A Process for Creating New Value Dimensions over Multiple Times

Research question and previous researchesThe continuous development of unique new products is a key issue for firms.The objective of this paper is to clarify the mechanism of continuously developing products with a dimension of value differing from existing products, through case analysis of new product development of companies which have developed products multiple times that deviate from the industry's dominant product specifications.In previous research, it became possible to perceive the complicated competitive environment that companies face by assuming a single value dimension (for example, Buzzel and Gale, 1987).However, in research of recent years, the necessity of perceiving competition in multiple dimensions has been pointed out.For example, concepts such as new market disruption (Christensen and Raynor, 2003) and the blue ocean strategy (Kim and Mauborgne, 2015), assuming that there are multiple dimensions of performance scales and competitive factors, perceive changes in the dimensions themselves as a result of the company discovering new value or re-defining value, and such shifting of dimensions has a significant effect on the competitiveness of the company.Consequently, the focus on changing dimensions is thought to be effective in grasping the dynamics of competition.Existing research focuses on cases in which the company changed the value dimension only once, but when competing companies imitate new value that a company has created, that company's advantage is short-lived.However, the importance of a company continuously acquiring a temporary competitive advantage, rather than building a sustained competitive advantage has been pointed out in recent years (McGrath, 2013).If a company changes dimensions iteratively, there is a possibility of establishing a continuous competitive advantage.Assuming that multiple value dimensions (an element of evaluating product value) exist, this paper defines the changing value dimension as a shift in evaluation criteria of product value when a company introduces a new product.In other words, unlike products which improve specific performance attributes of existing value dimensions, products with changing value dimensions provide a new evaluation criterion for product value as a result of the company proposing a new performance attribute or usage.This paper will focus on cases of product development in which the value dimension changed multiple times, and explore the mechanism for continuously changing value dimensions. Research method and case examplesThis paper utilized exploratory research (Yin, 1994) for hypothesis building, and a case analysis using interviews and secondary source material was carried out regarding product development which shifted value dimensions' multiple times.Using Casio Computer