| dc.description.abstract | Concept development is an important activity in any new product or technology
development process. It is in the early phases of the development—the so-called
fuzzy front end—where developers can make the most impactful decisions and
changes to the product concept. Although early-stage concept development has been
recognized as a crucial activity in a stream of recent research, little is known about
this topic. This thesis investigates product and technology concept development in
the automotive industry from an engineering point of view, aiming to make a
contribution to the understanding of the challenges practitioners face in early-stage
concept development. In-depth qualitative studies of two automotive suppliers and
eight automotive OEMs—including two in-depth case studies of recent innovations
launched by one of the OEMs—serve as the basis for the conclusions made herein.
The thesis consists of an introductory overview followed by the appended papers,
which are the main results and contributions of this work. Along with a
comprehensive literature review, the study employs a qualitative case study approach
with semi-structured interviews, project documentation, the study of physical
artifacts and graphic elicitation as the main methods and data sources. The
contribution of this thesis is the identification of a number of core challenges related
to the development of new product and technology concepts. One of the most
prominent challenges identified is the incompatibility of mindsets that occurs due to
the tension between units that explore new, novel solutions and those that opt for
merely improving existing, proven solutions. As a result, obtaining internal support
for new solutions becomes a considerable challenge. To highlight and analyze this
problem, the term viable concept is introduced and defined. In this context the two
terms internal viability and external viability are crucial. Internal viability refers to
a concept’s ability to survive internally within the firm while external viability refers
to a concept’s (potential) ability to survive in the marketplace.
Several enabling practices are then suggested to increase the internal and external
viability of new concepts. Among the most important enabling practices are the use
of physical models—i.e., prototypes. Prototypes are found to aid communication and
learning within the team, across the organization and in collaboration with external
suppliers. Finally, an explanatory model that describes how development teams use
prototypes to drive the development process forward is proposed, together with
several recommendations and guidelines on how to use prototypes within the (entire)
organization, beyond the development teams. | nb_NO |
