Unpacking the notion of prototype archetypes in the early phase of an innovation process

Sihem Ben Mahmoud‐jouini and Christophe Midler
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Sihem Ben Mahmoud‐jouini: GREGH - Groupement de Recherche et d'Etudes en Gestion à HEC - HEC Paris - Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Christophe Midler: CRG I3 - Centre de recherche en gestion i3 - X - École polytechnique - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris - Université Paris-Saclay - I3 - Institut interdisciplinaire de l’innovation - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

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Abstract: The literature on new product development examines a variety of roles that prototypes can play based on the phase of the design process when they are used, but the characteristics of these prototypes that correspond to the expected outcomes, especially in the early phase of the design process, are understudied. We address this gap by studying the characteristics of the prototypes used in the design process (especially during the early phase) that correspond to their roles. Based on an analysis of six cases of prototypes that are used early on in the design process, we characterize three different archetypes of artefacts: stimulators, demonstrators, and validators, and we emphasize the coherence between the role they play in the design process and the characteristics that enable these roles. Specifying the roles of these artefacts should contribute to addressing the two flaws that are generally encountered during prototyping: overdesigning and overtrusting the prototypes.

Keywords: Time to market; Product development – Analysis; College teachers – Analysis; Creative ability -- Analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-02-06
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published in Creativity and Innovation Management, 2020, 29 (1), pp.49-71. ⟨10.1111/caim.12358⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03060400

DOI: 10.1111/caim.12358

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