市場營銷外文文獻(xiàn)翻譯--定義“新產(chǎn)品策略”

1、<p><b>　　中文4970字</b></p><p><b>　　英文2740單詞</b></p><p><b>　　中文翻譯：</b></p><p><b>　　定義“新產(chǎn)品策略”</b></p><p><b>　　羅伯特

2、G·庫珀</b></p><p>　　摘要：新產(chǎn)品對于大多公司的成長和生存至關(guān)重要。新產(chǎn)品策略是公司的主要計(jì)劃，它指導(dǎo)公司的產(chǎn)品創(chuàng)新力度，并鏈接企業(yè)的新產(chǎn)品開發(fā)計(jì)劃。本文首先探討什么是產(chǎn)品創(chuàng)新策略，其在公司中的作用，以及為什么創(chuàng)新策略是一個(gè)有效的新產(chǎn)品計(jì)劃必不可少的一部分。接下來，本文著重于一個(gè)新產(chǎn)品策略的發(fā)展過程，從開發(fā)目標(biāo)產(chǎn)品開始和再到產(chǎn)品開發(fā)領(lǐng)域的選擇。文章使用到矩陣方法去定義和選擇產(chǎn)

3、品開發(fā)的領(lǐng)域。來源于筆者的實(shí)證研究數(shù)據(jù)在優(yōu)先選擇新產(chǎn)品開發(fā)的領(lǐng)域的模型中將會被用到。</p><p><b>　　一、簡介</b></p><p>　　新產(chǎn)品是現(xiàn)代企業(yè)發(fā)展和繁榮的核心。越來越多的有見地的管理者認(rèn)識到，一個(gè)新產(chǎn)品或新技術(shù)戰(zhàn)略應(yīng)該成為企業(yè)策略的明確和中心要素。這篇文章是關(guān)于在企業(yè)層面上的新產(chǎn)品策略——關(guān)于對一個(gè)新的產(chǎn)品策略的需求和關(guān)于定義和開發(fā)這樣一個(gè)戰(zhàn)

4、略。</p><p>　　二、新產(chǎn)品策略的重要性</p><p>　　新產(chǎn)品開發(fā)和技術(shù)通過幫助定義公司決策的范疇，對公司的戰(zhàn)略性思維起到支撐性的完整的關(guān)系作用。對于許多公司來說，新的產(chǎn)品和技術(shù)已成為企業(yè)戰(zhàn)略、開辟新的市場、新的商業(yè)機(jī)會的先驅(qū)。無數(shù)在辦公室的未來，生物工程，微電子，機(jī)器人快速增長的公司表明，一個(gè)精心構(gòu)思的新產(chǎn)品戰(zhàn)略具有潛在發(fā)展勢頭。同樣地，今天的許多企業(yè)巨頭，如IBM，施樂，

5、寶麗來德州儀器，在幾十年前羽翼未豐的公司，如今能成為偉大的公司，就是因?yàn)楣芾碚咴谠缙谧龀隽诵庐a(chǎn)品決策。</p><p>　　在開發(fā)和推出新產(chǎn)品上最有可能取得成功的公司就是那些明確核心新產(chǎn)品策略，為之實(shí)施公司的具體做法，驅(qū)使和帶動企業(yè)目標(biāo)及策略的公司。這些都是一些布茲 - 艾倫和漢密爾頓的關(guān)于商業(yè)慣例的研究結(jié)論。還有其他發(fā)現(xiàn)，在企業(yè)成功要素上，產(chǎn)品創(chuàng)新策略也起到至關(guān)重要的作用。</p><p&g

6、t;　　有些公司制定這樣的策略。例如，克勞福德在研究了125家公司后的研究結(jié)果中提出了產(chǎn)品創(chuàng)新章程。他指出，公司現(xiàn)在開始在一個(gè)文件中一起推出一個(gè)具有多功能元素的新產(chǎn)品策略，這個(gè)策略指定了市場類型，產(chǎn)品，技術(shù)和公司在新產(chǎn)品項(xiàng)目上追求的方向。</p><p><b>　　三、問題</b></p><p>　　忽視新產(chǎn)品的重要性，管理者從傳統(tǒng)的模式的文獻(xiàn)得到關(guān)于新產(chǎn)品策略的

7、幫助微乎其微。很少指示被發(fā)展，用于協(xié)助管理者在新產(chǎn)品項(xiàng)目開發(fā)的領(lǐng)域和方向上做出 。也就是說，基本沒有幾個(gè)概念框架，或成熟的方法來幫助制定新產(chǎn)品策略。此外，很少人做關(guān)于確定公司的新產(chǎn)品計(jì)劃的組成和結(jié)果的實(shí)證研究：這就是，企業(yè)如何直接或間接地選擇新的市場和技術(shù)領(lǐng)域，用不同方式組織和集中自己的研發(fā)成果。</p><p>　　雖然在今天有很多戰(zhàn)略發(fā)展模式被使用到，但是大多至少被公司現(xiàn)有的業(yè)務(wù)單位，現(xiàn)有的發(fā)展產(chǎn)品線使用到，

8、它們一般涉及資源分配和戰(zhàn)略發(fā)展而已。例如，各種組合模式被開發(fā)出來，基本變化遵循波士頓咨詢集團(tuán)模型——現(xiàn)金奶牛，明星，狗和野貓。這些組合或資源分配模型被應(yīng)用在產(chǎn)品開發(fā)的新領(lǐng)域的同時(shí)，這些模型也被主要開發(fā)應(yīng)用在公司既有的產(chǎn)品或業(yè)務(wù)處理上。同樣，另一種流行的戰(zhàn)略發(fā)展援助模型，PIMS模型，著眼于可供選擇的戰(zhàn)略及其對企業(yè)盈利能力的影響，同樣也是主要針對在公司現(xiàn)有業(yè)務(wù)的。總之，這些策略模型著重處理的是什么，而不是可能是什么。這些方法是模型缺乏一個(gè)

9、生成和選擇新的戰(zhàn)略選項(xiàng)的系統(tǒng)程序??，其中包括新產(chǎn)品和新業(yè)務(wù)。</p><p><b>　　四、產(chǎn)品創(chuàng)新章程</b></p><p>　　在商業(yè)競爭中，戰(zhàn)略已被定義為“根據(jù)企業(yè)的資源和優(yōu)勢管理（部署）制定出的以詫異和超越競爭對手或利用機(jī)會的計(jì)劃”。更具體地說，隨著公司的產(chǎn)品或市場環(huán)境重新調(diào)整，戰(zhàn)略的變化也隨之重新定義。戰(zhàn)略與產(chǎn)品和市場規(guī)范是緊密聯(lián)系在一起的。科瑞指出，

10、市場選擇和產(chǎn)品劃分是企業(yè)戰(zhàn)略的兩個(gè)關(guān)鍵維度。</p><p>　　產(chǎn)品創(chuàng)新策略與企業(yè)策略密切相關(guān)，將變得更加具體。近年來，“產(chǎn)品創(chuàng)新章程”或PIC精簡版已經(jīng)被使用。 PIC記錄了企業(yè)新產(chǎn)品項(xiàng)目的所有策略。在產(chǎn)品發(fā)展項(xiàng)目和該公司的企業(yè)戰(zhàn)略中，這也是必不可少的聯(lián)系。</p><p>　　4.1 PIC有兩個(gè)關(guān)鍵要素：</p><p>　　1、PIC指明了游戲的目標(biāo)，產(chǎn)品

11、創(chuàng)新在幫助企業(yè)實(shí)現(xiàn)其企業(yè)目標(biāo)過程中扮演的角色。它回答了這個(gè)問題：新產(chǎn)品和產(chǎn)品創(chuàng)新在哪里與公司的整體規(guī)劃相契合？這個(gè)角色然后被轉(zhuǎn)化成新產(chǎn)品計(jì)劃的具體目標(biāo)。報(bào)表，如“到1990年，我們的企業(yè)30％的銷售額將來自新產(chǎn)品，我們將在未來五年的開發(fā)和推出這些新產(chǎn)品”，就是在PIC中發(fā)現(xiàn)的典型目標(biāo)。</p><p>　　2、PIC指明了比賽進(jìn)行的具體區(qū)域。即，它定義了類型的市場，市場適應(yīng)者，技術(shù)和新產(chǎn)品項(xiàng)目專注的產(chǎn)品。這些領(lǐng)域

12、為企業(yè)的產(chǎn)品開發(fā)項(xiàng)目提供了一個(gè)重點(diǎn)。</p><p>　　五、為什么會有產(chǎn)品創(chuàng)新章程？</p><p>　　開發(fā)PIC是艱苦的工作。它涉及到很多人，特別是高層管理人員。那么，為什么會付出所有的努力？我們大多數(shù)人或許可以說出很多沒有一個(gè)新產(chǎn)品項(xiàng)目總體規(guī)劃的企業(yè)。他們是如何做到的？</p><p>　　5.1 沒有創(chuàng)新章程下開展業(yè)務(wù)</p><p&g

13、t;　　在沒有PIC下運(yùn)行一個(gè)創(chuàng)新項(xiàng)目就像在打一場沒有重點(diǎn)軍事戰(zhàn)略的仗。在沒有舵，沒有方向的時(shí)候，沒到彼岸我們早已沉沒。</p><p>　　一個(gè)沒有PIC的新產(chǎn)品項(xiàng)目將不可避免地導(dǎo)致每個(gè)人做出一些各自獨(dú)立的臨時(shí)的決定。新產(chǎn)品研發(fā)項(xiàng)目的啟動僅僅參照各自的長處，很少考慮到他們是否適合宏大的項(xiàng)目。其結(jié)果是，該公司發(fā)現(xiàn)自己身處無關(guān)或不必要的市場，產(chǎn)品和技術(shù)。</p><p>　　5.2 目標(biāo)：與

14、企業(yè)戰(zhàn)略鏈接</p><p>　　一個(gè)PIC給予公司的新產(chǎn)品項(xiàng)目什么類型的方向指引呢？首先， PIC的目標(biāo)使得產(chǎn)品開發(fā)成功與公司戰(zhàn)略緊密聯(lián)系在一起。新產(chǎn)品的開發(fā)，成為企業(yè)戰(zhàn)略的核心組成部分，成為公司的整體戰(zhàn)略平臺一塊關(guān)鍵的木板，往往是理所當(dāng)然的。</p><p>　　預(yù)算費(fèi)用承諾的問題正通過定義新產(chǎn)品項(xiàng)目的角色和目標(biāo)來處理研發(fā)項(xiàng)目或新產(chǎn)品的產(chǎn)品預(yù)算問題在經(jīng)濟(jì)困難時(shí)期經(jīng)常不能幸免于難。在一些

15、公司中，研發(fā)項(xiàng)目被認(rèn)為是軟金錢——一種奢侈品。但是，隨著產(chǎn)品創(chuàng)新作為公司戰(zhàn)略中的核心面，產(chǎn)品創(chuàng)新的角色和目標(biāo)牢固地確立起來，縮減這個(gè)預(yù)算會變得沒那么隨意。要有連續(xù)性的利用資源致力于新產(chǎn)品。</p><p>　　5.3 范疇：指導(dǎo)規(guī)范游戲計(jì)劃</p><p>　　PIC的第二個(gè)方面，即范疇的定義，對于指導(dǎo)和專注于新產(chǎn)品成果非常關(guān)鍵（見圖1）。新產(chǎn)品的開發(fā)過程中的第一步是創(chuàng)意產(chǎn)生。但是，新產(chǎn)品

16、的創(chuàng)意如何產(chǎn)生？除非限定范疇的，否則結(jié)果就像散射槍擊打的結(jié)果一樣，無方向，重點(diǎn)不突出，無效！</p><p>　　在新產(chǎn)品開發(fā)過程中的第二個(gè)關(guān)鍵步驟的創(chuàng)意篩選。早期篩選創(chuàng)意的第一標(biāo)準(zhǔn)是：“所提及的產(chǎn)品是否屬于公司新產(chǎn)品項(xiàng)目的強(qiáng)制任務(wù)？這也可以解釋成：我們作為一家公司什么樣的市場，產(chǎn)品，技術(shù)，是否對我們公平？如果沒有公平的游戲的定義——范疇——有利于對試圖做出有效的創(chuàng)意篩選！</p><p>

17、;　　范疇的定義也引導(dǎo)著資源和人力資源計(jì)劃。如果某些市場被指定為重點(diǎn)市場，那么企業(yè)可以收購資源，技能和知識，以能夠更好地打開那些市場。同樣，如果目標(biāo)技術(shù)被挑選出來作為重點(diǎn)，企業(yè)可以雇傭和獲取資源，以加強(qiáng)其在這些領(lǐng)域的能力。資源的建設(shè)不是一朝一夕的事。在片刻的注意間人們不可能雇傭到一支銷售隊(duì)伍，沒有人可以在當(dāng)?shù)氐某猩汐@得大量重要的，在特定技術(shù)上有作為的研究人員或工程師。把合適的人，資源和技能用到合適的地方，需要領(lǐng)先時(shí)間和方向，因此需要進(jìn)

18、行定義范疇重點(diǎn)。</p><p>　　5.4 證據(jù)在哪兒？</p><p>　　PIC理論的論斷，雖然有邏輯性，但看起來似乎還是有點(diǎn)學(xué)術(shù)性。不禁會讓人想起那些想那些沒有宏偉的產(chǎn)品創(chuàng)新策略卻已經(jīng)成功的公司。那么，哪來的證據(jù)支持PIC理論呢？，很遺憾的是并沒有太多證據(jù)，原因之一是關(guān)于創(chuàng)新策略的作用和影響的研究調(diào)查并不是很多。大多數(shù)關(guān)于產(chǎn)品創(chuàng)新的商業(yè)研究一直專注于以個(gè)別產(chǎn)品項(xiàng)目為單位來進(jìn)行分析，

19、例如，是什么讓一個(gè)新產(chǎn)品成功，而不是對整個(gè)公司的新產(chǎn)品計(jì)劃。</p><p>　　關(guān)于企業(yè)的新產(chǎn)品策略的研究，傳遞了一個(gè)清晰及一貫的信息：新產(chǎn)品策略在企業(yè)層面來說是成功的關(guān)鍵，而一些策略顯然比其他策略做得更好。</p><p>　　1、布茲 - 艾倫和漢密爾頓的關(guān)于企業(yè)新產(chǎn)品策略實(shí)踐的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)：“成功的企業(yè)更致力于通過內(nèi)部的新產(chǎn)品來實(shí)現(xiàn)增長”，并認(rèn)為“他們更容易有一個(gè)包括來源于新產(chǎn)品的若干

20、部分發(fā)展的戰(zhàn)略計(jì)劃”。研究的作者繼續(xù)解釋為什么成功與擁有新產(chǎn)品策略息息相關(guān)：</p><p>　　新產(chǎn)品戰(zhàn)略把新產(chǎn)品的開發(fā)過程鏈接到公司的目標(biāo)，并為想法/概念的產(chǎn)生提供焦點(diǎn)和建立適當(dāng)?shù)暮Y選標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。這一戰(zhàn)略分析的結(jié)果是一組戰(zhàn)略性的角色，不是用來產(chǎn)生特定的新產(chǎn)品的創(chuàng)意，但卻可以幫助確定將新產(chǎn)品開發(fā)的市場。這些市場機(jī)會提供產(chǎn)品組合和新產(chǎn)品創(chuàng)意的產(chǎn)生的市場需求。此外，戰(zhàn)略角色為新產(chǎn)品表現(xiàn)測評標(biāo)準(zhǔn)提供指引。性能閾值和戰(zhàn)略角色

21、一起為篩選新的產(chǎn)品理念提供了更精確的手段。</p><p>　　2、PIMS研究（利潤影響市場戰(zhàn)略）考慮了新產(chǎn)品策略的影響，但僅限于在外圍方法。這些研究側(cè)重于??為什么某些特定業(yè)務(wù)單元比其他的更有利可圖，并且試圖把盈利能力與市場策略相連接起來等。研發(fā)項(xiàng)目的支出和產(chǎn)品質(zhì)量水平是在研究中眾多被考慮到的策略因素中的兩個(gè)變量，發(fā)現(xiàn)兩個(gè)因素均與盈利能力緊密相連（雖然研究的反對者在因果關(guān)系的方向上有爭論）。</p>

22、;<p>　　3、奈斯特龍和愛德華松研究了大量的工業(yè)產(chǎn)品企業(yè)，并確定了各種新產(chǎn)品策略捆綁如何與企業(yè)表現(xiàn)相關(guān)聯(lián)。策略強(qiáng)調(diào)協(xié)同技術(shù)的運(yùn)用，一個(gè)負(fù)責(zé)任的研發(fā)項(xiàng)目組織和一個(gè)外向型的研發(fā)成功一般比較順利。這項(xiàng)研究局限于只有極少數(shù)的戰(zhàn)略維度，而且研發(fā)項(xiàng)目策略與新產(chǎn)品研發(fā)策略是有不同的。盡管如此，該消息顯示新產(chǎn)品策略和業(yè)績表現(xiàn)密切相關(guān)。</p><p>　　4、我們自己的研究涉及到產(chǎn)品創(chuàng)新策略對120家企業(yè)表現(xiàn)的

23、影響。這項(xiàng)研究是少數(shù)考慮到大量策略維度，和在大量公司中，策略是如何與公司表現(xiàn)聯(lián)系在一起的調(diào)查之一。最重要的結(jié)論是，產(chǎn)品創(chuàng)新策略和業(yè)績表現(xiàn)是強(qiáng)烈聯(lián)系在一起的。市場、產(chǎn)品和公司選擇技術(shù)的類型、方位和他們的產(chǎn)品創(chuàng)新計(jì)劃的方向?qū)?xiàng)目的成功和盈利能力有著明顯的影響。策略的確非常重要！</p><p>　　5.5 選擇正確范疇的證據(jù)</p><p>　　我們的調(diào)查提供遠(yuǎn)不止策略表現(xiàn)的強(qiáng)烈暗示。該研究深

24、入洞察一個(gè)成功的創(chuàng)新策略的成分：目標(biāo)的類型是合理的和可測量的；有利于選擇范疇的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)——產(chǎn)品、市場和公司選擇成功的技術(shù)的種類。下面是一些更重要的結(jié)論，我們稍后在范疇的選擇的部分將會用到：</p><p>　　1、大量影響公司新產(chǎn)品表現(xiàn)的策略因素被發(fā)現(xiàn)。這些因素適合分為兩類：一類是他們描述了公司已選擇的新產(chǎn)品范疇的類型，一類是他們獲得的公司如何完成任務(wù)的基礎(chǔ)。</p><p>　　2、獲得競爭

25、基礎(chǔ)的因素描繪了新產(chǎn)品項(xiàng)目的方向和目標(biāo)。他們包括諸如技術(shù)的侵略性和復(fù)雜性的因素，市場導(dǎo)向，項(xiàng)目的重點(diǎn)，研發(fā)支出等有利于指引如何在新的產(chǎn)品項(xiàng)目的進(jìn)行導(dǎo)向和管理。</p><p>　　3、描述范疇選擇的因素構(gòu)成了第二類因素，影響著后續(xù)項(xiàng)目的表現(xiàn)。這些可以被進(jìn)一步細(xì)分為如下因素：</p><p>　　1）區(qū)域范疇的吸引力（例如，市場的需求，成長和規(guī)模，在區(qū)域范疇內(nèi)技術(shù)的可操作性等）；</p

26、><p>　　2）公司的利用區(qū)域范疇的實(shí)力或能力（例如，在公司資源和新產(chǎn)品開發(fā)區(qū)域范疇內(nèi)的適應(yīng)和協(xié)調(diào)能力）。</p><p>　　在隨后的分析中，我們可以把不同因素賦予權(quán)重——每個(gè)因素在“成功等式”中有多重要。這些因素和它們的權(quán)重我們?nèi)绫?所示，我們用表1為選擇爭取的區(qū)域范疇提供的重要標(biāo)準(zhǔn)和權(quán)重。然而要告誡讀者的是，這些權(quán)重來自一項(xiàng)研究，并作為指導(dǎo)或區(qū)域范疇選擇的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)點(diǎn)。</p>

27、<p><b>　　六、創(chuàng)新章程的發(fā)展</b></p><p>　　很少人能否認(rèn)有一個(gè)產(chǎn)品創(chuàng)新策略章程來指導(dǎo)公司新產(chǎn)品的取得成功的重要性。但如何去開發(fā)這樣的章程？文章的其余部分著手處理建立PIC模型的艱難考驗(yàn)。一連串熟悉的概念：業(yè)務(wù)定義計(jì)劃和投資組合戰(zhàn)略模型，形成章程發(fā)展的基礎(chǔ)。但這些模型已經(jīng)在被整合和修改在一寫書籍中，以適用于提供新產(chǎn)品的機(jī)會，而不是為了私人業(yè)務(wù)；進(jìn)一步地說，我

28、們已經(jīng)從研究中納入國家的需求，以幫助量化新產(chǎn)品開發(fā)的區(qū)域范疇。</p><p><b>　　6.1 設(shè)定目標(biāo)</b></p><p>　　為一個(gè)產(chǎn)品開發(fā)計(jì)劃的設(shè)定目標(biāo)是至關(guān)重要的，也是我們大多數(shù)人接受的前提。然而，我們的戰(zhàn)略研究表明，許多企業(yè)實(shí)際上在他們的創(chuàng)新項(xiàng)目缺乏書面的，可衡量的目標(biāo)。</p><p>　　在創(chuàng)新章程中應(yīng)包括哪些類型的目標(biāo)？

29、首先，目標(biāo)應(yīng)該是可衡量的，可量化的。其次，他們應(yīng)該把新產(chǎn)品項(xiàng)目和整個(gè)公司戰(zhàn)略結(jié)合起來。最后，他們必須給新產(chǎn)品團(tuán)隊(duì)的目的感，并幫助他們做出決定。在決定一個(gè)合理的新產(chǎn)品項(xiàng)目目標(biāo)組合，考慮以下一些類型。</p><p><b>　　6.2目標(biāo)角色</b></p><p>　　新產(chǎn)品的目標(biāo)的一種類型，要聚焦于在實(shí)現(xiàn)企業(yè)目標(biāo)過程中新產(chǎn)品所扮演的角色。例子包括：</p>

30、;<p>　　1、在5年內(nèi)，公司新產(chǎn)品銷售額的百分比來自于這五年時(shí)期內(nèi)推出的新產(chǎn)品。 （五年是普遍接受的時(shí)間跨度，這五年內(nèi)產(chǎn)品可以被認(rèn)為“新”。）另外，可以說絕對銷售額（第五年新產(chǎn)品的銷售額），而不是相對銷售或百分比。</p><p>　　2、企業(yè)第五年利潤的百分比（總量，貢獻(xiàn)，或凈額），來源于在這5年的跨度內(nèi)已經(jīng)推出的新產(chǎn)品。同樣絕對美元可以用相對利潤來代替。</p><p&g

31、t;　　3、另外，這些銷售和利潤目標(biāo)，可表示作為企業(yè)成長的百分比。例如：70％的公司銷售增長將來源于未來五年內(nèi)推出的新產(chǎn)品。</p><p><b>　　英文部分：</b></p><p>　　IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT, VOL. EM-34, NO. 3, AUGUST 1987</p>&

32、lt;p>　　Defining the New Product Strategy</p><p>　　ROBERT G. COOPER</p><p>　　Abstract—New products are critical to the growth and survival of most corporations. The new product strategy is the

33、 master plan that guides the product innovation efforts of the firm, and links new product development to the corporate plan. This article looks first at what a product innovation strategy is, its role in the corporation

34、, and why an innovation strategy is essential to an effective new product program. Next, the article focuses on the development of a new product strategy, beginning </p><p>　　INTRODUCTION</p><p>

35、;　　NEW products are central to the growth and prosperity of the modern corporation. Increasingly, progressive managements recognize that a new product or technology strategy should be an explicit and central element of t

36、he corporate strategy. This article is about new product strategy at the corporate level—about the need for a new product strategy, and about defining and developing such a strategy.</p><p>　　THE IMPORTANCE

37、OF A NEW PRODUCT STRATEGY</p><p>　　New product development and technology bear an integral relationship to a company's strategic thinking by helping to define the range of that company's choices . Fo

38、r many companies, new products and technologies have become the leading edge of corporate strategy, opening up new market and new business opportunities. The rapid growth of countless firms in office-of-the-future, bioen

39、gineering, microelectronics, and robotics is evidence of the growth potential of a well conceived new product strate</p><p>　　The companies that are most likely to succeed in the development and launch of ne

40、w products are those firms which implement a company specific approach, driven by corporate objectives and strategies, with a well-defined new product strategy at its core. These are some of the conclusions of a study of

41、 business practices by Booz-Allen and Hamilton . There were other recommendations as well, but a product innovation strategy ranks high on the list of the keys to success. </p><p>　　Some firms do develop suc

42、h strategies. For example, product innovation charters were described by Crawford in his study of 125 firms. He notes that firms are now beginning to pull all the multifunctional elements of a new product strategy togeth

43、er in one document, which specifies the types of markets, products, technologies, and orientation the firm will pursue with its new product program.</p><p><b>　　PROBLEM</b></p><p>　　

44、In spite o f the importance of new products, management can find little help from the traditional literature in the formulation of a new product strategy. Few guidelines have been developed to assist the manager in the c

45、hoice of areas and the direction for the new product program. That is, there exist few conceptual frameworks or proven methodologies for formulating a new product strategy. Moreover, little empirical research has been un

46、dertaken to determine the components and results of firms' n</p><p>　　Although there are many strategy development models in use today, most deal with resource allocation and strategy development for the

47、 firm's existing business units and existing product lines. For example, various portfolio models have been developed, essentially variations of the Boston Consulting Group model—cash cows, stars, dogs, and wildcats.

48、 While these portfolio or resource allocation models may suggest new areas for product development, these models were developed principally to deal wit</p><p>　　THE PRODUCT INNOVATION CHARTER</p><

49、p>　　In a business context, strategy has been defined as "the schemes whereby a firm's resources and advantages are managed (deployed) in order to surprise and surpass competitors or to exploit opportunities&q

50、uot;. More specifically, strategic change is defined as a realignment of the firm's product/market environnent". Strategy is closely tied to product and market specification. Corey identifies market selection an

51、d product delineation as the two key dimensions of corporate strategy.</p><p>　　Product innovation strategy, while closely related to corporate strategy, tends to be more specific. In recent years, the term

52、"product innovation charter"—or PIC for short—has been used. The PIC charts the entire strategy for a firm's new product program. It is the essential link between the product development program and the fir

53、m's corporate strategy.</p><p>　　The PIC has two key elements:</p><p>　　? The PIC specifies the objectives of the game, the role that product innovation will play in helping the firm achieve

54、 its corporate objectives. It answers the question: where do new products and product innovation fit in the company's overall plan? This role then is translated into specific objectives for the new product program. S

55、tatements such as "By 1990, 30 percent of our corporate sales will come from new products—products that we will develop and launch in the next five years " are typica</p><p>　　? The PIC specifies t

56、he arenas in which the game will be played. That is, it defines the types of markets, market applications, technologies, and products that the new product program will focus on. These arenas provide a focus to the firm&#

57、39;s product development program.</p><p>　　WHY HAVE A PRODUCT INNOVATION CHARTER AT ALL?</p><p>　　Developing a PIC is hard work. It involves many people, especially top management. Why, then, go

58、 to all the effort? Most of us can probably name countless firms that do not appear to have a master plan for their new product program. How did they get by?</p><p>　　Doing Business without an innovation Cha

59、rter</p><p>　　Running an innovation program without a PIC like running a war without a master military strategy. There's no rudder, there's no direction, and often, we don't end up where we'd

60、 like to be.</p><p>　　A new product program without a PIC will inevitably lead to a number of ad hoc decisions made independently of each other. New product and R&D projects are initiated solely on their

61、 own merits, with little regard to their fit into the grander scheme. The result is that the firm finds itself in unrelated or unwanted markets, products, and technologies.</p><p>　　Objectives: The Link to C

62、orporate Strategy</p><p>　　What types of direction does a PIC give a firm's new product program? First, the objectives of a PIC tie the product development effort tightly to the firm's corporate stra

63、tegy. New product development, so often taken for granted, becomes a central part of the corporate strategy, a key plank in the company's overall strategic platform.</p><p>　　The question of spending com

64、mitment is dealt with by defining the role and objectives of the new product program. Too often, the R&D or new product budget is easy prey in hard economic times. In some firms, R&D is viewed as soft money—a lux

65、ury. But with product innovation as a central facet of the firm's corporate strategy, with the role and objectives of product innovation firmly established, cutting this budget becomes less arbitrary. There is contin

66、uity to the resource commitment to new produ</p><p>　　The Arenas: Guiding the Game Plan</p><p>　　The second facet of the PIC, the definition of arenas, is critical to guiding and focusing the ne

67、w product efforts (see Fig. 1). The first step in the new product process is idea generation. But where does one search for new product ideas? Unless the arenas are defined, the result is a scatter gun search effort, und

68、irected, unfocused, and ineffective!</p><p>　　A second key step in the new product process is idea screening. The first criterion for this early GO/KILL decision is: "Does the proposed product fall with

69、in the company's mandate for its new product program?" This usually translates into: is this the kind of market, product, and technology that we as a company have decided is fair game for us? Without a definitio

70、n of fair game—arenas—good luck in trying to make an effective screening decision!</p><p>　　The definition of arenas also guides resource and manpower planning. If certain markets are designated top priority

71、 arenas, then the firm can acquire resources, skills, and knowledge to be better able to attack those markets. Similarly, if certain technologies are singled out as arenas, the firm can hire and acquire resources to bols

72、ter its abilities in those fields. Resource building doesn't happen overnight. One can't buy a sales force on a moment's notice; and one can't acquire a critical mas</p><p>　　Where's the

73、Evidence?</p><p>　　The argument for a PIC, although logical, appears somewhat academic. One can't help but think about all those companies that have succeeded without a grand strategy for product innovat

74、ion. Then where's the evidence in support of a PIC? There isn't much, unfortunately. One reason is that not too many studies have investigated the role and impact of an innovation strategy. Most of the business r

75、esearch into product innovation has focused on the individual product project as the unit of analysis—fo</p><p>　　The studies that have looked at firms' new product strategies have a clear and consistent

76、 message: new product strategies at the firm level are critical to success, and some strategies clearly work better than others.</p><p>　　? Booz-Allen and Hamilton's study of new product practices in cor

77、porations found that "successful companies are more committed to growth through new products developed internally"; and that "they are more likely to have a strategic plan that includes a certain portion o

78、f growth from new products." The authors of this study go on to explain why having a new product strategy was tied to success:</p><p>　　A new product strategy links the new product process to company ob

79、jectives, and provides focus for idea/concept generation and for establishing appropriate screening criteria. The outcome of this strategy analysis is a set of strategic roles, used not to generate specific new product i

80、deas, but to help identify markets for which new products will be developed. These market opportunities provide the set of product and market requirements from which new product ideas are generated. In addition, st</p

81、><p>　　? The PIMS studies (profit impact of market strategy) considered new product strategies, but in only a peripheral way. These studies looked at why certain business units were more profitable than others,

82、 and attempted to link profitability to the market strategy elected. R&D spending and product quality level were two of many strategy variables considered in these studies, and both were found to be closely connected

83、 to profitability (although detractors of the studies argue about direction of ca</p><p>　　? Nystrom and Edvardsson studied a number of industrial product firms, and identified how various new product strate

84、gies were tied to performance. Strategies emphasizing synergistic use of technology, a responsive R&D organization, and an externally oriented R&D effort were generally more successful. The study was limited to o

85、nly a handful of strategy dimensions, and R&D strategy may be different from new product strategy. Nonetheless, the message comes through that new product strategy and perf</p><p>　　? Our own studies loo

86、ked at the performance impact of product innovation strategies in 120 firm. This study is one of the few investigations undertaken to date that considers a large number of strategy dimensions, and how strategy was tied t

87、o performance in a large number of firms. The overriding conclusion was that product innovation strategy and performance were strongly linked. The types of markets, products, and technologies that firms elected, and the

88、orientation and direction of their prod</p><p>　　Evidence for Selecting the Right Arenas</p><p>　　Our investigation provided much more than a strong hint that strategy pays off. The study also y

89、ielded insights into the ingredients of a successful innovation strategy: the types of objectives that are reasonable and measurable; and criteria useful in the selection of arenas—the kinds of products, markets, and tec

90、hnologies that successful firms elect. Here are some of the more important conclusions, which we use later in the article in the selection of arenas:</p><p>　　? A number of strategy factors were found to imp

91、act on the new product performance of a companies. These factors fit into one of two categories: either they described the type of new product arenas the firm had chosen; or they captured the basis of how the firm would

92、compete.</p><p>　　? Factors that captured the basis of competition portrayed the orientation and commitment to the new product program. They included factors such as technological aggressiveness and sophisti

93、cation, market orientation, program focus, R&D spending, and the like—useful guides to how a new product program should be oriented and managed.</p><p>　　? Factors that described the choice of arenas con

94、stituted the second category of factors that impacted upon program performance. These could be further subcategorized into factors that portrayed:</p><p>　　1) The attractiveness of the arena (for example, ma

95、rket need, growth and size, technological possibilities in the arena, etc.); </p><p>　　2) The strength or ability of the firm to exploit the arena (for example, the fit or synergy between the firm's reso

96、urces and the new product arena).</p><p>　　? In subsequent analysis, we were able to put weights on these different factors—how important is each factor in the "success equation."These factors and

97、their weights are shown in Table I. We use Table I to provide the key criteria and weights for the selection of the right arenas. The reader is cautioned, however, that these weights are derived from one study only, and

98、serve as a guide or starting point to arena selection.</p><p>　　DEVELOPING AN INNOVATION CHARTER</p><p>　　Few can deny the utility of having a product innovation charter to guide the firm's

99、new product efforts. But how does one go about developing such a charter? The remainder of the article tackles the difficult task of molding the PIC. A number of familiar concepts—business definition schemes and portfoli

100、o strategy models—form the basis of this development. But these models have been integrated and modified in a novel apply to new product opportunities, rather than for businesses; further, we have</p><p>　　S

101、etting Objectives</p><p>　　Defining objectives for a product development program is essential; most of us accept that premise. Yet our strategy study revealed that many firms actually lacked written and meas