertainties and it is very dependent on the individuals involved in the process. In this way it differs from production, which (especially when producing standard items on a large scale) is easier to control, monitor and to evaluate the costs. Outsourcing can lead to advantages in form of lower costs, access to knowledge or other resources, as well as access to markets, but it can also result in a knowledge drain, lower motivation among in-house staff, or an increased level of dependency on external organizations. A decision framework is presented that describe the decisions process when outsourcing NPD.

De projekt som misslyckas, misslyckas oftast i början av projektet (vid beställningen) eller i slutet av projektet, då projektets resultat ska överlämnas till beställaren. Detta kan bero på att beställaren och projektledaren inte samverkar på ett bra sätt före, under och efter projektet. Samspelet mellan beställaren och projektledaren har börjat belysas under de senaste åren. Så, vad innebär det att vara beställare av ett projekt och vilka kompetenser behöver en beställare till projekt? I denna artikel presenteras två delstudier; en kvalitativ studie bestående av fyra workshops med professionella projektledare och en kvantitativ studie med en enkät besvarad av projektledare inom privata, offentliga och ideella organisationer.

PURPOSE – To provide empirical evidence to support the effect of a firm’s ability to integrate knowledge on the innovation performance of a firm, and to examine the different effects of three categories of knowledge.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH – Data were collected using an e-survey sent to R&D managers representing firms with between 100-800 employees from a cross-section of industries. A total of 355 firms were addressed and 193 questionnaires were returned and usable (54.4% response rate). Hypotheses were tested using multiple regression analysis with and without interaction terms.

FINDINGS – Results indicate that ability to integrate thematic knowledge is significantly related to innovation performance. There is also a less significant indication that product properties, as product complexity and newness, have a positively moderating effect on the above relation.

RESEARCH LIMITATIONS – The sample represented medium sized firms. The data were collected in Sweden. As with most studies, it is important to replicate this study in different contexts.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS – The study offers a suggestion to how managers can focus their efforts in order to improve their ability to integrate knowledge from product development projects.

Research has indicated that small and medium sized firms (SMEs) play an important role for the growth of economy. However, in order to be able to compete at an international level, most SMEs are bound to work in alliances in order to gather enough knowledge and resources for product and technology development or to be able to penetrate a larger market.

Alliances can be formed with different types of actors (i.e. suppliers, costumers, agents, universities, consultancies) and in the alliance information and knowledge is gathered and created. Information is defined by Kogut & Zander as “knowledge which can be transmitted without loss of integrity” which includes facts, axiomatic propositions and symbols. This knowledge can be categorized as the domain-specific, procedural knowledge or general knowledge.

In the present study a case approach is used to investigate how different types of information and knowledge generated in a distributed product development is integrated to the firm. What methods are used and some conclusions on what methods are more successful for each type of information/knowledge.

Results indicate a very high representation of formal information sharing (server or documents) even if there is a high degree of belief (understanding) among the respondents that personal meetings and continuous information sharing would be better if they had a system for this. Therefore the conclusions should lead to systems that address the above problems.

The objective of the present study is to investigate how different types of knowledge,generated in product development in an alliance context, are integrated to the individualfirm. Knowledge is categorized as thematic knowledge, process knowledge, and generalknowledge. Knowledge sharing is categorized according to level of involvement. Resultsindicate a very high representation of impersonal knowledge sharing (server ordocuments), even if there is a high degree of belief among the respondents that personalmeetings and continuous knowledge sharing would be better. The present study uses acase study approach in three medium sized manufacturing firms.

Research has indicated that small and medium sized firms (SMEs) play an important role in the growth of the economy. However, in order to be able to compete at an international level, most SMEs are bound to work in alliances in order to gather enough knowledge and resources for product and technology development or to be able to penetrate a larger market. Alliances can be formed with different types of actors (i.e., suppliers, customers, agents, universities, consultancies); in the alliance, information and knowledge are gathered and created. Information is defined as "knowledge that can be transmitted without loss of integrity," which includes facts, axiomatic propositions, and symbols. This knowledge can be categorized as domain-specific, procedural, or general. In the present study, a case approach is used to investigate how different types of information and knowledge generated through distributed product development are integrated into the firm, what methods are used, and some conclusions on what methods are more successful for each type of information or knowledge. Results indicate a very high representation of formal information sharing (document exchange) even if there is a high degree of agreement among the respondents that personal meetings and continuous information sharing would be better if they had a system for this. Therefore, the conclusions should lead to systems that address the above problems.

This thesis deals with two aspects of knowledge needed for new product development; theaccess to external knowledge through outsourcing of NPD and the integration of knowledgedeveloped when outsourcing activities in the NPD process. As modern products competing onincreasingly international markets call for both complex and specialized knowledge, it isbecoming more important to take an outward perspective of knowledge, searching for externalknowledge sources, in order to be competitive. But it is also important for the firm to take aninward perspective on integration of the knowledge achieved from external sources in order tosecure the knowledge gained.

Outsourcing of New Product Development (NPD) refers to the outsourcing of activities fordeveloping new products (goods and/or service), where all or the innovative part of the NPDprocess is purchased externally according to a contract from organizational units separatefrom the outsourcing firm. This means that the service to develop a whole or a part of a newproduct is outsourced. This definition implies that (A) the outsourced activity shall be aninnovative (strongly contributing to the newness) part of the NPD process, (B) the outsourcedactivity was previously conducted internally, and (C) the activity shall be purchased andregulated in a contractual agreement between the organizations.

Knowledge integration refers to the process of acquiring, sharing, and making use ofknowledge by combining it with previous knowledge in order to create new value. Becauseknowledge possessed in collaborating firms is often complementary, it is important tocombine it with previous knowledge in the firm. Therefore knowledge integration is chosenthroughout the thesis as the term for the overall process.

Based on transaction costs theory, resource based and knowledge based perspectives twomajor issues are investigated. First, the identification of which factors are the most importantfor firms when making the decision to outsource activities in the NPD process. Second, theestablishment of the importance for knowledge integration of external knowledge in the firm,and to find what role level of involvement among staff plays for efficiently achievingknowledge integration.

The thesis is a compilation thesis (with six appended papers) based on findings from threequantitative studies and a longitudinal case study (presented in two of the appended papers).Using cases from and samples of medium-sized manufacturing firms with in-house NPD itwas found that, while cost has been traditionally considered the most important factor foroutsourcing in general, search for external knowledge is found to have a greater importancewhen intangible processes as NPD is object for outsourcing. It is also found that thematicknowledge is the most important type of knowledge to efficiently integrate to achieve highinnovation performance and that a higher degree of processes and culture supportinginvolvement, increase knowledge integration when outsourcing activities in the NPD process.

Este documento presenta los resultados de un estudio realizado en cuatro empresas suecas, de mediano tamaño, para entender los razonamientos detrás del outsourcing en la innovación. Se aborda especialmente el problema de integrar conocimiento desarrollado en la empresa que requiere el outsourcing, esto es analizado, evidenciando oportunidades de mejora. Los resultados indican que para las pequeñas y medianas empresas (PYME), con recursos limitados, puede ser mejor dar prioridad a la proximidad entre empresas antes que al conocimiento de punta, es crucial mantener cercanía y contacto frecuente durante el proceso de outsourcing en aquellas actividades intensivas en conocimiento.

The focus of this thesis is the outsourcing of activities in the New Product Development (NPD) process. Outsourcing of NPD refers to the outsourcing of development activities for the developing of new products (goods and/or service), where all or just the innovative part of the NPD process is purchased externally based on a contract with organizational units separate from the outsourcing firm. This definition implies that (A) the activity should be an innovative part of the NPD process, (B) the activity should have previously been conducted internally, and (C) the activity should be purchased under a contractual agreement between the organizations.

This thesis focuses on the outsourcing of NPD in medium sized firms. Although the framework is probably also useful for small and large firms, the three empirical studies in the thesis explored samples of medium sized firms. NPD is a knowledge intensive activity that requires the ability to handle uncertainties and is very dependent on the individuals involved in the process. In this way it differs from production, which (especially when producing standard items on a large scale) is easier to control, monitor and to evaluate the costs. Therefore, some considerations connected to knowledge acquisition and uncertainty needs to be addressed.

A literature review reveals that research on outsourcing often focuses on A) Large firms and B) outsourcing of production activities. In addition, research on NPD usually involves large firms, despite the fact that the interest in product development in small and medium sized firms has grown rapidly in recent years. Since outsourcing of NPD is a method frequently used to access competence, and reduce costs and/or uncertainty, it seems motivated to study the outsourcing of NPD in medium sized firms.

The thesis presents a decision framework that is based on three empirical studies (two survey studies and one case study) and a theoretical framework. The theoretical framework presented in the thesis is commonly used to understand outsourcing questions in general. In the present thesis the framework is applied in the specific situation of outsourcing a knowledge intensive activity (such as NPD) in the context of medium sized firms. Transactions cost, resource based, resource dependency, knowledge based, agency cost, and institutional theories are revisited in the thesis.

Outsourcing can lead to advantages in form of lower costs, access to knowledge or other resources, as well as access to markets, but it can also result in a knowledge drain, lower motivation among in-house staff, or an increased level of dependency on external organizations. Therefore the decision to outsource is not always a good one, and the pros and cons must be carefully evaluated. The result of the thesis is a decision framework that maps factors affecting the decisions that need to be made when outsourcing NPD. The implications can be of value to the outsourcing firm as well as to the potential outsourcing partner. The framework has been presented to the firms in the studies and thus has already proved its value to some extent.

The framework will also be used for the design of the studies that will hopefully take me towards my PhD degree, including a new survey study as well as a case study focusing on knowledge integration.

This paper reveals the results from using a case study of four Swedish medium-sized firms to understand the rationales behind outsourcing of innovation. Further the problem of integrating knowledge found during the project in the outsourcing firm is studied and opportunities for improvements revealed. Results indicate that for a SME with limited resources it may be better to give priority to closeness before world class knowledge as close and frequent contacts are crucial when outsourcing knowledge intense activities.

It is known that awareness and use of methods and processes for NPD raise thesuccess rate of NPD projects. PDMA’s studies indicate that the use of NPD processesis increasing. However, their sample covers only large firms and addresses samples ofonly US firms. The present paper focuses on the use of methods and processes inmedium sized firms. The study is a repeat study of a survey presented at the EIASMconference in Sofia Antipolis in 2002 and later published in 2004. This survey willbe repeated in Swedish firms every fifth year. It was originally motivated by the repeated PDMA survey of NPD practices.The survey of 2007 has a general purpose to describe practices for NPD in medium sized firms and make a comparison over time possible in order to find trends or changes. But as a special theme the 2007 survey maps: a) sources for new ideas (“the fuzzy front end”), and b) methods and practices for collaboration when outsourcing NPD.

Artikeln belyser begreppet serendipity ur ett antal teoretiska perspektiv och relaterar vidare till ett antal historiska exempel. Slutligen formuleras en sammanställning med tankar om hur förutsättningarna för serendipity kan stärkas i en projektgrupp. Ambitionen är att de teoretiska faktorerna som presenteras i sammanställningen ska kunna testas empiriskt i ett senare skede.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of a firm’s ability to integrate knowledge on their innovation performance, in order to help firms prioritize their resources used for knowledge integration more effectively. Data were collected from a survey mailed to R&D managers in firms with between 100-1000 employees in a cross-section of industries. Five hypotheses were tested using multiple regression analysis with and without interaction terms. The results indicate that a categorization of knowledge is useful for understanding knowledge integration. The study also shows that the ability to integrate domain-specific knowledge is significantly related to innovation performance. Furthermore, the results indicate that technology turbulence in the industry has a positive moderating effect on the above relation. Managerial implications suggest how managers can focus their efforts in order to effectively integrate knowledge in product development projects. © Imperial College Press.

The purpose of the present study is to describe the process of integrating knowledge created during joint product development projects involving medium sized manufacturing firms, and to find some early factors that can promote success in the integration process. Knowledge integration can be described as spirals within the partners and the alliance network that must interact in order to promote successful integration. On an operational level a technological infrastructure, an organizational infrastructure, and cultural factors can be identified to support the integration. This paper presents a framework for how to analyze the process of knowledge integration when outsourcing new product development (NPD). A case study of six Swedish manufacturing firms, in different industries, was conducted. Results indicate that a culture with high expectations on the potential of the cooperation is the most important part for high integration. Still most firms offer technological and organizational infrastructure without emphasizing the culture of integration.

This article focuses on the outsourcing of new product development (NPD) in medium‐sized firms, and it specifically focuses the decisions connected to outsourcing. Although the model presented in the article is probably useful for small and large firms, the firms in the empirical study are medium‐sized. NPD is a knowledge‐intensive line of activities that requires the ability to handle uncertainties and it is very dependent on the individuals involved in the process. In this way it differs from production, which (especially when producing standard items in a large scale) is easier to control, monitor and evaluate the costs.

Outsourcing can lead to advantages in the form of lower costs, access to knowledge or other resources (labs, funding etc.) as well as access to new markets, but it can also result in aknowledge drain, lower motivation among in‐house staff or an increased level of dependency on external organisations. A decision model is presented in this article that describes the decision process when outsourcing NPD.

Research on outsourcing normally focuses on outsourcing of production and often uses large firms as samples. Only a few studies address the outsourcing of services or knowledge-intensive activities such as new product development (NPD), and especially in the context of medium-sized firms. Our earlier research in medium-sized firms indicates that outsourcing of NPD is frequent in medium-sized firms, and that there is a lack of knowledge about the phenomenon. This article offers a theoretical framework to study the outsourcing of NPD, and includes the results from a longitudinal case study carried out in six Swedish medium-sized firms to help understand the rationales behind outsourcing of NPD. Results from the present study indicate that ‘good enough’ is the keyword for medium-sized firms with limited resources. This means that it is considered more important with proximity and trust than world class competence, since close and frequent contacts are crucial, when outsourcing knowledge-intensive activities such as NPD. A conceptual model and a definition of the good enough concept are also presented.

Malaysian manufacturing firms need New Product Development (NPD) methods as tools for boosting their ability to survive. The purpose of this study is to investigate NPD practices in Malaysia, especially practices for outsourcing NPD and organizing NPD. The objectives were achieved by using a mail survey addressing companies in the automotive, chemical, and electrical industries. The results of the survey indicate that the NPD practices used in Malaysian firms focus more on production cost and manufacturability, whereas the need for increased knowledge receives lower priority. The results also reveal a major difference in practice between locally owned firms and subsidiaries of multinational companies.

Recently, there has been a considerable interest for New Product Development (NPD) in Malaysian firms. The purpose of this study is to highlight the use of NPD processes and methods in Malaysian industry with focus on the formal NPD-processes, NPD Strategies, Outsourcing of NPD activities, and the Organizing of NPD. A total of 72 useful questionnaires were analyzed in the study. The results from the study are compared with the results from similar studies that have been carried out in US and Sweden in the same context. The results indicate that the use of formal NPD-processes, in Malaysia, is markedly lower than in USA and Sweden. © 2009 World Scientific Publishing

Research often suggests that formal New Product Development (NPD) processes increase the success rate of NPD projects in a firm. However, recent studies indicate a relatively low usage of formal NPD-processes. Very few studies of NPD practices have been carried out in contexts other than that of the US, thus it is of interest to explore whether or not important differences exist. The present study aims to identify the use of and practices within formal NPD-processes in Swedish manufacturing firms and to compare the results with a study conducted in a US context. The results indicate that differences exist in for example reward systems for NPD teams.

The construction sector is often accused of being inefficient, conservative and noninnovative, although some commentators have suggested that the construction sector is not backward, it is merely different to other industries. One of these differences is the uniqueness of construction projects, which are determined by the characteristics of the site, interaction of project participants (also partly site specific) and the relationship between contractors and building product producers (which changes from one project to another). These factors are known to colour construction innovation. Previous research into the Swedish construction sector has identified a significant gap between the building product producers who are 'product focused' and the contractors who are 'project focused', with concerns expressed about effectiveness of communication between two. The findings of previous research imply, both implicitly and explicitly, that this gap may be hindering innovation within the construction sector. This appears to have implications for those concerned with construction, the building users and society as a whole. In this paper the authors provide an extensive review of the literature and research findings from which a number of unique insights are offered. The reasons for the gap between producers and contractors are discussed and a number of innovative measures are proposed that may help to bridge the gap, and hence improve innovation systems. The paper concludes with some practical findings for producers and contractors as well as some thoughts on where future research should be targeted.

From previous research it can be concluded that entrepreneurial orientation, as it for instanceinvolves organizational learning shaped by creativity, individual commitment and teamwork, can beinfluenced by human resource management practices. This paper aims to further explore the relationship between HRM practices andentrepreneurial orientation in large established firms. More specifically, our purpose is to add indepthknowledge of the influence of HRM practices on entrepreneurial orientation. Usinga a survey, data from a sample of Swedish and German manufacturing firms in high‐ and medium high‐techmanufacturing industries, and firms in knowledge‐intensive services sectors was analyzed. The results suggest that it is only in the case of training & development including entrepreneurial aspects actually lead to increased entrepreneurial orientation.

Undervisning vid högskola eller universitet innehåller normalt ett antal olika standardformer av undervisning. Exempelvis finns det definierat vid Högskolan i Halmstad (HH) hur mycket betalning en lärare ska ha vid föreläsning, seminarie och handledning. Dessa undervisningsformer är sålunda väl etablerade i högskolesystemet, men passar inte alltid när man ska samverka med organisationer utanför högskolan.

Syftet med detta projekt har varit att fokusera på en annan typ av lärande, nämligen upplevelsebaserat lärande, och inom detta specifikt på lärande med hjälp av praktisk simulering eller spel. I vårt fall består upplevelsen av Legolas, en så kallad företagssimulering (en produktionssituation).

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to improve our understanding of outsourcing NPD, and specifically of factors affecting the outsourcing decisions, by exploring the practices of the most innovative firms.

Design/methodology/approach – An internet based survey sent in winter 2008 to 494 medium-sized firms in four industries. The response rate was 77.3%. Sample was split into the best firms and the rest, and a best practice analysis was performed with correlation analysis.

Findings – The best firms focus on knowledge issues to a higher extent, while cost and geographical proximity are more important for the rest firms. The best firms prioritize knowledge integration and development of knowledge about the outsourcing process higher.

Research limitations/implications - The sample is taken from medium-sized Swedish manufacturing firms. Future samples need to be expanded to further generalize the conclusions. Results show that further research combining resource and cost perspectives are needed.

Practical implications – Managers are recommended to not only find access to needed knowledge, but also give time to integration on a personal level, as this protect knowledge and lower costs in the long run.

Originality/value – Studies of outsourcing NPD are few and, to our knowledge, no quantitative studies on the topic have been made.

Construction material suppliers have access to various types of information, such as construction data, price, production planning and logistics data. This information could be of great use for the different roles involved in a construction project if the right information is presented to the right role and through a user inter-face designed for best under standing by each role. This situation is not unique for the construction industry, but the specific context with temporary organizations (construction projects) that have to communicate with permanent organizations (construction material suppliers) combined with the fact that, at least, six roles (categories) of employees are involved in a construction project places challenges on the industry to achieve effectiveness. In this paper a process to develop a information interface between construction projects and construction material producers will be presented. Using an interventionist research approach with interaction designers involved, the process aim to guide the development of an application for exchange of information between the actors in the construction projects.

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to improve the understanding of organizationallevel factors affecting the degree of acceptance and use of formal new product development (NPD) processes, which in turn may lead to enhanced NPD performance.

Research design – For data collection, an internet based survey was made available to employees working for nine large manufacturers of commercial vehicles worldwide. The total sample analyzed in this study contained N=254 respondents corresponding to a response rate of 26%. The data was analyzed based on a hypothesized research model using structural equation modelling technique (SEM).

Findings – We present and validate a research model of formal new product development process acceptance. The study shows that acceptance of formal NPD processes is determined by several factors, such as ease of use, transparency of discourse, continuous improvement, involvement of NPD actors, as well as their ability to bridge differences in thinking. Furthermore, it is shown that acceptance of formal NPD process affects NPD performance positively.

Research limitations – The sample is taken from the commercial vehicle industry. Further samples from other industries need to be collected in order to show general validity of the insights gained in this study. Further research should also concentrate on medial and cultural dimensions of the model proposed.

Managerial implications – This study provides detailed recommendations to NPD managers on how to facilitate organizationallevel acceptance of formal NPD processes and thereby enhancing NPD performance. Managerial implications include, for example, design recommendations for formal NPD processes, the use of sophisticated media for formal NPD process management, as well as the promotion of a culture of cross-functional exchange.

Originality – Quantitative studies on potential determinants of formal NPD process acceptance are scarce. This study approaches the issue from a socio-cognitive perspective, underscoring the importance of organic bottom-up approaches to formal NPD process management.

In this study we focus the enhancement of experience of the participants in development projects with the specific purpose to identify mechanisms to address the participant’s technical level. We used an interventionist approach exploring two mechanisms (the knowledge truck and ambassadors) for knowledge transfer. A fish-producing regional network in the rural region of Cauca, Colombia, is used as case. The study contributes to technology transfer literature by expanding our knowledge about barriers created by low technical knowledge among technology receivers. Further the study contributes to the bottom-up approach to technology transfer.

The knowledge needed for development of new products is becoming increasingly complex and distributed. There is a need for firms to develop their capabilities for knowledge integration. Although prior knowledge-based literature has pointed to the importance of knowledge integration for competitive advantage, our understanding of how the integration of different types of knowledge affects new product development (NPD) performance is still limited. We quantitatively examine the effect of the integration of different types of knowledge on performance in NPD. Knowledge integration refers to the process of combining specialized but complementary knowledge. In this article we seek to study the effects of knowledge integration on NPD performance. Previous studies point to the positive effects of knowledge integration on NPD performance, but they do not distinguish between different types of knowledge in examining these effects. This article therefore seeks to contribute to this emerging literature by explicitly studying the integration of different types of knowledge and the effects that such integration have on NPD performance. We draw upon a classification of knowledge suggested by Ullman (1997) in discussing what types of knowledge that is particularly pertinent in engineering practices. That is, what knowledge engineers draw upon in conducting design and development work. We address the types of domain-specific knowledge, procedural knowledge, and general knowledge integration. Three hypotheses suggesting that the capabilities for integration of each type of knowledge respectively affect NPD performance positively are tested. A fourth hypothesis suggests that there are complementarity effects between integration of the three types of knowledge upon NPD performance. Data was collected during 2009 from a sampling frame of 355 medium-sized Swedish manufacturing firms in four industries. We received 193 valid answers, i.e. a 54% response rate) Hypotheses were tested with standard OLS regression together with EFA and CFA analysis. The results provide support for the first three hypotheses, while the fourth one was rejected. This implies that capabilities to integrate domain-specific, procedural and general knowledge are all independently affecting NPD performance positively, but no combined effect above and beyond the individual variables. This indicates that one knowledge type can be integrated without an absolute need to integrate two types or all three types.

This paper introduces the papers included in the thematic issue on Human Resource Management (HRM) and firm innovativeness in a European context. Furthermore it presents the results of a literature review on human resource management and firm innovativeness. The literature shows that the positive relationship between HRM and firm innovativeness has been confirmed. However, the explanation for how this relationship works is not equivocal/unified. Empirical studies have investigated the role of strategic HRM, specific HRM systems and HRM practices. For strategic HRM, the empirical support is still limited, while for HRM systems considerable work confirms the positive influence of commitment-based HRM. For HRM practices, in particular training, working in teams, and internal labour flexibility, including job rotation, the literature provides empirical evidence and indications that they are positively related to firm innovativeness. Copyright © 2014 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.