Title: An interactive approach to determine optimal launch time of successive generational product

Authors: Adarsh Anand; Ompal Singh; Deepti Aggrawal; Jagvinder Singh

Addresses: Faculty of Mathematical Sciences, Department of Operational Research, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India ' Faculty of Mathematical Sciences, Department of Operational Research, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India ' Faculty of Mathematical Sciences, Department of Operational Research, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India ' Maharaja Agrasen College, University of Delhi, Vasundhara Enclave, Delhi 110096, India

Abstract: Effective product launch and commercialisation are critical drivers of top performance for the firms; to which a strong product launch greatly improves the chances of success. Launch is often the single costliest step in new product development. Despite its importance, costs, and risks, product launch has been relatively under researched in the product literature. Determination of optimal launch time is especially critical for high-technology products, where the introduction of each successive generation of a product requires the firm to explicitly consider its impact on the demand for preceding generations. The timing of the launch (i.e., when the launch is conducted from the point of view of the company, the competition, and the customer) is just as important as whether the activities are performed. More managerial attention should be devoted to launch timing with respect to all of these viewpoints in order to improve the chances of success. This study identifies attributes such as speedy launch and cost that affect the introduction time of new generation. To trade-off between two decision factors, multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT) is applied in our innovation diffusion process incorporated decision model. The optimisation model is supplemented with numerical illustration done on a real life dataset.

Keywords: launch costs; innovation diffusion; IDMs; optimal launch time; speedy launch indicator; successive generational products; product launch; high technology products; high-tech products; product generations; multiattribute utility theory; MAUT.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTMKT.2014.065386

International Journal of Technology Marketing, 2014 Vol.9 No.4, pp.392 - 407

Received: 03 Jul 2013
Accepted: 25 Feb 2014
Published online: 31 Oct 2014 *

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