The Crucial Role of Domain Knowledge in Evaluating Early-Stage New Product Ideas

Description

Florian Denker explores the role of an individual’s domain knowledge for the proficient evaluation of early-stage new product ideas in the front-end of innovation. The results of his study show that in order to ensure an effective evaluation, evaluators of early-stage new product ideas should have comprehensive knowledge of consumers’ needs and wants, as well as distinct knowledge about the opportunities and limits of available technologies in the respective domain. In this context, the results show that not only firm-internal experts can have this knowledge. Users and, in particular, so-called "lead users" (i.e. users who are ahead of the majority on major market trends and innovations), could also be suitable for effectively evaluating early-stage new product ideas. Front Matter ....Pages I-XXI Introduction (Florian Denker)....Pages 1-7 Frame of reference (Florian Denker)....Pages 9-24 Theoretical foundation (Florian Denker)....Pages 25-80 Research design (Florian Denker)....Pages 81-118 Empirical findings (Florian Denker)....Pages 119-175 Discussion of findings and implications (Florian Denker)....Pages 177-192 Back Matter ....Pages 193-249