Showing papers in "IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management in 2013"

Green New Product Development: The Pivotal Role of Product Greenness

Abstract: This study aims to develop an integrative framework for green new product development (NPD) based on the existing literature and to empirically study the applicability of that integrative framework. This study answers three calls: for research that is rooted in a traditional NPD perspective, for research that integrates marketing aspects in a model of green NPD, and for research that acknowledges variations in greenness. The results from eight case studies in two industries (i.e., the chemical and food industries) substantiate the integrative framework and suggest that it provides a good basis for understanding green NPD. The study demonstrates that green NPD is not fundamentally different from traditional NPD but does contain features and underlying mechanisms that reflect the increased complexity of green NPD. The framework incorporates the targeting and positioning of green product innovations, thus establishing itself as a holistic framework. Most importantly, the study shows how greenness plays a pivotal role in tying the various elements of the framework together. The realized greenness of a new product is a central concept that helps managers understand complex relationships among industry type, green targeting, and green positioning.

Strategic Closed-Loop Facility Location Problem With Carbon Market Trading

Abstract: The burgeoning environmental regulations are forcing companies to green their supply chains by integrating all of their business value-adding operations so as to minimize the impact on the environment. One dimension of greening the supply chain is extending the forward supply chain to collection and recovery of products in a closed-loop configuration. Remanufacturing is the basis of profit-oriented reverse logistics in which recovered products are restored to a marketable condition in order to be resold to the primary or secondary market. In this paper, we introduce a multiechelon multicommodity facility location problem with a trading price of carbon emissions and a cost of procurement. The company might either incur costs if the carbon cap, normally assigned by regulatory agencies, is lower than the total emissions, or gain profit if the carbon cap is higher than the total emissions. A numerical study is presented which studies the impact of different carbon prices on cost and configuration of supply chains.

Predicting Project Portfolio Success by Measuring Management Quality—A Longitudinal Study

Abstract: Many firms struggle with managing a portfolio of multiple interdependent projects. Therefore, practitioners and researchers are eager to learn which factors affect project portfolio success and how it can be increased. However, it takes some time for changes in management practices to reveal their potential. Thus, it is interesting to know how portfolio success can be predicted and what the possible indicators of this eventual success will look like. For this purpose, we propose the concept of management quality, which allows the anticipation of project portfolio success much earlier than the time at which established success criteria become measurable. We conceptualize and empirically validate management quality as a multidimensional construct consisting of information quality, allocation quality, and cooperation quality. We demonstrate the prognostic relevance of management quality to project portfolio success on a longitudinal sample of project portfolios with multiple informants over a time period of two years. Our results show a strong positive influence and thus support the notion of a causal link between management quality and portfolio success.

A Multidimensional Analysis of Project Manager Competences

Abstract: Projects are important to industry. Project manager (PM) competences are important in project success. Yet, current competence studies largely rely on small-sample, homogenous PM surveys which could suffer from uncontrollable biases and may not be generalizable. Often, the studies disregard industry specificity. We attempt to address these issues by exploring the key competences employers require from PMs across multiple industry sectors. We code the contents of 2306 online project management job advertisements in the U.K., the U.S., Canada, China, India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Singapore for frequently occurring keywords. Using three-way multidimensional scaling (MDS), we extract six dimensions of competence present in the coded keywords: 1) industry-specific and generic skills over project management knowledge/expertise; 2) project management knowledge/expertise over industry-specific and generic skills; 3) (senior) managerial skills; 4) (positive) personal traits; 5) project management methodology experience and professional qualifications; and 6) risk management over a project life cycle. We find that typically industry puts more weight on generic skills than project management knowledge/expertise, replicating previous PM survey-based results. We believe, however, that the main contribution is our finding that different industry sectors place significantly different levels of salience on the six dimensions. We discuss the practical implications of the results.

Coordinating a Supply Chain With a Manufacturer-Owned Online Channel: A Dual Channel Model Under Price Competition

Abstract: We consider a dual channel supply chain in which a manufacturer sells a single product to end-users through both a traditional retail channel and a manufacturer-owned direct online channel We adopt a commonly used linear demand substitution model in which the mean demand in each channel is a function of the prices in each channel We model each channel as a newsvendor problem, with price and order quantity as decision variables In addition, the manufacturer must choose the wholesale price to charge to the independent retailer We analyze the optimal decisions for each channel and prove the existence of a unique equilibrium for the system We compare this equilibrium solution to the solution for an integrated system, in which the manufacturer owns both the online store and the retailer To enable supply chain coordination, we propose two contract schemes: a modified revenue-sharing contract and gain/loss sharing contract We show that, in cases where the retail channel has a larger market than the online channel, such contracts enable the manufacturer to maintain price discrimination, selling the products in different channels at different prices Finally, we perform a comprehensive numerical study to consider the impact of the model parameters on the equilibrium and to demonstrate the performance of the proposed coordination contracts We conclude that coordination is most critical for products which are highly price sensitive and for systems in which the online and traditional retail channels are not viewed as close substitutes

An Extended Fuzzy-AHP Approach for the Evaluation of Green Product Designs

Abstract: Environmental concerns, from consumers, governments, and academics, have encouraged businesses to incorporate more environmentally conscious designs in their new product development. However, selection of the best green design is a decision-making process that is not easy to address. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a popular and comprehensive tool to accomplish the objective. Nevertheless, LCA is a time-consuming process that requires substantial resources and expertise. This research proposes an innovative approach to performing structured LCA in conjunction with the concept known as fuzzy analytical hierarchical process. In doing so, some of the disadvantages of LCA can be remedied and this provides a practical tool for performing LCA.

Alliance Formation of SMEs: Empirical Evidence From Standardization Committees

Abstract: This paper explores the decision of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to participate in official standard setting alliances. Based on micro data of German firms in the electrical engineering and machinery industry, we show that innovation-related variables follow the predictions of our hypotheses. Research and development (R&D) intensity exhibits an inverse U-shaped relationship on the likelihood to join alliances. The positive relation suggests that SMEs aim to access the knowledge of larger firms whereas the negative relationship indicates that SMEs exceeding a certain threshold of R&D activity are reluctant to participate in standardization because their knowledge is too essential to disclose to competitors. The importance to access external knowledge via standardization committees is underlined by a positive correlation with the relevance of incoming knowledge spillovers and a negative correlation with the relative size of companies' patent portfolios. Besides these variables, we also explore the traditionally considered factors for alliance formation and show that firm size and export intensity are positively correlated with participation.

How to Balance Sustainability and Profitability in Technology Organizations: An Ambidextrous Perspective

Abstract: Technology is the catalyst for sustainable development. In this context, a key challenge for technology organizations is to balance sustainable development with conventional, profit-driven development. However, despite its significance, such a balance has largely been overlooked in the extant literature. In this study, we examine this balance through the novel lens of ambidexterity in order to understand how it is achieved. Accordingly, we conducted a case study at China Mobile, the world's largest telecommunication company, which recently launched a comprehensive Green-IT program with impressive results. Our study focused on four major stakeholders of the program: Top Management Team, Business Units, Supplier Network, and Customer Network. Two models were later derived by means of synthesized analyses of these four stakeholders: the process model, consisting of four phases, depicts an incremental and iterative development process and defines a step-by-step guideline to achieving a sustainable and profitable balance; the integrated model, consisting of four types of ambidexterity, delineates collective actions of the four major stakeholders and defines an overall guideline for them to collaborate. Both models are, to our best knowledge, the first of their kind in this new research field of sustainability and provide significant insights for future exploration.

Supply Chain Risk Management: An Agent-Based Simulation to Study the Impact of Retail Stockouts

Abstract: In today's highly dynamic and competitive environment, companies are under the pressure to improve their supply chain strategy in order to be more responsive to customer demand. However, supply chains are susceptible to unanticipated events that make responsive supply chain management a challenging task. One such disruption event is a product stockout at the retailer. In this paper, we investigate retail stockouts through the development of an agent-based simulation model in order to develop a better understanding of the effect of different stockout lengths for different products (with different consumer response profiles to stockouts) on both the retailer and the manufacturer of the product. We consider the change of market share as a measure of resilience for both the manufacturer and the retailer to examine the impact of the stockout. Insights are developed for manufacturers and retailers in responding to the stockout disruption.

A Matrix-Calculation-Based Algorithm for Numerical Change Propagation Analysis

Abstract: Engineering changes (ECs) are raised throughout the lifecycle of engineering products. A single change to one component produces knock-on effects on others necessitating additional changes. This change propagation significantly affects the development time and cost and determines the product's success. Predicting and managing such ECs is, thus, essential to companies. Some prediction tools model change propagation by algorithms, whereof a subgroup is numerical. Current numerical change propagation algorithms either do not account for the exclusion of cyclic propagation paths or are based on exhaustive searching methods. This paper presents a new matrix-calculation-based algorithm which can be applied directly to a numerical product model to analyze change propagation and support change prediction. The algorithm applies matrix multiplications on mutations of a given design structure matrix accounting for the exclusion of self-dependences and cyclic propagation paths and delivers the same results as the exhaustive search-based Trail Counting algorithm. Despite its factorial time complexity, the algorithm proves advantageous because of its straightforward matrix-based calculations which avoid exhaustive searching. Thereby, the algorithm can be implemented in established numerical programs such as Microsoft Excel which promise a wider application of the tools within and across companies along with better familiarity, usability, practicality, security, and robustness.

Environmental Sustainability Initiatives: A Comparative Analysis of Plant Efficiencies in Europe and the U.S.

Abstract: The importance of environmental sustainability initiatives (ESI) for engineering and supply chain management practice and research is undeniable. However, despite the widespread attention to this domain, investigations in the effects of ESI on performance have been ambiguous and led to contradicting results, calling for the examination of contingencies influencing the relationship. This study works to bring insight and clarity into this debate by a comparative analysis of ESI among efficient and inefficient plants in Europe and the U.S. Specifically, using a sample of 402 plants located in Europe and the U.S., we study the impact of an explicit set of ESI (recycling, waste reduction, pollution prevention, ISO 14000 certification) on plant efficiency, an important performance measure which is, however, rarely considered. Basing our rationale on the resource-based view of the firm, we suggest that plants more heavily engaged in ESI are also characterized by a greater level of efficiency. We test this contention in both European and U.S. plants. Extending this cross-national comparison, we further study whether the emphasis on ESI differs in the two country groups. Relying on institutional theory, we suggest that the pursuit of ESI is enhanced among European plants, compared to their U.S. counterparts. Our findings and conclusions draw attention to the importance of contingencies to be considered and bring light to the seemingly contradictory findings in prior research. Important implications for engineering and supply chain management practice and research are highlighted.

An Integrated Framework for Risk Response Planning Under Resource Constraints in Large Engineering Projects

Abstract: Engineering project managers often face a challenge to allocate tight resources for managing interdependent risks. In this paper, a quantitative framework of analysis for supporting decision making in project risk response planning is developed and studied. The design structure matrix representation is used to capture risk interactions and build a risk propagation model for predicting the global mitigation effects of risk response actions. For exemplification, a genetic algorithm is used as a tool for choosing response actions and allocating budget reserves. An application to a real transportation construction project is also presented. Comparison with a sequential forward selection greedy algorithm shows the superiority of the genetic algorithm search for optimal solutions, and its flexibility for balancing mitigation effects and required budget.

A Hybrid Manufacturing/Remanufacturing System With Random Remanufacturing Yield and Market-Driven Product Acquisition

Abstract: Remanufacturing has created considerable benefits to both industry and community. This paper generates insights into the acquisition management and production planning of a hybrid manufacturing/remanufacturing system. The acquisition quantity of the used products is stochastic and sensitive to the acquisition price, and the uncertain quality of the acquired used products leads to a random yield in the remanufacturing process. With such a market-driven acquisition channel and a random remanufacturing yield, it is shown how the acquisition pricing, remanufacturing, and manufacturing decisions can be coordinated in order to maximize the total expected profit. Sequential and parallel remanufacturing/manufacturing processes are considered in different cases. In each case, we use a stochastic dynamic programming to formulate and analyze the model, showing that the optimal policy is characterized by several critical values and functions. We derive conditions under which the firm should open/close the acquisition channel and utilize/discard the remanufacturing option. By comparing the two cases, we show that expediting the remanufacturing process will help the firm to better utilize the acquisition channel and the remanufacturing option, as the optimal acquisition price and remanufacturing quantity are both higher in the case of sequential processes.

Direct and Mediated Effects of Product Modularity on Development Time and Product Performance

Abstract: Product modularity is often considered a crucial driver for the improvement of new product development (NPD) performance, in terms of NPD time and product performance, especially in those contexts characterized by a high product variety and constantly changing demand. However, quantitative studies demonstrating these links are scant and an increasing amount of anecdotal evidence suggests that there is a need to develop a more complete theory on the effects of product modularity on NPD time and product performance by examining the potential mediating effect of supplier involvement in NPD. To meet this need, we analyzed the impact of product modularity on NPD time and product performance, and whether supplier involvement in NPD can mediate “modularity-NPD time” and “modularity-product performance” relationships. Data from a sample of 201 manufacturing plants demonstrate that product modularity significantly affects NPD time and product performance. In addition, the impact of modularity was partially mediated by the involvement of suppliers in NPD. A better understanding of this effect can contribute to clarifying the mechanisms by which product modularity affects NPD time and product performance and thus could give guidance to managers on how to lever product modularity in order to improve the NPD process.

Integrating Sustainable Product and Supply Chain Design: Modeling Issues and Challenges

Abstract: Promoting sustainability within business operations requires sustainable products, processes, and system, i.e., sustainable supply chains (SSCs). To efficiently reduce environmental and societal impacts of supply chains (SCs) while maintaining continued profitability, it is necessary that the entire SC is designed and managed from a total life-cycle perspective considering coordination between product, process, and SC design. Coordinating product and SC design decisions play a critical role in improving the SSC's performance. The product design determines all its future costs, both in forward and reverse-flow, which in turn depend on the SC configuration such as the number and location of SC partners their capabilities and capacities. Therefore, coordinating sustainable product and SC design decisions requires consideration of all four product life-cycle stages and incorporating a closed-loop flow within the SC. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, it emphasizes on the need and importance of coordinating product and SC design decisions in SSCs (through illustrative case studies) and the limitations of existing models from a SSC perspective. Second, the paper explains some of the challenges that need to be addressed while developing such holistic integrated models, provides key factors influencing their performance, and thereby proposes a framework to perform this coordination.

How Do Internal Openness and External Openness Affect Innovation Capabilities and Firm Performance

Abstract: Open innovation is a paradigm that believes that firms should use both internal and external ideas. These ideas can advance technology and lead to competitive advantage, thereby improving a firm's performance. However, the process of turning innovative ideas into performance does depend on firms' innovation capabilities. In this study, we first divide “openness” into external openness, a search for external channels of information used to innovate, and internal openness, a kind of open culture within a firm. In order to balance value capture with openness, the power of openness in terms of value creation is largely supported by innovation capabilities, including the inherent characteristics of knowledge resources, absorptive capacity, and an entrepreneurial orientation. Our main goals are to state explicitly how a firm's openness strategies influence its innovation capabilities, and explore how to advance innovation capabilities through openness in order to improve performance. Therefore, we use an international and cross-industry survey which was executed by the Managing Innovation in the New Economy (MINE) program. Based on data from 393 firms, our results show that the innovation capabilities of these firms derive from the accumulation of external openness and internal openness. In addition, the findings of this study confirm the role of innovation capabilities in mediating the effect of openness strategies on firms' performance. On the whole, this investigation demonstrates the value of external openness and internal openness to promoting favorable managerial decisions.

Bridging the Gap Between Manufacturing and Service Through IT-Based Boundary Objects

Abstract: Manufacturing and service companies increasingly engage in networks to provide their customers with integrated solutions. In order to leverage complementary resources and capabilities fully, the network actors must span traditional boundaries between communities of practice in manufacturing and service. Fields like supply chain management and business process management, as well as the literature on boundary spanning, offer little guidance for the systematic identification of boundary objects that could be used to bridge this gap. Drawing on existing works on boundary objects and service blueprinting, we design a new method for diagnosing boundary-spanning processes and identifying candidates for IT-based boundary objects that integrate manufacturing and service companies' subprocesses. The method was iteratively developed over a period of three years in a cyclic action research project with two business-to-business service networks in the mechanical and electrical engineering industries.

Does Product Platform Strategy Mediate the Effects of Supply Chain Integration on Performance? A Dynamic Capabilities Perspective

Abstract: This study depicts supply chain integration (SCI) for new product development (NPD) as a dynamic capability and explores its relationship with a product platform strategy (PPS), NPD performance, and overall firm performance. Supplier, internal, and customer integration are modeled as antecedents to PPS, while product innovation and relative profitability are modeled as direct and/or indirect consequences. The model examines whether a PPS mediates the effects of SCI on performance. An analysis of 214 US manufacturers revealed that supplier integration and internal integration are positively related to PPS, and that their effects on product innovation and profitability are fully mediated by PPS. In contrast, customer integration had no effect on PPS and thus no indirect effect on performance measures. The research showed that PPS both directly and indirectly (though product innovation) affects profitability. The findings suggest the value of aligning the domains of integration and performance and considering the domain strategy when examining the effects of SCI on performance.

Partners for Business-to-Business Service Innovation

Abstract: Firms that open up their organizational boundaries and access valuable external sources of knowledge can create new opportunities for innovation. However, little is known about this conjecture in the business-to-business (B-to-B) service context: whether B-to-B service firms utilize external knowledge and ideas for innovation, and if so, which types of partners they collaborate with in their innovation activities. This research is a step toward filling this void. Tobit regression analysis on secondary data was performed using various types of external partners as sources of innovation to determine the innovation performance of transportation and logistics service firms. The results show that customers, suppliers, and competitors (in descending order) contribute to service improvement, and customers contribute to the development of services that are new to the firm. In contrast, the use of universities and consultants as sources of innovation does not seem to immediately affect innovation performance in the transportation and logistics service industry.

Prediction Market Performance and Market Liquidity: A Comparison of Automated Market Makers

Abstract: The use of prediction markets (PMs) for forecasting is emerging in many fields because of its excellent forecasting accuracy. However, PM accuracy depends on its market design, including the choice of market mechanism. Standard financial market mechanisms are not well suited for small, usually illiquid PMs. To avoid liquidity problems, automated market makers (AMMs) always offer buy and sell prices. However, there is limited research that measures the relative performance of AMMs. This paper examines the properties of four documented and applied AMMs and compares their performance in a large-scale simulation study. The results show that logarithmic scoring rules and the dynamic pari-mutuel market attain the highest forecasting accuracy, good robustness against parameter misspecification, the ability to incorporate new information into prices, and the lowest losses for market operators. However, they are less robust in case of noisy trading, which makes them less appropriate in environments with high uncertainty about true prices for shares.

Managing the Social Trajectory: A Practice Perspective on Project Management

Abstract: This paper responds to recent calls to extend the theoretical perspectives taken on the important organizational activity of managing projects, based on a deeper understanding of the reality of their day-to-day social practice. Drawing on theoretical constructs from sociologist Strauss, we conceptualize projects as a “social trajectory,” whose progress is determined by ongoing interaction between parties with different “world views” seeking to promote their interpretations and interests within a network of organizational power relations. This theoretical framework is used to interpret an 18-month participant-observer ethnographic study of an IT-enabled business change project, seeing the management of the project in terms of intense social interaction seeking alignment between multiple perspectives and interests. From the rich data from the case study, we demonstrate the relationship between the effectiveness of this “alignment-seeking” and the perceived progress of the project trajectory, and develop a model of projects as social trajectories where the trajectory progress is linked to the key characteristics of the “alignment-seeking” process. This model extends current project management theory and points to a different way of thinking about project management, emphasizing management interventions not typically part of mainstream project management methods.

Improving Project Management Decision Making by Modeling Quality, Time, and Cost Continuously

Abstract: The value of a project to a client can be measured in part by the level of quality associated with the completed project. Quality is acknowledged to be an important component of project management, but its joint relationship with time and cost previously has not been modeled. This paper introduces the notion of a quality function for individual tasks and uses the functional form of the bivariate normal (after also evaluating a bivariate logistic form), to model quality at the task level. Using real data from two case studies, a translation agency and a software development company, the quality function is specified and incorporated into a mathematical programming model that allows quality to be explicitly considered in project planning and scheduling. An alternative model formulation leads to the creation of quality level curves that enable managers to evaluate the nonlinear tradeoffs between quality, time, and cost for each of the example projects. The results of these analyses lead to specific decisions about the planned values for these three fundamental dimensions at the task level and provide insights for project planning and scheduling that can be gained through improved understanding of the choices and tradeoffs.

Multiobjective Dynamic Vehicle Routing Problem With Fuzzy Travel Times and Customers’ Satisfaction in Supply Chain Management

Abstract: This paper presents a multiobjective dynamic vehicle routing problem with fuzzy travel times and customers' satisfaction level. In this model, all the required data are not known in advance and a set of dynamic requests (real time requests) arrives over time. The dispatcher does not have any information of these requests until they arrive. Moreover, the travel times which in reality and in urban areas fluctuate due to a variety of factors, such as accident, traffic conditions, and weather conditions, are modeled as fuzzy travel times. In addition, the customers' satisfaction level is involved in the routing of vehicles by using the concept of fuzzy time windows. This paper uses a direct interpretation of the proposed model as a multiobjective problem where the total required fleet size, overall total traveling distance, and waiting time imposed on vehicles are minimized and the overall customers' preferences for service are maximized. The dynamic solving strategy is proposed based on the genetic algorithm and three basic modules and its performance are evaluated in different steps on various test problems generalized from a set of static instances in the literature. The computational experiments on data sets illustrate the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Fuzzy Approaches for Constructing House of Quality in QFD and Its Applications: A Group Decision-Making Method

Abstract: Quality function deployment (QFD) is a useful planning approach for constructing new product designs or modifying existing products. The approach has been widely adopted in various applications. For QFD processes, the house of quality (HOQ) is first constructed to describe customer requirements (CRs) and their importance, design requirements (DRs), the relationships between CRs and DRs, and the correlations among DRs. This study proposes a systematic procedure for constructing the HOQ and describes its application from a group decision-making (GDM) perspective. Considering the imprecise information in the design stage, fuzzy set theory is employed to develop fuzzy approaches for constructing the HOQ. In practical applications, a QFD team is usually organized to collect relevant information; therefore, GDM approaches are incorporated into the construction process of the HOQ. To reflect the differences between decision-makers' evaluations of elements in the HOQ, various ways of assessing the components of the HOQ are allowed. A modified fuzzy clustering approach is proposed for finding the consensus of the QFD team. Based on the established HOQ, approaches are presented for prioritizing DRs as a reference for allocating internal resources to appropriate DRs in order to optimally satisfy CRs. A numerical example is used to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed approaches.

Learning-by-Licensing: How Chinese Firms Benefit From Licensing-In Technologies

Abstract: This paper explores how interfirm variations in their in-licensed technology portfolios influence subsequent innovation performance. Existing studies mainly assume licensed technologies are homogeneously accessible to firms, and a prevailing explanation as to why firms vary in their innovation performance lies in differences of absorptive capacity. In this study, we intend to relax this assumption and use data about 186 Chinese indigenous firms to investigate how differences in in-licensing portfolios lead to different effects on innovation performance. We find that firms benefit from prior in-licensing technologies and the result is related to four dimensions of their licensing portfolios. We find that 1) the scale of firms' technology in-licensing has an inverted-U relationship with their subsequent innovation performance; 2) firms that license-in foreign technologies tend to outperform those that predominantly license-in technologies from domestic sources; 3) the newness of firms' technology in-licensing yields a positive effect on subsequent innovation performance; and 4) a diverse portfolio of licensors from whom technologies are licensed-in has an inverted-U relationship with firms' subsequent technological diversity.

Contextual Determinants of Ambidextrous Learning: Evidence From Industrial Firms in Four Industrialized Countries

Abstract: Ambidextrous organizations exploit existing technologies to enable incremental innovation while exploring new opportunities to foster radical innovation. Whether this dual pursuit is effective in furthering performance goals, however, remains inconclusive in the literature. Departing from the ambidexterity literature, which acknowledges in general the performance implication of ambidextrous learning, this study advances our understanding by inquiring into its contextual effect, i.e., to examine its boundary conditions, using environmental dynamism and firm size as moderating factors. Based on a sample of 1740 firm-year observations in manufacturing industries across four industrialized nations (U.S., United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan) during the 1999-2003 period, the empirical evidence shows that environmental dynamism necessitates ambidextrous learning and enhances its consequent performance effect and that large firms also perform better by acting ambidextrously. The configurational model sheds further light on the combined weight of firm and industry effects, giving support to the notion that large firms with ambidextrous learning, in the presence of environmental dynamism, perform better than small ambidextrous firms. As prior studies mostly overlook the context-bound nature of ambidextrous learning, this study not only revisits the performance implication of ambidextrous learning on a global basis but also points out the theoretical sensitivity of organizational learning to different settings.

Boundary spanning by design: Toward aligning boundary-spanning capacity and strategy in IT outsourcing

Abstract: IT outsourcing (ITO) has created new issues for engineering management. Of these, a persistent problem concerns the boundaries between clients and vendors, which have the potential to damage even the most trusting and secure relationship. The rising trend of offshore sourcing has further exacerbated the issue, because of the national boundaries that ITO traverses in the offshore context. However, research on this issue has been limited; existing studies have mainly focused on the client perspective, whereas systematic analyses from the vendor perspective have been limited. In this study, we bridge this gap by studying boundary spanning of two ITO vendors. The data collection and analysis are guided by a novel and sound theoretical lens-alignment between boundary-spanning capacity and strategy. Two alignment models are derived. The alignment-form model depicts the outlook of the alignment and the alignment-path model depicts the process of achieving it. Based on these two models, we further conceptualize that vendor boundary spanning happens by design, with rational deliberation and planning. The study complements the ITO literature by providing a more complete picture of boundary spanning and the boundary-spanning literature by integrating the two diverse yet relevant research streams of boundary spanners and boundary-spanning strategies.

Innovation Project Portfolio Management: A Qualitative Analysis

Abstract: Doing the right innovation projects is critical to firm's success; therefore, academics and practitioners are striving for optimizing innovation project portfolio management (IPPM). Although some research on certain issues in IPPM has been conducted so far, valid empirical evidence on the use, outcomes, and most important success drivers of portfolio methods in innovation management is rare. We aim at discovering the cause-and-effects of IPPM performance. This paper shows that performance of IPPM may be better understood if it is considered as an integrated system of portfolio balance, strategic alignment, and value maximization simultaneously. Using in-depth data from 29 interviews in 12 companies, we use a grounded theory approach to develop a general model of what drives IPPM in detail and how these causes are related to effects on both project performance and firm performance. According to the findings from these qualitative data, effective IPPM is the result of three constructs: usage of IPPM methods, IPPM design, and project characteristics. These cause-and-effects are moderated by management perception and satisfaction with IPPM.

Portfolio Selection Model for Enhancing Information Technology Synergy

Abstract: This paper presents a methodological framework for IT project selection that focuses on the impact of synergy enhancement on portfolio return and risk. As the size of firms' IT investments continues to increase, the demand for strong methodologies for IT portfolio selection has been increasing. Using the mean-variance efficient frontier as a tool to balance portfolio return and portfolio risk, we develop a model for IT portfolio selection. Unlike existing IT portfolio selection models, in this framework, the enhanceable project interdependency, project synergy, is distinguished from the inherent project interdependency, project covariance. This model enables firms to examine the effect of synergy enhancement on project portfolio risk and highlights the benefit of portfolio management of IT projects.

Improving Product Development Performance Through Iteration Front-Loading

Abstract: Iteration is a central issue in the management of product development (PD) projects. Iteration is often recognized as a major cause of increased PD lead time and cost, a key driver of schedule risk, and a primary source of uncertainties in the commitment of resources. However, iteration, when planned and managed effectively, can also be used to overcome the uncertainties inherent in interdependent development activities, and to thereby improve and accelerate PD projects. In this paper, we present a methodology that engineering managers can use to identify process architectures which may provide more effectively structured iterations. The methodology determines the suggested process architecture by first eliminating any unbeneficial iterative loops, if they exist, through the application of existing design structure matrix methods, and, then, by front-loading iterations in organizing the other loops through the application of a group formation algorithm. To evaluate the effectiveness of our proposed method, we compare its performance with that of other partitioning and sequencing algorithms also concerned with the ordering of activities within iterative blocks, and also evaluate its performance when used in conjunction with these other algorithms. Specifically, we apply these methods to four examples and use simulation modeling to evaluate the performance of the process architectures suggested by the different methods. Based on the four initial examples, it does appear that our methodology has significant potential to improve the management of PD projects with uncertain iterations by supporting systematic loop pattern explorations and front-loading. Study limitations and areas for future research are also discussed.