Investigating the effect of knowledge management processes on new product development performance (Aqab Afshan supply chain case study)

Dissertation for Master's Degree in Industrial Management

Trend: Finance

Abstract:

Today, like other organizations in the world, the country's organizations are forced to compete with other organizations both inside and outside the country in order to remain in the business environment. Therefore, they must be able to be superior to their competitors in at least one area, in other words, they have no choice but to be innovative. This research was carried out with the aim of "the effect of knowledge management processes on the performance of new product development" as a case study of the supply chain of Aqab Afshan Company. The required information was collected by a researcher-made questionnaire based on the conceptual research model adapted from Shafi'i Nikabadi (2013) and Van Pai Weng (2009) model. To analyze the collected data, at the descriptive level, using statistical indicators, the demographic characteristics of the sample people in the research are described and summarized, including work history, education, and gender. In the analytical statistics of this research, in order to test the significance of the relationships between the questions and variables and the fit of the obtained measurement models, confirmatory factor analysis was used to measure the validity of the factor. Also, in order to check the status of the research variables, the test of the average of a population or one-sample t test was used, and after checking the validity of the questionnaire questions through the first and second order confirmatory factor analysis, in order to check the effects between the research variables, the structural equation model and especially the path analysis technique was used using Lisrel software. The findings show that there is a significant relationship between knowledge management strategies and new product development performance. According to the results obtained from the five sub-hypotheses of this research, three hypotheses namely knowledge creation - new product development performance, recording, storage and maintenance of knowledge - new product development performance and knowledge evaluation and feedback - new product development performance were confirmed according to their significant numbers. In conclusion, this research has provided practical suggestions. Keywords: knowledge management strategies, new product development performance, new product development. Chapter 1: Research overview 1-1: Introduction From the end of the last century to the present, the discussion of the organization's intangible assets management As a part of the organization's vital resources, it has been highly regarded. Among these assets, knowledge has drawn the most attention and has been emphasized as the most important intangible asset of the organization. Now the discussion of knowledge management has become one of the main topics in management research all over the world and it is considered as a key tool for managing information and a strategic tool for management and an effective way to gain a sustainable competitive advantage (Shafi'i Nikabadi, 2013). Among the significant developments in the field of management sciences, the emergence of phenomena such as knowledge management and new product development. For the success of the organization, knowledge as a capital must be exchangeable between people and have the ability to grow. Knowledge of how to solve problems can be acquired and thus knowledge management will be able to develop organizational learning that leads to the creation of other knowledge. Knowledgeable organizations know that knowledge is an intellectual capital and it is the only capital that changes over time, and if it is effectively controlled, it can maintain the organization's creativity and competitive status. The use of the entire intellectual resources of the organization can result in significant financial benefits. In today's era, the speed of changes in advanced science and technology has increased so much that the speed in the innovation of products produced with technology and the creation of knowledge and its development has exceeded the speed of human learning (Nove and Chan, 2007). Also, today's successful companies are companies that continuously discover or create new knowledge to solve new and unfamiliar problems, and develop this knowledge in a purposeful and systematic manner, in accordance with specialized strategic goals in all layers and different departments of the organization, and seek to convert it into new technology and products (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995). Success is essential (Nove & Chan, 2007).Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) consider successful companies to be companies that continuously discover or create new knowledge to solve new and unfamiliar problems, and develop this knowledge in a purposeful and systematic way, in accordance with specialized strategic goals in all layers and departments of the organization, and seek to transform it into new technology and products. (Shafi'i Nikabadi, 2007).

1-2: Statement of the problem

Today, due to the rapid growth of products and the competitiveness of the market in general, the need for products and services has grown significantly, the increase in population and the diversification of needs are also among the factors that encourage organizations to achieve newer products and efficiency (Martin Pitt 2008). Vig (1995) defines knowledge management as a set of defined processes or methods used to search for information among different knowledge of operations management. Lehr (1999) points out that knowledge management includes gathering information and transferring information to the applicant. Activities such as acquiring knowledge, correcting knowledge, storing knowledge and sharing knowledge in an organization can effectively increase the value of the organization's knowledge assets, which is called knowledge management. Grant (1996) thought that knowledge management can be considered as knowledge integration. Knowledge management strategy is a general approach to the organization to create coordination between knowledge resources and capabilities with the set of requirements of that strategy (Zack 1999). Innovation is more effective than copying a strategy. Companies with new technology that use knowledge management methods to create new product development strategies are more successful (Peng et al. 2005). Song and Perry (1995) suggest new product development for better company strategy and performance. Clark and Wheelwright (1993) point out that the new product development strategy is the information processing process that is accompanied by good knowledge management. In fact, the company's intention is to commit to reducing uncertainty in new product development. They also concluded in their studies that companies can perform better in obtaining better performance in new product development if they can respond to environmental changes earlier than competitors. A good flexible strategy in the organization can be the organizer of the new product research and development unit. Therefore, the effectiveness of knowledge management plays an important role in the new product development strategy. Theiss and Pisano (1994) thought that companies were only looking for the fastest innovation in the product and having the management ability to integrate and allocate internal and external resources that cause global success in the competitive environment. Therefore, the integration of internal and external knowledge in the organization leads to good management that leads to a positive effect on new product development performance. Clark and Wheelwright (1993) divide knowledge integration into internal and external parts. The combination of the two can increase the performance of the new product. Thies et al. (1997) emphasized the importance of knowledge integration and believed that business owners should effectively acquire and integrate external knowledge to develop innovative ideas. Moorman (1995) pointed out that investing in acquiring market information that can reduce uncertainty has a relatively high impact on obtaining success opportunities. Companies can have a successful new product development performance by using good knowledge management methods. New product development performance is a multidimensional construct. Researchers focus on using different performance assessments and measures based on different research (Cooper et al. 1996). Today, speeding up product development processes and providing products and services faster in the market is an issue that companies and organizations pay special attention to. 2) Time to enter the market: the stage of offering and presenting the product in the market and measuring the market of the product; 3) the time of earning profit: the stage of passing from break-even point and earning profit; Let's consider, the real winner will be the company and organization that wins all three sections in this competition. Achieving such success will lead to calling the product development process a time-to-success process. It is interesting that we will see three different types of approaches to presenting products to the market among the competitors.

These approaches are:

1) First in the market approach: the organization is interested in being the first organization to introduce a new product to the market.