Title: Sales and R&D cooperation and integration in the rapid productisation process

Authors: Kai Hänninen; Tuomo Kinnunen; Harri Haapasalo; Matti Muhos

Addresses: Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4610, FI-90014, Finland ' Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4610, FI-90014, Finland ' Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4610, FI-90014, Finland ' Micro-entrepreneurship Research Group, Oulu Southern Institute, University of Oulu, Pajatie 5, FI-85500 Nivala, Finland

Abstract: Integration and cooperation between sales and research and development (R&D) is an essential part of the rapid productisation process (RPP). Rapid productisation (RP) is a process of quickly supplementing a company's product or service offering to meet unexpected customer needs. Decisions are made on whether to offer a product that fills the gap between the current offering and the customer need. RP does not take a position on the concrete realisation of the product; it simply aims to form a conception of the requested gap product in a rational time frame to provide the customer with an answer. Four central phases were identified in the RPP: initiation, analysis, rapid offering and responsibility transfer. Sales-R&D cooperation (SRC) is the critical facilitator of the RPP since companies need to use RP in sales situations. Results also indicate that a company's performance is positively associated with the use of RP.

Keywords: rapid productisation; sales-R&D; cooperation; sales; R&D; process integration; research and development.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBPIM.2013.059139

International Journal of Business Process Integration and Management, 2013 Vol.6 No.4, pp.341 - 351

Published online: 31 Jul 2014 *

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