The launch of innovative services: lessons from automotive telematics

In the literature on NPD, most existing studies on the end of the design process concentrate on managing ramp-up of manufactured products. However our economies increasingly depend upon services. This article examine the management of the final phases of the design process of an innovative service. Our research make three contributions: 1) we show that the concept of ramp-up is insufficient for understanding the phenomena at works. The nature of services means that two types of learning – technical and sales – take place at the same time. 2) an analysis of the data collected confirms this difference by bringing to light great contrasts in these two dimensions. 3) This led us to identify a new field for NPD research: the design of the sales process. INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH QUESTION The central role played by innovation in corporate strategy has given rise to a significant stream of research on new product design (Brown & Eisenhardt, 1995). While this work has undoubtedly helped researchers and practitioners bette