Fostering Alliances with Customers for the Sustainable Product Creation

Marjan Leber, Andrea Ivanišević, Jelena Borocki, Mladen Radišić and Beata Ślusarczyk
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Marjan Leber: Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maribor, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia
Andrea Ivanišević: Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Republic of Serbia
Jelena Borocki: Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Republic of Serbia
Mladen Radišić: Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, Faculty of Technical Sciences, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Republic of Serbia
Beata Ślusarczyk: The Management Faculty, Czestochowa University of Technology, al. Armii Krajowej 19 B, 42-201 Czestochowa, Poland

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 9, 1-18

Abstract: Our paper analyzes close collaboration between a manufacturer of domestic appliances and consumer electronics and its customers. It reflects on the inclusion of open innovation by users that is presented in the paper on the case of the development of the refrigerator door handle, with an emphasis on design and functionality. The main research question we wanted to answer was whether a buyer (customer/consumer) might actively participate in the process of a new product development. It was interesting to test it in a highly dynamic industry setup since white goods are becoming an integral part of consumers’ life style and not just a mere home appliances used for routine housekeeping tasks. Research sample includes 146 respondents. We applied the conjoint analysis and quality function deployment (QFD) in order to test and understand how customers perceive the different attributes of a new product development process.

Keywords: customer; sustainable product development; open innovation; conjoint analysis; quality function development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:9:p:3204-:d:168431

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