Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Knowledge ...

Kamila Tislerova
and customers, ra<strong>the</strong>r than from within <strong>the</strong> organization. Capturing customer knowledge and involving
customers in <strong>the</strong> innovation process can represent for <strong>the</strong> company a very pr<strong>of</strong>itable source.
4.1 Means <strong>of</strong> customer involvement
Customer involvement occurs in different phases <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> new product development process. Some
customers are only involved in <strong>the</strong> initial stages <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> process; o<strong>the</strong>rs in <strong>the</strong> final stages and o<strong>the</strong>rs
interact continuously with <strong>the</strong> provider during <strong>the</strong> entire course <strong>of</strong> development. Comparing different
methods for involvement requires a framework to which <strong>the</strong> methods can be related. Kaulio (1998)
proposes a framework based on two dimensions:
(1) The longitudinal dimension, which includes <strong>the</strong> issues <strong>of</strong> an interaction between customers and
<strong>the</strong> design process.
(2) The lateral dimension, which captures <strong>the</strong> level <strong>of</strong> customer involvement in <strong>the</strong> design process.
This dimension is fur<strong>the</strong>r divided into three different categories:
- design for, (<strong>the</strong> products are designed based on customer research but <strong>the</strong> customer is not
involved fur<strong>the</strong>r);
- design with (denotes an approach which, in addition to <strong>the</strong> above, also includes displays <strong>of</strong>
different concepts for <strong>the</strong> customer to react upon);
- design by (signifies an approach where customers are actively involved and partake in <strong>the</strong>
product design).
There are also o<strong>the</strong>r frameworks - Nijssen and Lieshout (1995) categorise <strong>the</strong> most popular tools for
new product development according to <strong>the</strong>ir purpose in four groups as follows:
(1) Idea generation, including creative tools such as brainstorming, syn<strong>the</strong>tics and morphological
analysis and non-creative tools such as focus groups, Delphi method, surveys, observation,
scenario and expert opinion.
(2) Product optimisation, including conjoint analysis, quality function deployment, concept testing,
prototype testing and pilot plant/in-home use test.
(3) Marketing mix optimisation, including simulated test marketing, mini-market, limited prediction,
including computer prediction models, diffusion models, and economic models.
(4) Prediction, including computer prediction models, diffusion models, and economic models, such
as ROI/BE – analysis and pay-back time.
4.2 Reasons for customer knowledge involvement
One <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> most commonly mentioned reasons is cooperation in <strong>the</strong> innovation process. Successful
new product development requires an in-depth understanding <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> customers, <strong>the</strong>ir situation, <strong>the</strong>ir
needs and <strong>the</strong>ir wishes (Lagrosen, 2001). This requires active interaction with <strong>the</strong> customers.
There are many authors confirming <strong>the</strong> value <strong>of</strong> involving <strong>the</strong> customers in new product development.
Proximity to customers is <strong>of</strong>ten ranked as one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> most important factors for new product
development success in business markets. Understanding customers is usually regarded in literature
as being crucial for successful new product development (Lagrosen, 2001). However, understanding
alone, is <strong>of</strong>ten not sufficient. The customer has to be motivated and activated. Von Hippel (2001) even
argues that by using user toolkits for innovation, companies can abandon <strong>the</strong>ir efforts to understand
customers’ needs and outsource need-related innovation tasks to <strong>the</strong>ir users.
4.3 The role <strong>of</strong> relationship marketing in involving customers
There has been a remarkable evolution in marketing trends from a ra<strong>the</strong>r limited focus on transactions
to a focus on <strong>the</strong> relationships that companies have with <strong>the</strong>ir customers and o<strong>the</strong>r actors. Research
has indicated that well-managed relations can moderate <strong>the</strong> effects <strong>of</strong> inadequate product
performance. Product development management involving customers is related to <strong>the</strong> companies’
customer relationship management processes. Developing products according to <strong>the</strong> customers’
needs and wants has long been promoted. However, <strong>the</strong> relationship marketing goes beyond a
distanced relation based on quantitative market research and upholds <strong>the</strong> interaction between <strong>the</strong>
parties <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> relation as <strong>the</strong> most important source for market knowledge. This implies that product
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