Developing Products In Half The Time Management Essay

 Developing Products In Half The Time Management Essay

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With its head office in Oak Brook, Illinois, fast food giant McDonalds has ridden the wave of global trends towards eating out and fast food since it took its modern form in the early 1950's. Outside the USA, customers of the global chain were not, however, only eating hamburgers- they were "eating and drinking America". In societies that never had enough meat, the rapid emergence of fast food chains was linked to the availability at reasonable prices of hot beef and chicken.

By the 1970s and 1980s, McDonald's and its golden arches logo had become a global brand. By 1996 McDonald's operated in 100 countries and was finally earning more revenue than McDonald's International than McDonald's America. In deed the Big Mac had become so globally recognizable that it was adopted as a measure of purchasing power across different markets.

Mc Donald's has packaged itself as a multi-local company, which has a high level of local ownership through a network of franchise outlets. The products offered are tailored to meet the needs of the local market, for example, beer is sold at McDonald's in the Czech Republic and different chicken sandwich are sold in England as compared to Germany. Sourcing of products is also global in some cases, sesame seeds come from Mexico but others are local.

Despite its global dominance McDonalds began to see a slowing of its growth in the late 1990s. By 1996, it reported a decline in sales in the USA. In part McDonald's become a victim of its own success in that instead of generating new customers it just spread its existing customer over more stores so that they did not increase their market shares. In response to the lost of it market shares and decline in sales McDonalds lunched a fierce marketing strategy that included extensive promotion ("I'M Loving' It" campaign) , the introduction of new healthier options and expansion into new markets such as Hong Kong, Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia.

Recently, McDonald's fortunes has changed yet again and in the last quarter of 2008 they announced an increase in sales and profit in the UK which they attribute in part to the credit crunch as people are now looking for cheaper eating out options . In January 2009, announced that it will be opening 1000 new stories across the UK in order to meet market demand for the brand. (Business: BBC, 2009).

Business Case for a healthier Menu

In recent years there have been numerous campaign and TV programs feature McDonalds as an unhealthy fast food option. The movie, SuperSize Me, altered the public to the danagers of eating McDonalds and explained exactly how unhealthy the fast food is. Research has shown that a Big Meal contains approximately 2,400 calories, which equals the recommended calorie intake for a man and excess the recommended intake for a woman.

Jaime Oliver, in his Channel Four Program, Jamie's School Dinners further reiterated the damage being done to our bodies by eating McDonalds on a regular basis. In fact, his research shows that on average children who ate junk food, such as McDonalds, where often lethargic and unable to concentrate and has poor academic performance as a result. Such programs have led consumers to think about what they eat and they are seeking healthy options that are affordable.

New EU regulation regarding salt and fat content and the removal of the use of certain oils and fats from fast food, has reinforced the need for McDonalds to offer its customers healthier options. Additionally, the UK government, in its drive to reduce obesity and encourage Britons to be healthier has used companies such as McDonalds as examples of foods that should be avoid. In 2009, the UK government, in an attempt to regulate the fast food industry, has set out guidelines for including calorie and fat contents on the package of meals so that consumer can make an informed choice.

McDonalds has also seen a decline in its sales due to socio-cultural factors such as lifestyle changes. Growing health consciousness together with social and government pressure to eat healthy and reduce the levels of obesity in countries like the UK and USA has adversely affect the sales of McDonalds in these markets. Few years ago people start to change their eating habit, and start eating healthy and vegetarian food. As a result McDonalds saw a decline in sales in UK, Germany and Japan. McDonald's, since some of them were offering healthy and affordable meals. For example , they has phased out the use of trans fats and now use a new cooking oil designed to make the food healthier without losing its taste.

While the recent economic recession has seen an increase in McDonald's fortunes, studies indicated that customer's whiles regarding McDonalds as an affordable option still regard them as unhealthy and would rather pay more to have a healthy meal. McDonald's original forage into healthy eating, by introducing sales, was unconvincing as it was found that these has as much calories as a Big Mac.

In light of the changing circumstance, McDonalds needs to focus on introducing a healthier menu by reducing the fat content of its existing meals and adding healthier options such as salad, low fat sandwiches and grilling rather than frying it nuggets, chicken and fish burgers.

Research Methods

This research will be conducted using both primary and secondary data.

Primary Data collection

Primary Research: "It is information that does not exist until you carry out your own investigation" (EDEXCEL HNC/HND, 2004). The mixed methods approach will be used combining primary and secondary data. "One of the benefits of this is that it can overcome one of the main drawbacks of secondary data, which is that it is often not of direct relevance to your research objective. By using appropriate primary data to 'plug the gaps' you should be able to obtain the complete picture. This might be the case where you are researching an issue within an organisation" (EDEXCEL HNC/HND Business, 2004)

Advantages of primary data

• Allows the researcher to carry out research on a specific topic
• Greater control over the type of data collected and the sample size
• Efficient way of spending time as the data being research is topic specific

Disadvantages

• Time consuming as questionnaires, interview and surveys have to designed, samples have to chosen, target audience need to be identified. Collection and analysis of data can take a very long time
• Costly- this include costs such as postage, printing material, and cost of time to conduct the research.
• Research bias- the researcher can impose his or her view on the research subjects

Questionnaires

These are seen as a logical and easy way of collecting information from people. The research will design a series of questions related to the research topic and using a survey hand out the questionnaires to the potential subjects.

Types of questionnaires

• Closed questionnaires- this type of questionnaire gives the subject a list of possible answers to the questions and which they can make their choice. Close questionnaires are often bias as they have predetermined answers and often reflect the researcher's view point. However, close questionnaires are easy to interpret as data can be easily quantified as a percentage.
• Open questionnaires- this is where the answers are not provide and the subjects need to offer their opinion. This type of questionnaire provides more information but can be difficult to interpret and may lead to inaccurate and incomplete assumptions by the researcher.
• Mixed-questionnaires- this type of questionnaire allows for the use of both closed and open question therefore providing the researcher with a more rounded view of the subjects opinions.

Justification for using questionnaires

• Inexpensive to use
• Can be used in either small or large surveys.
• Close questionnaires are easily quantifiable
• Provide large amounts of data

Secondary data

Is the data have already been collected by elsewhere for someone else for some other purpose, but which can be used or adapted for the survey being conducted" (EDEXCEL HNC/HND, 2004) Information will be collected from websites, journal, newspapers etc in relation to McDonalds.

Advantages of secondary data

• Ease to access and less time consuming than primary research as the data already exist.
• Low cost- secondary data collection is much cheaper that primary research collection
• May help to clarify the research question for example by conducting a literature review this might help the research obtain a clearer understand of the topic to be researched.

Disadvantages of secondary data

• Inconsistency and inaccuracy of data may hinder the research from getting a clear understand of the research topic and may lead to incorrect assumptions.
• Information is not specific to the researchers need and means that the research may need to spend a large amount of time sorting through irrelevant information.
• Secondary data may not be timely, that is information could be out-of-date.

Literature Review

New product development is a company's lifeblood. Growth and profits suffer without aggressive product development introducing new product's and services into the market.

All companies need to find out what their customers/potential customers want in order to meet any gaps in the market. However, asking your customers to take the role of R&D personnel to find out what they want will not always lead to success. The key to successful market research for new product development comes from an understanding of what customers value and not simply from asking them to submit their own solutions.

New product development research is not always about looking at the product in isolation; the product, the packaging, the advertising and the pricing strategy are all integral parts of the research. Any new product launch is inherently risky as it is a venture into the unknown.

Competitive Advantage

Jones and George suggest that competitive advantage can be created by one or more of the four factors: - (Jones & George, 2007)

• Efficiency: this refers to the overall efficiency of the organisation by comparing total income against total costs. They further stated that the organisation must consider labour costs, the long term benefits that may result from introducing new technology; possible increase in income and reduction in cost by improving quality and long-term benefits such as employee training. McDonalds have been able to improve efficiency by providing high quality choices that offer customers a variety of choices to meet a balance as well as specialist dietary need. For example, McDonalds offer salads, fruits and fruit juice among its healthy option range to meet customer needs. Also they are providing transparency on their products by make customers aware of the nutritional content of all it products. In addition, McDonalds is investing in its workforce through numerous training programs to enable employees to better serve their customers..
• Qaulity-this refers to the quality of output in terms of does the product meet the customer requirements. This aspect emphasis quality of design, conformance to quality and reliability. McDonalds has continued to product high quality products that meet customer needs.
• Innovation: this refers to innovation of product, production or service provision. McDonalds has continued to offer completely new ranges of products as well as improving or varying existing ones. For example, McDonalds has focus on reducing the Trans fat and salt content of its products without changing taste and have been successful in their use of new healthier cooking oils.
• Customer responsiveness: this refers to the organisation establishing the needs and wants of the customers, developing products that satisfy those needs and wants, measure the products in terms of value, quality and customer satisfaction and exchange of transactions between the organisation and its customers. McDonalds has mainly focused on this strategy in order to reposition itself and has done so in the following ways:-

• McDonald's have carried out extensive market research to establish what products their customer's want and has revised it menu to meet customer demands. For example, McDonald's experimented with a range of vegetarian meals and where able to provide a vegetarian menu within 18 months. Also providing lamb burgers in India in responsive to their religious needs
• A change in lifestyle for instance healthier eating habits has seen the biggest change in McDonalds. McDonalds now offer health options such as salads, grilled chicken, flatbreads, breakfast porridges fruits and fruit juices. They even offer concern parents the opportunity to replace fries with carrot stick. The firm also dropped it's supersize portions.
• McDonalds also launched a campaign emphasising the firm's fresh and healthier menu with a slogan "McDonald's but not as you know it" splashed across close up pictures of fruit and salad. (Crane & Matten, 2007)
• Finally, McDonalds' launched an exercise imitative aimed at young people. The 'what I eat and what I do' campaign intends to show that there are two sides to a healthy lifestyle- diet and exercise. (Crane & Matten, 2007)

Michael Porter (1998) argues that there are five forces that affect competition. He states that"the five-force framework provides the structure for analysing effect, while activities and the value chain provide the structure for examining the competitive advantage effect."

Porter's five forces are useful, because it helps to understand both the strength of your current competitive position, and the strength of a position you're looking to move into.

1. Bargaining power of suppliers: in this case it is for suppliers to drive up prices. It is driven by the number of suppliers of each key input, the uniqueness of their product or service, their strength and control. Not to be under suppliers control McDonalds are producing their own products for example potato and might think of sourcing different suppliers because of the increasing prices of food and petrol.
2. Bargaining power of customers: in this case prices are driven by the number of buyers, the importance of each individual buyer to McDonalds. Due to the credit crunch buyers are choosing McDonalds as an eating out option since it will cost them more switching from McDonald's products to those of someone else. McDonalds is attracting buyers through quantity, pricing and promotions.
3. Threat from substitute products:this is affected by the ability of your customers to find a different way of doing what McDonalds does - it's true that McDonalds prices are affordable but there is a large number of competitors for example ready meals, sandwiches , Burger king this means they are not supplying a unique product so buyers have the choice to choose other places, and due to the credit crunch people may substitute by eating at home and not paying extra money on their meal which might weakens McDonalds power.
4. Threat of New Entry:Power is also affected by the ability of others to enter McDonald's market; it will cost them time and money to compete effectively. Although fast food industry is growing and showing an increase in sales at the mean time because of their affordable prices with the credit crunch, it makes it attractive to new business, but McDonalds have a strong and durable barrier to entry by dominating the market with established products and brand equity, so they can make it unattractive to new comers and preserve a favourable position and take fair advantage of it.
5. Industry for rivalry among existing competitors:the number and capability of McDonalds competitors are very important- for example Burger King and KFC, and they offer equally attractive products and services, If buyers don't get a good deal from McDonalds, they'll go elsewhere so they need to be continually innovative new products at regular intervals to attract and retain customers, focus on below the line promotion strategies for example buy one get one free.

Socio-cultural influences on consumer buying behavior

Hofstede (1984) defined culture as the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes different groups. Hofstede identified five dimensions that explain different cultures:-

Power Distance Index (PDI) this refers to the extent to which the less powerful accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. Hosfetde suggests that the societal inequality is endorsed as much by the less powerful as it is by the more powerful.

Individualism (IDV) - in some society individual achievement and freedom is paramount as everyone is expected to look after themselves. However, other society strives for collectivism and people are integrated into strong cohesive groups which shape their values and attitudes.

Masculinity (MAS) this refers to the distribution of roles based on gender. In masculine societies the focus is on achievement and power while in feminine societies the focus is on values such as caring.

Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) this refers to society level of tolerance for uncertainty. Uncertainty avoiding cultures try to minimize uncertainty by strict laws and rules, safety and security measures, and on the philosophical and religious level by a belief in absolute Truth. People in uncertainty avoiding countries are also more emotional, and motivated by inner nervous energy. Uncertainty accepting cultures are more tolerant and try to have few rules that might restrict individual choice.

New Product Development

According to Johnson and Scholes , strategy development is a dynamic process which should be carried out on a regaular basis , in order that strategies and plans can be adjusted can be adopted to changes within the organization itself and within the wider business environment. (Johnson & Scholes, 2002) .

Strategy development is important in that is will help McDonalds to identify their:-

• Strengths and weaknesses as well as the opportunities and threats facing the organizations. These give McDonald's an idea of where potential opportunities for expansion existing as well as it the company have the necessary resources in place to meet the changing organizations needs
• Organizational capabilities- McDonalds will be able to address issues as the availability of resources needed for any new product development.
• Environmental forces- by conducting a PESTLE analysis McDonalds will be able to identify the environmental forces influencing the company and they can therefore develop and implement strategies to meet these needs.

Lancaster and Massingham (1988) identified the stages of New Product Development as follows:

• Idea generation- develop new idea for product through customer survey and brainstorming sessions
• Screening new ideas- this stage allows further analysis of the ideas addressing areas such as target market, size of growth forecasts, competitive pressure and feasibility of developing the product.
• Business analysis- concerns the financial viability of the product. Forecasting techniques are used to determine the selling prices as well profitability and breakeven point based competition and customer feedback.
• Product development - this stage is concerned with the actual development of the product and includes prototype development.
• Test Marketing- involves testing the product using focus groups. Any necessary changes are made at this stage.
• Commercialization- this is the final stage of the development cycle. At this stage the product is launched, the full marketing mix is engaged e.g. promotion and distribution

The Fuzzy Front End is the messy "getting started" period of new product development processes. It is in the front end where the organization formulates a concept of the product to be developed and decides whether or not to invest resources in the further development of an idea. It is the phase between first consideration of an opportunity and when it is judged ready to enter the structured development process (Kim and Wilemon , 2002; Koen et al., 2001). It includes all activities from the search for new opportunities through the formation of a germ of an idea to the development of a precise concept. The Fuzzy Front End ends when an organization approves and begins formal development of the concept.

Although the Fuzzy Front End may not be an expensive part of product development, it can consume 50% of development time (see Chapter 3 of the Smith and Reinertsen reference below), and it is where major commitments are typically made involving time, money, and the product's nature, thus setting the course for the entire project and final end product. Consequently, this phase should be considered as an essential part of development rather than something that happens "before development," and its cycle time should be included in the total development cycle time.

Koen et al. (2001, pp.47-51) distinguish five different front-end elements (not necessarily in a particular order):

1. Opportunity Identification
2. Opportunity Analysis
3. Idea Genesis
4. Idea Selection
5. Concept and Technology Development

The first element is the opportunity identification. In this element, large or incremental business and technological chances are identified in a more or less structured way. Using the guidelines established here, resources will eventually be allocated to new projects.... which then lead to a structured NPPD (New Product & Process Development)strategy. The second element is the opportunity analysis. It is done to translate the identified opportunities into implications for the business and technology specific context of the company. Here extensive efforts may be made to align ideas to target customer groups and do market studies and/or technical trials and research. The third element is the idea genesis, which is described as evolutionary and iterative process progressing from birth to maturation of the opportunity into a tangible idea. The process of the idea genesis can be made internally or come from outside inputs, e.g. a supplier offering a new material/technology, or from a customer with an unusual request. The fourth element is the idea selection. Its purpose is to choose whether to pursue an idea by analyzing its potential business value. The fifth element is the concept and technology development. During this part of the front-end, the business case is developed based on estimates of the total available market, customer needs, investment requirements, competition analysis and project uncertainty. Some organizations consider this to be the first stage of the NPPD process (i.e., Stage 0).

The Fuzzy Front End is also described in literature as "Front End of Innovation", "Phase 0", "Stage 0" or "Pre-Project-Activities".

A universally acceptable definition for Fuzzy Front End or a dominant framework has not been developed so farIn a glossary of PDMA, it is mentioned that the Fuzzy Front End generally consists of three tasks: strategic planning, concept generation, and, especially, pre-technical evaluation. These activities are often chaotic, unpredictible, and unstructured. In comparison, the subsequent new product development process is typically structured, predictable, and formal. The term Fuzzy Front End was first popularized by Smith and Reinertsen (1991) R.G.Cooper (1988) describes the early stages of NPPD as a four step process in which ideas are generated (I),subjected to a preliminary technical and market assessment(II) and merged to coherent product concepts(III) which are finally judged for their fit with existing product strategies and portfolios (IV). In a more recent paper, Cooper and Edgett (2008) affirm that vital predevelopment activities include: 1)Preliminary market assessment. 2)Technical assessment. 3)Source-of-supply-assessment:suppliers and partners or alliances. 4)Market research : market size and segmentation analysis,VoC (voice of customer) research. 5.Product concept testing 6.Value-to-the customer assessment 7.Product definition 8.Business and financial analysis. These activities yield vital information to make a Go/No-Go to Development decision. In the in-depth study by Khurana and Rosenthal (1998) front-end activities include product strategy formulation and communication, opportunity identification and assessment,idea generation,product definition,project planning,and executive reviews. Economical analysis, benchmarking of competitive products,and modeling and prototyping are also important activities during the front-end activities. The outcomes of FFE are the mission statement,customer needs,details of the selected concept, product definition and specifications, economic analysis of the product,the development schedule,project staffing and the budget,and a business plan aligned with corporate strategy. In a paper by Husig, Kohn and Huskela (2005) was proposed a conceptual model of Front-End Process which includes early Phases of Innovation Process. This model is structured in three phases and three gates: Phase 1: Environmental screening or opportunity identification stage in which external changes will be analysed and translated into potential business opportunities. Phase 2 : Preliminary definition of an idea or concept. Phase 3 : Detailed product, project or concept definition, and Business planning. The gates are : 1) Opportunity screening;2)Idea evaluation;3) Go/No-Go for development. The final gate leads to a dedicated new product development project . Many professionals and academics consider that the general features of Fuzzy Front End (fuzziness,,ambiguity, and uncertainty) make difficult to see the FFE as a structured process,but rather as a set of interdependent activities ( e.g.Kim and Wilemon ,2002). However, Husig et al.,2005 [10] argue that front-end not need to be fuzzy,but can be handled in a structured manner.Peter A.Koen (2004) argue that in the FFE for incremental,platform and radical projects,three separate strategies and processes are typically involved. The traditional Stage Gate (TM) process was designed for incremental product development,namely for a single product.The FFE for developing a new platform must start out with a strategic vision of where the company wants to develop products and this will lead to a family of products. Projects for breakthrough products start out with a similar strategic vision,but are associated with technologies which require new discoveries.It is worth mentioning what are incremental,platform and breakthrough products. Incremental products are considered to be cost reductions, improvements to existing product lines,additions to existing platforms and repositioning of existing products introduced in markets. Breakthrough products are new to the company or new to the world and offer a 5-10 times or greater improvement in performance combined with a 30-50% or greater reduction in costs. Platform products establish a basic architecture for a next generation product or process and are substantially larger in scope and resources than incremental projects (Koen, Peter A., 2004 )

Analysis and Finding

In March 2003, McDonald's added several healthier items to its menu. These items include a line of premium salads for adults, and 1% fat milk and fresh apple slices as Happy Meal options for children. McDonald's has also eliminated its supersize drink and French fries options.

As of November 1, 2004, McDonald's had sold 200 million salads, and anticipated selling 35 million pounds of apples during 2004. Sales of 1% fat milk sold in Milk Jugs bottles have more than doubled since their introduction in 2003. McDonald's efforts to increase healthy menu options have also increased sales. The company reports new, healthier products have been profitable for their bottom line.

The company reported a fall in profits - to $471m (£290m) in the three months to end-June, from $498m a year earlier - but was encouraged by an 11% jump in sales.

It attributed falling profits to the high costs of restructuring its business, including the closure of hundreds of restaurants and investment in new products.

These new products, which are deliberately slanted towards healthy eating, have sold well, the company insisted.

McDonald's financial performance in recent years has suffered from the perceived dreariness of its traditional menu.

And investors have become afraid of lawsuits from obese customers, some of whom blame the chain for their expanding waistlines.

'Only the beginning'

"I'm pleased with the strong customer response to our innovative new products," said chairman and chief executive Jim Cantalupo.

" But I'm far from satisfied. This upturn reflects only the beginning of our worldwide revitalisation plan."

Part of this plan is a drive to invest in new products, and to market them aggressively.

Mr Cantalupo heaped praise on launches such as the "McGriddle" breakfast concept, and the roll-out of wi-fi internet access in some US restaurants, both of which, he said, chime with changing lifestyles.

The other part of the recovery plan involves far tighter control of spending.

The pace of restaurant openings is being reined in: last year, the firm opened 1,000 more outlets than it closed; in 2003, the net increase will be just 360. (www.mcdonalds.com, 2009)

Research indicated that 35% of people who currently do not purchase McDonalds would do so if they had healthier options as they were cheaper than many other restaurants. Additional, 67% of existing Customers indicated that they were concerned about their health and would purchase healthier options if they were available and attractive. Customers still want to enjoy the eating out experience during the economic recession and see McDonalds as a viable option. However, concern over the high fat and calorie content of McDonalds food have deterred individual who are health conscious and want to eat health. Introducing more healthy options such as a variety of salads and healthy kids meal can see a potential increase in McDonalds sales.Introducing healthier options will allow McDonalds to increase their customer base and attract new customers so that they can expand through product development.

Marketing Strategy

Ansoff Matrix

The Ansoff matrix is a tool that helps businesses decides their market growth strategy and their product. It presents distinct opportunities, threats, resource requirements, returns and risks. (Hollensen, 2003)

Market penetration strategies

This is the most frequently used strategy and focuses on increase market shares. This can be done by attracting new customers or increasing sales to existing customers. For example, the introduction of the adult burger and redecorating the restaurant to make it more attractive to adults.

Market development strategies

This entails marketing existing products to new customer groups and regions. This strategy requires the full implementation of the marketing and focuses on finding new markets, distribution channel and promotion strategies as well as products specialisation. For example,open in new market example Singapore and Hong Kong and adapting products to suit culture needs.

Diversification Strategies.

This concerns the development of new products for new markets. This is the most risky options, especially when the entry strategy is not based on core competences of the business. McDonalds has used vertical integration by purchasing the own potato farm as well as the factory for production of the own chips.

Marketing Mix

This following marketing mix will be used for McDonalds new Healthier Menu.

• Product: McDonalds, will be offering a wider variety of salads and fruit options. This will be offered on two scales Salads for adult and fruits and fruit juice in kid's meals instead of chips and sodas.
• Distribution: McDonald's will sell these products throughout it franchised stores
• Price: due to the unique quality of unique of the products McDonalds will use a premium pricing strategy with salads and healthy sandwiches. However, they will maintain their value pricing strategy with regards to the kids meals as fruits and fruits will be replaces existing foods in the meal package and are not additionally options. ..
• Promotion: McDonalds will market its Healthier menu using a range of techniques for including advertising, publicity, partnership and sale promotion. TV, Newspaper and posters will be used to promote the product. They will also attempt to reform it's strategic alliance with Disney to help promote the new kids meal by offering Disney character as part of the meal package.

Resources Needed

Financial resources- The development and introduction of a new menu will require financial investments. McDonalds will either have to source money from existing funds or from external investors.

Monitoring and review

Sales:- McDonalds will review its sales at the end of 6months to see if there have been an increase in the number of healthy foods sold as well as overall sales. Volume of new menu sales will indicate that the new products have been successful and management can then decide if to continue with the products.

Customer feedback: McDonalds will conduct a post-implementation questionnaire and focus group to determine what customers think about the healthier menu. This will give the company and indicate as to whether people like the healthier option. Also it will tell them if they have attracted new customers and have therefore grown as a result of the new products

References

1. ^ Ulrich, Karl T. and Eppinger, Steven D (2004) Product Design and Development, 3rd Edition, McGraw-Hill, New York, 2004
2. ^ Ullman, David G. (2009) The Mechanical Design Process, Mc Graw-Hill, 4th edition
3. ^ Kim, J. and Wilemon, D. (2002), Sources and assessment of complexity in NPD projects. R&D Management, 33 (1), pp. 16-30.
4. ^ a b Koen et al. (2001), Providing clarity and a common language to the 'fuzzy front end'. Research Technology Management, 44 (2), pp.46-55
5. ^ Smith, Preston G. and Reinertsen, Donald G. (1998) Developing Products in Half the Time, 2nd Edition, John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1998.
6. ^ Husig and Kohn (2003), Factors influencing the Front End of the Innovation Process: A comprehensive Review of Selected empirical NPD and explorative FFE Studies ,Brusell,Juni 2003,p.14.
7. ^ Smith,Preston G., Reinertsen Donald G.(1991) Developing products in half the time, Van Nostrand Reinhold,New York
8. ^ Cooper,R.G. Predevelopment activities determine new product success, in: Industrial Marketing Management,Vol.17 (1988), No 2,pp. 237-248
9. ^ Cooper R.G., Edgett, S.J.(2008), Maximizing productivity in product innovation, in: Research Technology Management,March 1,2008
10. ^ Khurana,A.,and Rosenthal,S.R. (1988):Towards Holistic "Front Ends" in New Product Development,in: Journal of Product Innovation Management, 15 (1998), 1,pp.57-75.
11. ^ Husig,S., Kohn,S., Poskela,J.(2005): The Role of Process Formalisation in the early Phases of the Innovation Process, 12th Int. Prod. Development Conf.,Copenhagen,2005
12. ^ Kim,J., Wilemon,D.(2002): Accelerating the Front End Phase in New Product Development [http:// www.iamot.org]
13. ^ Koen,Peter A.(2004), The Fuzzy Front End for Incremental,Platform,and Breakthrough Products. In: PDMA Handbook of New Product Development, 2nd Ed., N.Y., 2004, pp.81-91
14. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_product_development accessed 30/11/2009
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