The Evaluation and Selection of Product Development Alternatives introducing Outside Technologies

Abstract

It is difficult for a company to develop all the technologies in product development (PD) by itself in recent years, so the introduction of outside technologies is important. However, there is little quantitative research on this topic. This study proposes the effective information for evaluating and selecting PD alternatives introducing outside technologies. First, we clarify that the previous model proposed by Kusaka is also applicable to the problem, including strategic factors. Then we show the optimal solution by Branch and Bound method. Finally, we analyze the effect of outside technologies by “technology introduction index”, which means the ratio of the outside technology performance to the total performance at the optimal solution, and consider the effects of the cost and time constraints, and the concurrent degree on the index. The results of numerical analyses show that the degree of outside technology introduction is decided by the relation of the three factors. Therefore, the cost and time constraints, and the concurrent degree play important roles in PD introducing outside technologies.