Capability building in fuzzy front end management in a high technology services company

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the adherence between the Fuzzy Front End (FFE)’ enablers, reported in the literature, and its application in the innovation process of a very innovative multinational company of high-tech services.To investigate how a company should manage its resources and processes to efficiently manage the FFE phase of PPD, this work included conducting field research based on the case study method.To succeed with this goal, this paper is structured as follows: at first moment we present a theoretical background to capture the key enablers for efficient management of the FFE. Subsequently, based on these findings, a questionnaire was structured and applied during the case development, resulting in assessing the applicability of these theoretical elements in the companyThis paper is justified in this context, evidenced by the importance of capability building in FFE management. The FFE isn’t fully understood by the managers and it is considered as a major weakness in the innovation process .As a theorical contribution we identify, in the literature review, 14 FFE enablers. Other important contribution is the framework elaborated to assess the process’s maturity of the FFE Management in the case. As a social contribution we identified if the enablers were applicable in the FFE Management in the company.