This book analyses the relationships among product safety strategy and culture, concurrent engineering, new product development (NPD) processes and product safety performance. Product safety is a matter of enormous economic and societal concern, given the safety risks to consumers and the financial risks to producers. Nevertheless, a thorough conceptual understanding of the effects of NPD policies and practices is still largely missing, as several large-scale trends have made clarifying the role of product safety in its socio-economic context difficult, including: the rise of consumerism and the shift in the balance of power from manufacturers to customers and regulators; the internationalization of value chains and the fragmentation of markets worldwide; and technological change leading to a sophistication of products that rendered average consumers increasingly unaware of risk and potential accidents. This volume sets out to close the gaps among research, practice and policy, with an emphasis on advocating responsible product innovation. Through an in-depth study of the durable juvenile products industry, the authors discover important relationships, for example that top management involvement, safety-first culture and robust NPD processes are paramount in increasing product safety and decreasing product recalls in firms. On the other end of the spectrum, concurrent engineering does not automatically lead to product safety, they found no "magic bullet" through which product safety can be tied to the use of a particular tool, skill, or practice. Offering a dynamic framework for aligning the interests of multiple stakeholders, including manufacturers, regulators, and consumers, the authors provide a clearer understanding of product safety and its implications for scholars, students, policy makers, and practitioners in the areas of innovation management, product management, R&D management, and responsible research and innovation.

Pharmaceutical giants have been doubling their investments in drug development, only to see new drug approvals to remain constant for the past decade. This book investigates and highlights a set of proactive strategies, aimed at generating sustainable competitive advantage for its protagonists based on value-generating business practices. We focus on three sources of pharmaceutical innovation: new management methods in the drug development pipeline, new technologies as enablers for cutting-edge R&D, and new forms of internationalisation, such as outside-in innovation in the early phases of R&D.

The volume focuses on the issue of globalization of research and development (R&D) in China. China has become the number one choice of R&D for multination corporations (MNCs), according to a recent survey. Many of the largest MNCs in the world, such as Microsoft, GE, GM, HP, Motorola, and Lucent, among hundred of others, have established R&D facilities. The phenomenon has become a hot issue among policy debates in many countries regarding job outsourcing, national and regional competitiveness, and China. This book examines the issue of foreign R&D, particularly, those from MNCs in China: the drivers, missions, locations, management challenges, policies, and implications for China's innovation system. This book was previously published as a special issue of the Asia Pacific Business Review.

The volume focuses on the issue of globalization of research and development (R&D) in China. China has become the number one choice of R&D for multination corporations (MNCs), according to a recent survey. Many of the largest MNCs in the world, such as Microsoft, GE, GM, HP, Motorola, and Lucent, among hundred of others, have established R&D facilities. The phenomenon has become a hot issue among policy debates in many countries regarding job outsourcing, national and regional competitiveness, and China. This book examines the issue of foreign R&D, particularly, those from MNCs in China: the drivers, missions, locations, management challenges, policies, and implications for China's innovation system. This book was previously published as a special issue of the Asian Pacific Business Review.

Pharmaceutical giants have been doubling their investments in drug development, only to see new drug approvals to remain constant for the past decade. This book investigates and highlights a set of proactive strategies, aimed at generating sustainable competitive advantage for its protagonists based on value-generating business practices. We focus on three sources of pharmaceutical innovation: new management methods in the drug development pipeline, new technologies as enablers for cutting-edge R&D, and new forms of internationalisation, such as outside-in innovation in the early phases of R&D.