IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/popmgt/v26y2017i4p742-756.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Product Upgrades with Stochastic Technology Advancement, Product Failure, and Brand Commitment

Author

Listed:
  • Samuel Nathan Kirshner
  • Yuri Levin
  • Mikhail Nediak

Abstract

Brand commitment and the risk of product failure play an important role in the timing of upgrades for a durable product in the presence of stochastic technology advancements. Higher brand commitment makes a firm less vulnerable to sales erosion in an incumbent product due to a technology lag. However, the firm is more susceptible to profit loss from the risk of a failed product. We show that under these circumstances, a firm's optimal upgrade strategy is characterized by a threshold policy based on the level of pent‐up demand for their next generation product. Contrary to previous research, we find that a threshold policy based on technology may be suboptimal, since the risk of product failure is nonmonotonic in terms of the technology lag. We extend the model to determine whether a firm should offer a temporary price reduction and show that price promotions can be used to mitigate the risk of lost sales associated with a risky product upgrade. We perform numerical experiments to examine the impact of brand commitment under different market scenarios related to the stochastic dynamics of technology advancements. The implications of the findings are discussed in the context of the smartphone industry.

Suggested Citation

  • Samuel Nathan Kirshner & Yuri Levin & Mikhail Nediak, 2017. "Product Upgrades with Stochastic Technology Advancement, Product Failure, and Brand Commitment," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 26(4), pages 742-756, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:popmgt:v:26:y:2017:i:4:p:742-756
    DOI: 10.1111/poms.12680
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/poms.12680
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/poms.12680?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michelle L. Roehm & Michael K. Brady, 2007. "Consumer Responses to Performance Failures by High-Equity Brands," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 34(4), pages 537-545, July.
    2. S. Sriram & Pradeep K. Chintagunta & Ramya Neelamegham, 2006. "Effects of Brand Preference, Product Attributes, and Marketing Mix Variables in Technology Product Markets," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(5), pages 440-456, September.
    3. Mary J. Benner & Mary Tripsas, 2012. "The influence of prior industry affiliation on framing in nascent industries: the evolution of digital cameras," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 277-302, March.
    4. Barry L. Bayus, 1998. "An Analysis of Product Lifetimes in a Technologically Dynamic Industry," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 44(6), pages 763-775, June.
    5. Yubo Chen & Jinhong Xie, 2005. "Third-Party Product Review and Firm Marketing Strategy," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(2), pages 218-240, February.
    6. Cecere, Grazia & Corrocher, Nicoletta & Battaglia, Riccardo David, 2015. "Innovation and competition in the smartphone industry: Is there a dominant design?," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 162-175.
    7. Balcer, Yves & Lippman, Steven A., 1984. "Technological expectations and adoption of improved technology," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 292-318, December.
    8. Liao, Shuangqing & Seifert, Ralf W., 2015. "On the optimal frequency of multiple generation product introductions," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 245(3), pages 805-814.
    9. Kai-Lung Hui, 2004. "Product Variety Under Brand Influence: An Empirical Investigation of Personal Computer Demand," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 50(5), pages 686-700, May.
    10. Marc H. Meyer & Peter Tertzakian & James M. Utterback, 1997. "Metrics for Managing Research and Development in the Context of the Product Family," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 43(1), pages 88-111, January.
    11. R. Mark Krankel & Izak Duenyas & Roman Kapuscinski, 2006. "Timing Successive Product Introductions with Demand Diffusion and Stochastic Technology Improvement," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 8(2), pages 119-135, June.
    12. Gilvan C. Souza & Barry L. Bayus & Harvey M. Wagner, 2004. "New-Product Strategy and Industry Clockspeed," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 50(4), pages 537-549, April.
    13. Ana M. Fernandes & Caroline Paunov, 2015. "The Risks of Innovation: Are Innovating Firms Less Likely to Die?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 97(3), pages 638-653, July.
    14. Soren T. Anderson & Ryan Kellogg & Ashley Langer & James M. Sallee, 2013. "The Intergenerational Transmission of Automobile Brand Preferences: Empirical Evidence and Implications for Firm Strategy," NBER Working Papers 19535, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Druehl, Cheryl T. & Schmidt, Glen M. & Souza, Gilvan C., 2009. "The optimal pace of product updates," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 192(2), pages 621-633, January.
    16. Inseong Song & Pradeep Chintagunta, 2003. "A Micromodel of New Product Adoption with Heterogeneous and Forward-Looking Consumers: Application to the Digital Camera Category," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 1(4), pages 371-407, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Li, Xishu & Zuidwijk, Rob & de Koster, René & Sethi, Suresh, 2023. "Time for upgrades? In time for consumers and competition," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    2. Zheng, Wei & Li, Bo & Song, Dongping & Li, Yanran, 2023. "Innovative development strategy of a risk-averse firm considering product unreliability under competition," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    3. Cheryl Gaimon & Manpreet Hora & Karthik Ramachandran, 2017. "Towards Building Multidisciplinary Knowledge on Management of Technology: An Introduction to the Special Issue," Production and Operations Management, Production and Operations Management Society, vol. 26(4), pages 567-578, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hagspiel, Verena & Huisman, Kuno J.M. & Kort, Peter M. & Lavrutich, Maria N. & Nunes, Cláudia & Pimentel, Rita, 2020. "Technology adoption in a declining market," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 285(1), pages 380-392.
    2. Liao, Shuangqing & Seifert, Ralf W., 2015. "On the optimal frequency of multiple generation product introductions," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 245(3), pages 805-814.
    3. Korn, Ralf & Melnyk, Yaroslav & Seifried, Frank Thomas, 2017. "Stochastic impulse control with regime-switching dynamics," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 260(3), pages 1024-1042.
    4. Bayrak, Busra & Guray, Busra & Uzunlar, Nilsu & Nadar, Emre, 2024. "Diffusion control in closed-loop supply chains: Successive product generations," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    5. Saurabh Panwar & P. K. Kapur & Ompal Singh, 2021. "Predicting diffusion dynamics and launch time strategy for mobile telecommunication services: an empirical analysis," Information Technology and Management, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 33-51, March.
    6. Samuel Sale, R. & Mesak, Hani I. & Inman, R. Anthony, 2017. "A dynamic marketing-operations interface model of new product updates," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 257(1), pages 233-242.
    7. Liberali, Guilherme & Gruca, Thomas S. & Nique, Walter M., 2011. "The effects of sensitization and habituation in durable goods markets," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 212(2), pages 398-410, July.
    8. Torsten Bornemann & Cornelia Hattula & Stefan Hattula, 2020. "Successive product generations: financial implications of industry release rhythm alignment," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(6), pages 1174-1191, November.
    9. Sean T. Hsu & Susan K. Cohen, 2022. "Overcoming the Incumbent Dilemma: The Dual Roles of Multimarket Contact During Disruption," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(2), pages 319-348, March.
    10. Ilan Lobel & Jigar Patel & Gustavo Vulcano & Jiawei Zhang, 2016. "Optimizing Product Launches in the Presence of Strategic Consumers," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(6), pages 1778-1799, June.
    11. Bo Tan & Zhiguo Zhu & Pan Jiang & Xiening Wang, 2023. "Modeling Multi-Generation Product Diffusion in the Context of Dual-Brand Competition and Sustainable Improvement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-22, August.
    12. Sivakumar, K. & Feng, Cong, 2019. "Patterns of product improvements and customer response," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 27-43.
    13. Nur Sunar & John R. Birge & Sinit Vitavasiri, 2019. "Optimal Dynamic Product Development and Launch for a Network of Customers," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 67(3), pages 770-790, May.
    14. Liu, Heng & Özer, Özalp, 2009. "Managing a product family under stochastic technological changes," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(2), pages 567-580, December.
    15. Zhiling Guo & Jianqing Chen, 2018. "Multigeneration Product Diffusion in the Presence of Strategic Consumers," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 29(1), pages 206-224, March.
    16. Shi, Yan & Zou, Bo & Guo, Jinyu & Ji, Peinan, 2022. "Time pacing of product development: The influence of goal clarity and autonomy," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    17. Druehl, Cheryl T. & Schmidt, Glen M. & Souza, Gilvan C., 2009. "The optimal pace of product updates," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 192(2), pages 621-633, January.
    18. Demirci, Ece Zeliha & Erkip, Nesim, 2024. "Integrating efforts for product development and market penetration," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 312(3), pages 927-937.
    19. Diego Zunino & Fernando F. Suarez & Stine Grodal, 2019. "Familiarity, Creativity, and the Adoption of Category Labels in Technology Industries," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(1), pages 169-190, February.
    20. Aydin, Ayhan & Parker, Rodney P., 2018. "Innovation and technology diffusion in competitive supply chains," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 265(3), pages 1102-1114.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:popmgt:v:26:y:2017:i:4:p:742-756. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1937-5956 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.