Managing Customer Knowledge During the Concept Development Stage of the New Food Product Development Process

New product development (NPD) is a knowledge-intensive process where the generation of new ideas and concepts requires detailed knowledge of both products and customers. The high reported failure rates for innovative functional beverages suggest an inability to manage customer knowledge effectively as well as a lack of knowledge management between functional disciplines involved in the NPD process. This research explored the concept of managing customer knowledge at the early stages of the NPD process, through the use of advanced concept optimization methods, and applied it to the development of a range of functional beverages. A conjoint-based survey was administered to 400 customers in Ireland. This research identified 2 hypothetical functional beverage concepts with high levels of customer acceptance. Managing customer knowledge during the concept development stage of the NPD process can assist firms overcome customer acceptance issues associated with innovative products. Methodologies that advance both a firm's understanding of customers' choice motives and value systems can increase the chances of new product success in international food and beverage markets.

[1]  Debra Zahay,et al.  Sources, uses, and forms of data in the new product development process , 2004 .

[2]  S. R. Rosenthal,et al.  Towards holistic front ends in new product development , 1998 .

[3]  Richard R. Reilly,et al.  Blockbusters: The Five Keys to Developing GREAT New Products , 2002 .

[4]  R. Cooper.  Predevelopment activities determine new product success , 1988 .

[5]  Ruud T. Frambach,et al.  Determinants of the adoption of new product development tools by industrial firms , 2000 .

[6]  Nigel Coates,et al.  Idea generation techniques in an industrial market , 1997 .

[7]  Paul E. Green,et al.  Segmenting Markets with Conjoint Analysis , 1991 .

[8]  R. Calantone,et al.  The Impact of Market Knowledge Competence on New Product Advantage: Conceptualization and Empirical Examination , 1998 .

[9]  J. Dutton,et al.  The Adoption of Radical and Incremental Innovations: An Empirical Analysis , 1986 .

[10]  J. Darroch,et al.  Examining the link between knowledge management practices and types of innovation , 2002 .

[11]  C. Delahunty,et al.  Consumer acceptance of orange juice containing functional ingredients , 2004 .

[12]  J. Tsalikis,et al.  Relativism in Ethical Research: A Proposed Model and Mode of Inquiry , 2001 .

[13]  Robert M. Grant,et al.  The knowledge-based view of the firm: Implications for management practice , 1997 .

[14]  P. Green,et al.  Conjoint Analysis in Consumer Research: Issues and Outlook , 1978 .

[15]  Robert G. Cooper,et al.  The relative importance of new product success determinants—perception versus reality , 1995 .

[16]  A. Samli,et al.  A theory of successful product breakthrough management: learning from success , 2000 .

[17]  David Wilemon,et al.  Strategic issues in managing innovation’s fuzzy front‐end , 2002 .

[18]  Solveig Wikström,et al.  The customer as co‐producer , 1996 .

[19]  G. Hult,et al.  Innovation, Market Orientation, and Organizational Learning: An Integration and Empirical Examination , 1998 .

[20]  Stephen R. Rosenthal,et al.  Towards holistic front ends in new product development , 1998 .

[21]  Rick Dove,et al.  Knowledge management, response ability, and the agile enterprise , 1999, J. Knowl. Manag..

[22]  Karin Braunsberger,et al.  Modeling Consumer Health Plan Choice Behavior To Improve Customer Value and Health Plan Market Share , 2000 .

[23]  D. Sorenson,et al.  Market-Oriented New Product Design of Functional Orange Juice Beverages: A Qualitative Approach , 2005 .

[24]  Wim Verbeke,et al.  Consumer acceptance of functional foods: socio-demographic, cognitive and attitudinal determinants , 2005 .

[25]  A. Johne.  Listening to the Voice of the Market , 1994 .

[26]  Trevor Sowrey,et al.  Idea Generation: Identifying the Most Useful Techniques , 1990 .

[27]  Albert Maydeu-Olivares,et al.  Exploring the link between market orientation and innovation in the European and US insurance markets , 2001 .

[28]  V. Mahajan,et al.  New product models: Practice, shortcomings and desired improvements , 1992 .

[29]  Gee-Woo Bock,et al.  Knowledge management and process innovation: the knowledge transformation path in Samsung SDI , 2002, J. Knowl. Manag..

[30]  Rosa Oppenheim,et al.  Winning at New Products , 1990 .

[31]  G. E. Arteaga,et al.  Systematic experimental designs for product formula optimization , 1994 .

[32]  S. Hart.  New Product Development , 1995 .

[33]  Alberto Carneiro,et al.  How does knowledge management influence innovation and competitiveness? , 2000, J. Knowl. Manag..

[34]  Pieternel A. Luning,et al.  Consumer-oriented functional food development: how well do functional disciplines reflect the 'voice of the consumer'? , 2002 .

[35]  K. Grunert,et al.  The acceptance of functional foods in Denmark, Finland and the United States: A study of consumers' conjoint evaluations of the qualities of functional foods and perceptions of general health factors and cultural values , 2001 .

[36]  John Preston,et al.  Winning at New Products , 1988 .

[37]  C. Hasler.  Functional foods: the western perspective. , 2009, Nutrition reviews.

[38]  G. Dosi.  Sources, Procedures, and Microeconomic Effects of Innovation , 1988 .

[39]  Laura B. Cardinal.  Technological Innovation in the Pharmaceutical Industry: The Use of Organizational Control in Managing Research and Development , 2001 .

[40]  R. Friele,et al.  Demographic and lifestyle characteristics of functional food consumers and dietary supplement users , 2003, British Journal of Nutrition.

[41]  K. Wiig.  Knowledge management: Where did it come from and where will it go? , 1997 .

[42]  G. Armstrong,et al.  Opportunities and constraints in the functional food market , 2003 .

[43]  Julian Mellentin,et al.  The Functional Foods Revolution: Healthy People, Healthy Profits? , 2001 .

[44]  M. Parry,et al.  The Determinants of Japanese New Product Successes , 1997 .

[45]  Bernard J. Jaworski,et al.  Market Orientation: The Construct, Research Propositions, and Managerial Implications , 1990 .