There are many techniques for the involvement of consumers to support the development of innovations, but knowledge is lacking in the appropriateness of different techniques in various situations. This is, especially, true for consumer involvement in radical innovation. This paper presents the requirements of consumer involvement in different situations, covering the two main phases of the development process, and specified for three types of radical product innovation. Based on a review of literature, we identified four characteristics of consumers-involvement techniques and developed a mix of differentiating characteristics for six situations in the new product development, which form the basis of a model to select the appropriate techniques. We then evaluated this model by using a historical comparative case-study approach. This paper contributes to the understanding of the appropriateness of different techniques for the proactive involvement of consumers to support the development of radical product innovations.
In order to change their environmental product ratings the Dutch Consumer Organisation (further called D.C.O.) wanted to have available a method to assess the recyclability of televisions. TNO Industrial Technology developed such a method. Several parties have been involved in the recycling of televisions, like the industry (producers of televisions and recycling companies) and the government. Eventually the D.C.O. had the final say how the method is to be applied.The research project was set up in two phases. In the fust phase a measuring method has been developed. This has been done through discussion meetings (with all involved parties), a pilot (assessment of four televisions) and a final review. The result of the first phase was a test protocol telling how the televisions should be dismantled and what aspects should be measured. The aspects to assess recyclability can be divided in four main categories:The second phase handles the actual benchmark on twenty televisions. The benchmark was also used to check the practicability of the test protocol and the checklists and forms that go with it. Several adjustments have been made, which resulted in a final test protocol. The results of the assessment are published by the D.C.O..The method developed appears straightforward in the performance and provides a simple way to assess televisions on recyclability. The method is supported by the industry. The D.C.O. will apply it in its testing programs and will make it available to its sister organisations in Europe.information provided to the user and the recycler purity of fractions to be recycled
While there has been growing recognition that considering environmental and social aspects of sustainability is important for a firm's reputation and long-term survival, research so far focused on strategic goals and how sustainability becomes relevant and less so on how sustainability practices become embedded and mainstreamed. Our paper addresses the change process of initiating sustainability practices in the context of new product development and how they unfold over time using results from a longitudinal case study in four multinational companies. Based on structuration theory and practice theory, we propose a theoretical framework for change processes around sustainability that incorporates the effects of external triggers and individual actors in initiating and mainstreaming sustainability-focused NPD practices.
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