Title: Collaborative innovation with suppliers: a conceptual model for characterising supplier contributions to NPD

Authors: David T. Rosell; Nicolette Lakemond

Addresses: Department of Management and Engineering, Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden ' Department of Management and Engineering, Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden

Abstract: It is widely acknowledged that suppliers contribute positively to innovation in New Product Development (NPD). However, it remains rather unclear what suppliers actually contribute to innovation. Based on a literature review focusing on 80 articles and a focus group meeting with strategic purchasing managers, a conceptual framework is developed categorising different supplier inputs to innovation. This model is formulated by characterising supplier inputs on a component level and an architectural level, related to knowledge extension and knowledge reconfiguration, respectively. Further, supplier inputs can be incremental or radical in nature, resulting in either a dependence on the supplier's process knowledge or the supplier's technology knowledge. These situations imply different conditions for knowledge integration.

Keywords: collaborative innovation; supplier collaboration; supplier inputs; conceptual models; new product development; NPD; incremental innovation; radical innovation; suppliers; supplier contributions; strategic purchasing managers; component levels; architectural levels; knowledge extension; knowledge reconfiguration; process knowledge; technology knowledge; knowledge integration; system improvement; Sweden; technology intelligence; technology planning.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTIP.2012.048477

International Journal of Technology Intelligence and Planning, 2012 Vol.8 No.2, pp.197 - 214

Published online: 10 Aug 2012 *

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