bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Technology Strategy in a Software Products Company
Authors: Meyer Marc H. , Lopez Luis 
Published: August 2010

An overly narrow focus on core competencies and technologies may cause a firm to miss market opportunities. On the other hand, a firm's ongoing success depends on its ability to recognize and nurture the technologies necessary for the continual refinement and extension of its product families. This process of product renewal requires effective management of technological innovation, which in turn requires a clear understanding of the technological basis for a product family–that is, the product platform from which derivative or follow‐on products are created.Using a software company as an example, Marc H. Meyer and Luis Lopez present a method for understanding the relationship between the nurturing of core technologies and the evolution of a product family. At the foundation of this method is the concept of a product platform–the core technologies that are common to all members of a product family. In other words, a platform provides the basic technological architecture for a series of derivative products. From an initial platform, a product family can evolve in two ways: through platform extensions or platform renewals. Platform extensions may involve changes to existing subsystems or the addition of new subsystems without altering the primary subsystems and interfaces in the existing design. Platform renewal is the redesign of a product to create an entirely new platform.To provide a basis for evaluating the effects of the software company's allocation of R&D expenditures, the authors created a product family map that differentiated between platform improvements and derivative product developments. Using the product family map, they examined R&D budgets and identified the allocation of spending among the core technologies embodied in the firms's products. The visual presentation of the product family maps and core capability investments were particularly useful for helping company management understand and learn from the consequences of past decisions.The analysis of the product family maps and R&D expenditures also provides a guideline for future decision‐making. Specifically, to achieve desired amounts of technical and commercial leverage, successive product platforms in a product family must provide both balance and strength in the embodied core technologies. For market applications involving more than one core technology, a firm must pursue a balanced, inclusive technology strategy. In such cases, overemphasis on one core technology typically results in poor market performance.
Applying Hedonic Pricing Models and Factorial Surveys at Parker Pen to Enhance New Product Success
Authors: Tomkovick Chuck , Dobie Kathryn E. 
Published: August 2010

Walking the path from new product concept to successful commercialization is a tightrope act. Product developers must carefully balance a variety of factors, including predictions of consumer price sensitivity as well as which combination of product attributes will be most valued by the intended market. A well‐chosen mix of analytical tools can enhance a firm's chances of accurately predicting market demand.Chuck Tomkovick and Kathryn E. Dobie describe how the integration of two product attribute assessment techniques–hedonic pricing models and factorial surveys–allows product designers to more accurately gauge price sensitivity and market receptivity to new product designs. They also describe how these analytical tools were used to improve decision‐making in product development at the Parker Pen Company, and they discuss the role these tools can play in facilitating the transition from concept to commercialization.Hedonic price analysis is an econometric method for determining the value purchasers place on attributes of existing products. In product development, factorial surveys are used to identify the value members of the target market place on new product concepts and prototypes. When used in combination with identified hedonic prices, the responses to a factorial survey allow product developers to predict consumer willingness‐to‐pay for various combinations of new product attributes.Following development of prototypes for two new product lines, product developers at the Parker Pen Company used hedonic pricing models and factorial surveys as a means for reducing demand uncertainty and for clarifying what consumers were willing to pay for various combinations of product attributes that were under consideration. The integration and use of these techniques involved a five‐step process of target market identification, product attribute identification, hedonic price estimation, administering of the factorial survey, and determination of consumer willingness‐to‐pay. The results of these analyses allowed Parker Pen to better focus product development efforts on those design elements for which test market customers indicated both demand and willingness‐to‐pay.The Parker Pen Company found hedonic pricing and factorial surveys useful for predicting both the rate and the degree of change in consumers' marginal utility for specific product attributes. The usefulness of these techniques also extends beyond the early stages of new product conception. These techniques are helpful in the development and implementation of dynamic new product marketing mix strategies, including such elements as product design, pricing, channel selection, and promotion.
The Spirituality of Innovation: Learning from Stories
Authors: Buckler Sheldon A. , Zien Karen Anne 
Published: August 2010

Sooner or later, most established companies face a mid‐life crisis. Just like many people, these companies somehow lose the drive, the excitement, and the enthusiasm of their youth. Rather than continue to push the envelope, these companies focus on their core competencies and try to maintain order through a proliferation of policies and procedures. On the other hand, some companies (and some people) manage to sustain their innovative, entrepreneurial spirit. A handful of mature companies somehow maintain an environment in which employees continually generate added value for customers and the company alike. How do they do it? How do these mature companies continue to foster invention and innovation?Recognizing that stagnation and decline are not faits accomplis for all companies, Karen Anne Zien and a cross‐functional team conducted in‐depth interviews at several highly innovative firms. The interviewees provided insight into the culture, the characteristics, and the principles that set these companies apart from the competition. Perhaps the greatest insight comes from the stories these people tell. These war stories—the corporate myths and legends—provide a simple means for communicating and reinforcing the shared values that distinguish these companies.For example, a manager's recollection of Hewlett‐Packard's effort to develop a pen plotter (and in particular, Bill Hewlett's role in this development) demonstrates that innovation is a companywide activity that requires the active, ongoing involvement of leaders at the highest levels of the organization. Senior people in these innovative companies foster a sense of community and common purpose and thus create an environment that encourages employees to explore new ideas and, if necessary, break the old rules. Through both formal and informal means, these companies also encourage frequent interaction between technical and marketing people.Corporate leaders energize these mature, but still innovative, companies, by providing context and communicating a dynamic vision. Storytelling offers a particularly evocative medium for articulating this vision. Rather than bore newcomers with hoary tales of the good old days, however, the most effective leaders continually reshape these stories to offer fresh insights, uncover new challenges, and reinforce the notion that every employee can and should contribute their full potential.
How Banks Apply Marketing Expertise to Develop New Derivatives
Authors: Johne F. Axel , Pavlidis M. Panos 
Published: August 2010

For banks operating in the fiercely competitive derivatives market, the difference between the leaders and the also‐rans often boils down to their respective approaches to product innovation. To achieve market leadership in this highly volatile field, a bank must develop and continually refine the processes and the expertise necessary for identifying new areas of business and attracting and retaining customers. Although the development of derivatives is a complex, expensive process, such development efforts provide the means for satisfying existing clients as well as attracting new customers.F. Axel Johne and M. Panos Pavlidis examine the managerial practices of banks that are acknowledged leaders in bringing new derivatives to market ahead of their competitors. In particular, they examine how those first‐mover banks apply their marketing expertise and they review the advantages those banks enjoy as a result of their success in product innovation.The banks studied fall into one of two groups: highly active innovators and less active innovators. The study reveals several significant differences between the two groups with respect to managing marketing inputs for product innovation purposes. First, compared to less active banks, the highly active innovators take a more sophisticated, market‐based approach to identifying innovation opportunities. Rather than looking for innovations that offer a close fit with existing products and competencies, they analyze the benefits sought by target clients and initiate innovation efforts based on those analyses.Highly active innovators recognize the important role that internal marketing plays in encouraging functional specialists to work together for the purpose of identifying follow‐on development opportunities. Internal marketing also helps to ensure that all parties understand and can support the planned innovation.The highly active innovators in this study do not take a formulaic approach to the development of new derivatives; instead, they rely on marketing expertise to identify and capitalize on business opportunities. Rather than concentrate solely on improving the core technical features of a product, the highly active innovators also recognize the importance of product augmentation innovation (to ensure the appropriate support for various market segments), process innovation (so they can reduce prices, when necessary), and market innovation (to ensure that they pursue the optimal mix of markets).
An Empirical Study of the Relationships among Co‐location, Integration, Performance, and Satisfaction
Authors: Kahn Kenneth B. , McDonough Edward F. 
Published: August 2010

Co‐locate or perish. In this era of cross‐functional integration, are these the only choices for the departments that participate in the new product development (NPD) process? Bringing together different departments certainly seems like a good idea. After all, breaking down the walls between functions improves the quality of the inputs to NPD and thus increases the likelihood of success. On the other hand, a firm would be ill‐advised to implement co‐location simply because it seems like a good idea. Such a complex undertaking requires careful consideration of the costs, the benefits, and the effects of co‐location.Noting the need for more in‐depth knowledge in this area, Kenneth Kahn and Edward McDonough present the results of a study that explores several issues regarding co‐location and its relationship to interdepartmental integration, performance, and satisfaction. For example, does co‐location relate directly to improved performance and satisfaction in working with personnel from other departments? Or does co‐location play a moderating role, fostering improved interdepartmental collaboration and interaction, which in turn increase performance and satisfaction? And finally, do the effects of co‐location depend on which departments are involved? For example, do the benefits of co‐locating marketing and R&D exceed those of co‐locating manufacturing and R&D?The 514 survey respondents work as department managers in member companies of the Electronic Industries Association. The study includes an even distribution of responses from managers of marketing, manufacturing, and R&D departments. Most respondents have firsthand knowledge of the effects of colocation; 68% of the marketing managers report that they are co‐located with manufacturing, and 80% of the marketing managers are co‐located with R&D. R&D and manufacturing managers fall between those levels, with roughly 75% indicating that they are co‐located with the other departments.While generally supporting the premise that co‐location is helpful for integrating departments, the survey results indicate that co‐location has department‐specific effects. For example, the findings indicate that co‐location facilities collaboration between R&D and marketing, but not between manufacturing and the other departments. The findings do not point to a direct relationship between co‐location and performance. On the other hand, the results suggest direct links between collaboration and both performance and satisfaction.
Book Reviews
Authors: Rosenau Milton D. , Rothberg Robert R. 
Published: August 2010

The first review is of a book that probably should be required reading for most personnel who participate in new product development—both academics and practitioners. It focuses on product innovation, primarily from an engineering perspective. Special emphasis is given to product design and development issues ranging from attribute specification and design for manufacturing to the economics and management of product development projects. Although the book has limitations, it provides highly relevant insights, especially for those involved with engineered products.The second review covers a book devoted to software development, which is becoming a ubiquitous ingredient in many products. Our reviewer reports that the book offers much practical wisdom. The third and fourth reviews discuss books for practitioners that are focused on specialized areas: biomedical and clinical instrumentation and food products. Although specialized, the first of these books offers some broader, more general lessons. The other will be of greatest value to those developing food products who have statistical training.The next three reviews cover other books of greatest interest to practitioners. The first is also most useful for those developing engineered products. The second will be of most use to less experienced personnel. The third book is about teamwork—now regarded by most practitioners as essential—but with only a few examples pertinent to product development.The last two reviews report on books that will be primarily of interest to academics and of limited interest to practitioners. The first of these two reviews describes a conference proceedings book, which is a compendium of unusually thoughtful presentations on the impact of changes in information technology on the design and execution of marketing actions. The articles in this collection are at once balanced in terms of level and style and comprehensive in terms of their overall coverage. The second covers a product management textbook with special emphasis on opportunity identification and the alignment of effort and resources with such opportunities.
CORRELATION BETwEEN PHARMACOKINETICS AND INOTROPIC AND ELECTROPHYSIOLOGIC RESPONSE TO DIGOXIN IN THE INTACT DOG IN COMPARISON wITH DIGITOXIN
Authors: Amlie Jan P. , Storstein Liv 
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACTwe wanted to study changes in the inotropic and electrophysiologic effects of digoxin after a single dose and to correlate them to serum digoxin concentrations.Furthermore we wanted to compare data obtained in the present study to results obtained in a similar study after digitoxin.Six pentobarbital anaesthetised Labrador dogs were given 1.0 mg digoxin intravenously. Left heart catheterization and His bundle recordings were performed.Pacing and programmed electrical stimulation were used to determine heart rate independant changes in dP/dt, intra‐atrial, AV‐nodal, His‐Purkinje and intraventricular conduction times. The effective (A‐ERP) and the functional (A‐FRP) refractory periods of the atrium, the functional refractory period of the AV node (AV‐FRP) were measured. Serum digoxin concentrations were determined with radio‐immu‐noassay.Median serum digoxin half‐time (T/2) was 4.2 hours. dP/dt increased after digoxin with maximum values after 1 1/2 hour. Digoxin concentrations correlated linearly with inotropic response. Heart rate fell significantly within 2 minutes and remain below control values for 3 hours concomitant with an increase in A‐H time and AV‐FRP. A‐ERP and A‐FRP did not change.A significant positive correlation was observed between decrease in AV‐FRP and serum concentrations in the elimination phase, while no obvious relationship existed between the other electrophysiological variables measured and serum concentrations.Digoxin and digitoxin differed in their electrophysiological effects. while digitoxin increased atrial refractoriness, no effect was observed after digoxin. Digitoxin (2.0 mg) caused more pronounced late effect on heart rate and AV nodal conduction and refractoriness than digoxin (1.0 mg).
Observations on the occurrence of Allocreadium fasciatusi in Aplocheilus melastigma
Authors: Madhavi R. 
Published: August 2010

Allocreadium fasciatusi is a common trematode occurring in the intestine of the fish Aplocheilus melastigma. The distribution of this fluke inside the fish host has been studied for a period of one year. The fluke occurred throughout the year, the incidence ranged from 20 to 88, and the number of parasites per infected host varied from 1 to 58. The fluke exhibited a seasonal cycle of occurrence with a peak both in incidence and intensity in the month of September. For the rest of the year the population remained constant and there was a balance between recruitment and loss from the trematode populations. The maturation cycle of A. fasciatusi also followed a seasonal pattern. Although the flukes were recruited in all the months, the peak invasion occurred in September. The large numbers of immature flukes received during this month became gravid by January. The availability of infective larvae was considered to be important in influencing the seasonal cycles.The incidence and intensity of infection were found to be independent of the size of the fish but female fish were noted to be the more heavily infected.
Morphological limitations, prey size selectivity, and growth response of juvenile atlantic salmon, Salmo salar
Authors: Wañkowski J. W. J. 
Published: August 2010

The head and jaw movements involved in capture, buccal manipulation, ingestion and rejection of prey were investigated using sequential photography of juvenile Atlantic salmon feeding in a simulated stream environment. The results are described and discussed and mouth breadth and gill raker spacing are proposed as morphometric limitations to the range of prey sizes available which remains constant at 0·06 · fish fork length (PFR).A recirculatory flume tank was used to study prey size selectivity behavior. Simplified downstream‐drifting prey items elicited a variety of responses depending on their physical size. One hundred percent of offered prey of PFR 0·025 were ingested, while 90 % of prey at PFR 0·051 and 100% of prey at PFR 0·105 were rejected. It is demonstrated that fish show negative selection for prey sizes smaller than PFR 0·025 and that prey of this size elicits maximum growth response.The validity of the proposed morphometric limitations on the available prey sizes is demonstrated by reference to selectivity behaviour and prey size related differential growth.
Feeding and movement of Anguilla australis and A. reinhardtii in Macleods Morass, Victoria, Australia
Authors: Beumer J. P. 
Published: August 2010

Feeding and movement of Anguitta australis Richardson, and A. reinhardtii Steindachner, were studied in Macleods Morass, Gippsland, Victoria from July 1975 to March 1977. Stomach fullness varied seasonally. Both species ingested a wide range of items with teleosts and insects forming the major group for A. australis and teleosts the major group for A. reinhardtii, which fed on a narrower range of items. No relationship between size of items ingested and size of eel was evident. Kendall rank correlation coefficients indicate that both intraspecific and interspecific differences in diets due to seasonal and size variations were usually insignificant.Tagged eels were recaptured at the overall rate of 18·5 %; of 1051 eels released, a total of 194 eels was recaptured. Maximum linear distance travelled by two eels was 3715 m while maximum days at liberty was 643 days. Home range was in the order of 400m. No relationship between length of a tagged individual and days liberty or with distance moved was evident. Movement was closely related to fluctuations of water temperature with peaks being associated with feeding in the littoral zone of the Morass.
Evidence for density‐dependent growth in North Sea gadoids
Authors: Bromley P. J. 
Published: August 2010

The classical view on density‐dependent growth is that an increase in population density heightens intraspecific competition for food, leading to reduced food intake and depressed growth. This paper summarizes the analysis of English Groundfish Survey, International Young Fish Survey and ICES Roundfish Working Group data for evidence of density‐dependent growth of I‐ and II‐group cod, haddock and whiting in the North Sea.Within Roundfish areas there was a negative relationship between growth and density in some instances, but it was small. However, there were persistent differences in both growth rate and density between Roundfish areas. In all cases, except for I‐group cod, there appeared to be a tendency for fish in low‐density areas to be larger than fish in high‐density areas; this might be due to feeding competition but other explanations are possible. The results urge caution in interpreting commercial catch data for evidence of density‐dependent growth, since changes in fishing effort in particular areas could significantly bias the conclusions.There was evidence of enhanced survival of small fish in good year‐classes; this would depress the mean size at age, thereby mimicking the effects of density‐dependent growth.
Field mortality estimates of anchovy larvae, Engraulis encrasicolus, in the western Mediterranean
Authors: Palomera I. , Lleonart J. 
Published: August 2010

Eggs and larvae of anchovy were obtained from plankton collections made along the Catalan coast (north‐western Mediterranean) from 1983 to 1985 in order to determine spawning seasons and areas and other aspects of its life history. Previous studies have shown the existence of two main spawning areas, to the north and south of the Catalan coast, respectively. The northern one is characterized by a shorter spawning period related with the thermal cycle.Mortality rates of larvae aged 4.9‐15 days were calculated from the peak spawning month (June) of the three years, separately by spawning areas. Data on abundance by length classes were adjusted for escape and net avoidance and for duration of growth through a size class as derived from otolith readings. Mortality rates ranged from 0.17 to 0.58. Mortality was higher in 1983 than in 1984 and 1985, coinciding with a high production of anchovy eggs in that year. Mortality at the northern spawning area was lower than at the southern one.