Product Innovation - Coursework Example

Running head: Research design critique Name: University/College: Course: Lecturer: Date: 1. Introduction Product innovation is an essential part of any business. With technological change and the numerous transformations that are taking place in society every day, wise are the company managers who move with the times, seeking to satisfy an eager market that is ever ready for new products. Product innovations are very important and as such, make a great topic for research. In line with this fact, I decided to review three journal articles, in order to find out how far they have gone in adding to the body of knowledge on this topic. The articles were all published after 2006, and cover a wide variety of topics concerning product innovation. The specific articles are: ‘The intellectual structure of product innovation research: a Bibliometric study’, written in 2010 by Boris Durisin, Giulia Calabretta, and Vanni Parmeggiani. The mentioned article was published in the Journal of Product Innovations Management, and it reviews all articles contributed to the journal between 1984 and 2004. The article assesses the citations used in the articles, seeking to find how they are connected to a range of topics of products innovations research. The second article to be reviewed is ‘R&D Collaborations and Product Innovation’. The said article was written by C. Annique Un, Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra, and Kazuhiro Asakawa, and was published in the Journal of Product Innovations Management in 2010. The authors move away from the path chosen by the previous authors, seeking instead to find out the impact of product innovations research and development of firms with different stakeholders like universities, suppliers, customers and competitors. The final article is entitled, ‘Innovation management and thought leadership – a cultural requirement in a global competitive environment’. It was written by Dr. Michel Soto Chalhoub, and published in the Journal of American Academy of Business in 2010. The article moves out of the box in trying to address the issue of innovation by defining it in a broader context, which is a process by which companies can function and put together performance-driven customs in the workplace. This report will summarize, analyze and critique the journal articles, all in a bid to help me to develop the ability to determine the appropriateness of the suggested research designs in achieving the proposed research objectives. Additionally, the report will help me to find gaps in the field of innovation that will give me pointers on what to do when the time comes to write and submit a research proposal. 2. Research design The research design employed in any study will determine its outcome. Thus, any researcher seeking to get excellent results form his work needs to be careful about what sort of design he uses. Research designs have several characteristics. As previously stated, a researcher should be careful about what he chooses to use on his research as they will determine the outcome of the study. Additionally, some designs are only applicable to specific types of research. For example, there are three types of research designs that may be used in a study. Exploratory design is used for new and undiscovered topics that the researcher wants to find out more about. It helps in the creation of basic awareness in previously unknown areas; it elucidates important issues and exposes variables connected with a problem. Additionally, it describes choices for tackling research objectives. It answers the ‘what’ question in research (Trochim, 2006). Descriptive research answers the questions of who, what, where and how of a research study. It provides additional insight to the problem that is being researched by describing the variables that are connected with it. Descriptive research provides a detailed picture of the subject under investigation. Finally, explanatory research asks the question of ‘why’. It provides the reason as to why something occurs. The theoretical framework employed for use by a researcher is a construction or theory that tries to explain the different variables of the research and how they connect to each other (Camp, 2001). Variables can either be dependent or independent. They are determinant factors incumbent in causality under investigation. They interplay to give an explanation of an observable occurrence. Hypotheses are predetermined opinions based on a theoretical framework whose validity is to be verified from the research conducted. Can be null or alternative hypotheses (Sekran, 2000). Time dimension is either cross sectional or longitudinal depending on whether the research is at a limited point in time, or whether it is based on more than one time. Consequently, time dimension can be time consuming and expensive, if it is longitudinal. The research environment under which the study has been conducted may be field conditions, a controlled environment and one that is simulated. Finally, the methods of data collection are numerous and may include interviews, observation, filling in of questionnaires, focused group discussions, secondary data like books and journals and key informant interviews (Tuckman, 1999). 3. Summaries 3a. Durisin et al (2010) The study conducted was entitled ‘The Intellectual Structure of Product Innovation Research: A Bibliometric Study of the Journal of Product Innovation Management, 1984–2004’. The said study had three objectives it sought to clarify: first, it was to assess where the scientific community has reached in developing the discipline from 1984-2004. The second objective was to assess citations used in the articles and how they are connected with other topics in the field. Finally, the study was to determine how the field of product innovation has evolved since 1984. There were two hypotheses that were tested by the study: the null hypothesis was that JPIM would not retain its position as one of the top business academic journals, while the alternative hypothesis was that the journal would retain the position. The research design that was used was descriptive, and secondary data was collected from journal articles in a controlled environment over a long period of time. This means that the time dimension was longitudinal. The results of the study depicted the fact that since 1984, there has been a noted development in the field of product innovation. However, more research needs to be done to enrich the field, seeing that new products are invented every day. Consequently, newer research needs to be done to ensure that they are handled well, and they get to their intended customers. 3b. Annique et al (2010) The study was entitled, ‘R&D Collaborations and Product Innovation’, and it sought to find the impact of collaboration between organizations and universities, suppliers, customers and their competitors on product innovation research and development. To this end, the study used two hypotheses: one was that That R&D association would probably have the highest impact with universities, then suppliers, customers and finally, competitors. The second hypothesis was that each association brings with it a different level of knowledge to the organization. The variables being manipulated were the collaboration between the two parties and the product innovation. A descriptive research design was used. Data was collected by observation and questionnaires, while the research environment was controlled. Additionally, the time dimension was longitudinal. The findings were contrary to what was expected by the researchers as associations with suppliers had the highest impact, followed by universities. Association with customers did not have any impact at all, and that with competitors brought more harm than good. 3c. Chalboub (2010) The study title was ‘Innovation management and thought leadership – a cultural requirement in a global competitive environment’. The research objectives were to determine if managers adopt new technology and innovative practices to improve performance and to ascertain if innovative practices positively impact on business performance. The null and alternative hypotheses were that innovation has no significance in building growth-focused business culture and that the adoption of technology for innovation is significantly related to improved performance respectively. The research design was experimental and utilized questionnaires in a controlled setting. The time dimension was cross-sectional. The study found out that organizational performance is directly proportional to customs, rewards and assessment criteria. 4. Critique 4a. Durisin et al (2010) The research design used, that is descriptive, was appropriate as it answered the question of how the journal had been influential in the field. However, research on citations does not give us enough information on whether the ones who utilized the citations really understood the information they were using. Additionally, it odes not inform us why specific authors use some citations and not others. 4b. Annique et al (2010) The researchers used a descriptive design to conduct their study. It would have been wiser had they used an exploratory design as the study sought to discover the impact of collaboration. In addition, the entire service industry is left out, meaning that the research has left a gap. Consequently, more research may be done on this area. 4c. Chalboub (2010) The research design used was experimental, and took place in different entities and countries. This was appropriate, especially as a correlation test was employed. The study however left a gap in that it did not focus on multinationals. This means that research needed to be conducted in order to find out the situation in that area. APPENDICES Summary Table A1: Boris Durisin, Giulia Calabretta, and Vanni Parmeggiani (2010) The Intellectual Structure of Product Innovation Research: A Bibliometric Study of the Journal of Product Innovation Management, 1984–2004. Journal of Product Innovations Management, 2010(27) Research Objective(s) -To assess where the scientific community has reached in developing the discipline from 1984-2004 -To assess citations used in the articles and how they are connected with other topics in the field - To determine how the field has evolved since 1984. Theory/Framework Used to Develop the Hypotheses - Journals are rapidly replacing books in addressing evolutionary trends in Product Innovation -citations patterns in evaluating the contribution and relevance of top 50 influential journals Hypotheses Tested The null hypothesis was that JPIM would not retain its position as one of the top business academic journals Alternative hypothesis: it will retain the position (if other authors used some of the most important articles in its archives to develop their research designs). Variables Included (in each hypothesis) and the nature of the variables -Research articles in the journals relating to Product Innovation: these are Independent Variables - Citation patterns in the Product Innovation research journals; Dependent Variable. Researcher Control of Variables -the use of Bibliometric publications for 20 years period and the consideration of the top 50 influential journals articles in Product Innovation Type of Research Design Descriptive research design. This is because the paper sought to explain how the research conducted in the past developed the discipline, how the citations connected to other articles and the evolution of the field since 1984 Data Collection Method Secondary data, by using journal articles Research Environment The research environment was simulated Time Dimension Longitudinal, because it features data form more than one time. This is especially true as the data collected was from 1984-2004 Findings The findings proved that since 1984, there has been a noted development in the field of product innovation. However, more research needs to be done to enrich the field even more. Future Research Directions To Determine what it is that makes authors use specific articles for citations. Whether it is the qualities of the author or how well he has written his paper he has written in his paper. Future research may additionally study how authors cite books depending on the type of research that is conducted. Limitations of the Study Just because the citations were used in the research does not mean that other people understood and got the knowledge that was being perpetuated by the articles. Summary Table A2: C. Annique Un, Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra, and Kazuhiro Asakawa. (2010) R&D Collaborations and Product Innovation. Journal of Product Innovations Management, 2010(27) Research Objective(s) To determine the effect of collaboration between organizations and other stakeholders, like universities, suppliers, consumers and competitors on product innovations research and development (R&D) Theory/Framework Used to Develop the Hypotheses - Ease of access and breath of knowledge is pre-determinant in setting platform for business competition. - Secondly, the collaboration trends in R&D have had an impact in product innovation in a competitive business practice. Hypotheses Tested -That R&D association will probably have the highest impact with universities, then suppliers, customers and finally, competitors. -That each association brings with it a different level of knowledge to the organization Variables Included (in each hypothesis) and the nature of the variables -The collaboration between the two parties (independent variable) -Product innovation which is dependent on the extent of the collaboration Researcher Control of Variables - Controls were put in place to cater for internal R&D factors, resource endowment size, and innovation policy of the company. Type of Research Design Descriptive design Data Collection Method Both empirical, that is observation, and administration of questionnaires Research Environment Controlled environment as it took into account the size, resources and innovation policy of companies. Time Dimension Longitudinal, the study depicts changes that took place between the years of 1998 and 2002 Findings Contrary to previous expectations, the findings showed that in fact, associations with suppliers have the highest impact, followed by universities. Association with customers did not have any impact at all, and that with competitors brought more harm than good. Future Research Directions Despite the importance of collaboration, there is limited research that has been conducted in this area. Consequently, much can be done to increase the body of knowledge, especially by researching on how the organizations collaborated and how these associations help them be more innovative Limitations of the Study -T-he study does not inform us about how the organizations collaborated -The study does not focus on the service industry - - - Summary table A3: Michel Soto Chalhoub (2010) Innovation management and thought leadership – a cultural requirement in a global competitive environment. The Journal of American Academy of Business, Vol. 16 (1) Research Objective(s) - To determine if managers adopt new technology and innovative practices to improve performance - To ascertain if innovative practices positively impact on business performance Theory/Framework Used to Develop the Hypotheses -The interplay between managers decision making ability, adoption of new technology and innovation as determinant factors of business performance Hypotheses Tested - Null hypothesis thereof was that innovation has no significance in building growth-focused business culture. - Alternative hypothesis was that adaptation of new technology for innovation is significantly related to improved performance Variables Included (in each hypothesis) and the nature of the variables - Independent Variables included: new technology and decision making ability of managers - Dependent Variables were innovation, business performance and leadership behavior Researcher Control of Variables - The researcher involved organizations from different countries at varied levels of technological advancement with different management systems. Type of Research Design - Experimental design was employed with a correlation test for significance Data Collection Method Questionnaires Research Environment Controlled, in that the research involved different companies form different countries with different technological advancements. Time Dimension Cross sectional, as the study was conducted at a limited point in time. Findings The study found out that organizational performance is directly proportional to customs, rewards and assessment criteria Future Research Directions Further research can focus on the different styles of management, becoming even more specific with different cultures in different places. Limitations of the Study It cannot be applied to multinationals, as it only focuses on the same type of culture in the workplace, not considering different regions References Boris Durisin, Giulia Calabretta, and Vanni Parmeggiani (2010) The Intellectual Structure of Product Innovation Research: A Bibliometric Study of the Journal of Product Innovation Management, 1984–2004. Journal of Product Innovations Management, 2010(27) Camp, W. G. (2001). Formulating and evaluating theoretical frameworks for career and technical education research. J. of Vocational Education Research, 26, (1). C. Annique Un, Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra, and Kazuhiro Asakawa. (2010) R&D Collaborations and Product Innovation. Journal of Product Innovations Management, 2010(27) Michel Soto Chalhoub (2010) Innovation management and thought leadership – a cultural requirement in a global competitive environment. The Journal of American Academy of Business, Vol. 16 (1) Sekaran, U. (2000). Research methods for business. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Trochim, William (2006) Types of designs. Retrieved from Tuckman, B. (1999). Conducting educational research (5th ed.). Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt BraceCollege Publishers. Read More