| 1. |
- Engwall, Mats, et al.
(författare)
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Models in action : how management models are interpreted in new product development
- 2005
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Ingår i: R & D Management. - : Blackwell Publishing. - 1467-9310 .- 0033-6807. ; 35:4, s. 427-439
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper studies the use of product development management models. Through an interpretive research approach based on in-depth interviews with 22 middle managers in two product development organizations, five ways of conceiving projects, project management and the role of models are identified - administrative, organizing, sense giving, team building and engineering - all representing different perspectives on - and ways of using models. The findings question essentialist views of models, common in the literature, as either normative guides for action or symbolic tools decoupled from action. Instead, the study indicates a large variety in the use of models mediated by the user's conception of the situation and the model. The study highlights the communicative role of models as boundary objects, enabling coordination of and communication about different conceptions of the development task. Rather than contributing to behavioral standardization (an implicit assumption that underlies most formal models), this study suggests that models support cognitive standardization by providing a common set of concepts and a framework that may be drawn upon in making sense of complex product development projects.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Kling, Ragnar
(författare)
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Developing product development in times of brutal change
- 2006
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Developing Product Development that’s what it’s about, developing our capability to do what we need to do. Ericsson Executive Product development in times of brutal change requires capabilities beyond normal product development capabilities. In order to meet the challenges of brutal change, an ability to change and improve how products are developed, and how product development is organized and managed is required. This thesis looks inside an industrial firm subjected to brutal market changes, forcing it to respond promptly and strongly, to reduce cost yet retain and improve the ability to develop, market, sell, deliver and support its products and services. The firm uses externalization of product development to cut fixed costs and reduce headcount quickly. To cut operating costs, it uses offshoring. Transformational structural changes destroy both capabilities and rigidities. The increasingly competitive situation calls for even higher efficiency. Product development capabilities have to be recreated to support even higher efficiency while retaining and improving innovativeness. Participative organizational development is performed to rebuild and improve product development capabilities at the workgroup level. Software developers use self-assessment and group reflection to augment their conceptions of efficiency and concurrently improve their efficiency. This thesis provides a typology of modes of organizing, and of transitions between different modes of organizing. It highlights the role of capabilities in supporting efficiency in the transfer of product development from one mode of organizing to another. In doing so, it aims to contribute to a dynamic perspective of product development organizing, and at the same time provide actionable advice to product development managers in times of brutal change. This thesis also illustrates the potential in group self-improvement, building on collective knowledge creation and use, with direct coupling to action. It argues that augmentation of conceptions through concept elaboration and reflection may be more efficient and effective than traditional training programs. Developing Product Development is both about improving the practice of product development and about improving the understanding of- and knowledge about product development.
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| 4. |
- Kling, Ragnar
(författare)
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In Search of Efficiency - Concurrent Concept Elaboration and Improvement
- 2006
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Ingår i: Technovation. - : Elsevier Ltd. - 1879-2383 .- 0166-4972. ; 26:7, s. 753-760
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In an aim to increase competitiveness, efficiency is coming more and more into focus in product development. In this article, the author studies the view of efficiency in software development groups, and identifies a strong ubiquitous yet implicit strive for efficiency improvements. ‘Efficiency’ appears a somewhat elusive, omnipresent concept, which is not explicitly talked about, but is often implicitly alluded to. How can software developers become more efficient if they do not know what this means? The author proposes a change strategy that concurrently furthers the local understanding and meaning of efficiency and improves actual efficiency, through a collaborative, participative change program. Conceptions of efficiency are claimed to moderate efficiency as well as learning processes. Four different conceptions of efficiency are identified.
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| 5. |
- Kling, Ragnar, et al.
(författare)
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Outsourcing R&D for flexibility : Experiences from the telecom industry
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Outsourcing is an important method of restructuring research and development (R&D). Based on a study of three cases in the telecommunications industry, a tentative framework is proposed for understanding the process of creating alliances by outsourcing R&D, through divesting internal R&D operations and creating alliances with the outsourced unit. Impacts on flexibility from the process, structure, and interface are identified. Understanding these impacts is critical to successful management of R&D outsourcing. How do firms retain and develop flexibility while moving from hierarchy towards a more mixed-mode relationship, with a greater degree of market influence? Impacts on flexibility from the process, structure and interface are identified. Understanding these impacts is critical to successful management of R&D outsourcing and divestiture.
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