Customer Co-creation and Leadership Style in New Product Development Process_The Case of MedicusTek

近年來越來越多公司採用設計思考的方法進行新產品開發，但除了執行手法的學習與導入外，公司整體組織的運作模式該如何配搭、整合的相關研究仍不多見。因此本研究由「顧客共創」與「團隊領導」兩個面向切入，以個案研究法來探討台灣的新創醫療器材公司－美思科技，如何在採用設計思考的流程中，透過顧客共創與領導人的團隊管理進行專業醫療器材的設計與研發，並從更全面而脈絡化的方式了解公司如何在不同面向之間進行整合，發揮公司研發創新的潛力，而得以在有限的資源下，投入高度專業的醫療器材研發。 本個案研究的架構主要分成三個部份：第一，引用史丹佛設計學校的五階段設計思考流程，比較公司如何因應醫療產品的特性調整研發流程。第二，採用Lengnick-Hall對顧客在產品研發的角色分類，分析顧客在各研發階段角色的轉變，並探討公司如何建置顧客共創的機制。第三，探討公司領導人如何因應產品開發不同階段，適時調整其在團隊領導中的角色與管理模式，並如何促進組織內部與外部的溝通。 本個案的研究結論發現美思科技在顧客的共創模式中，將顧客隱性的專業知識成功轉化為公司獨特的資產，協助產品技術的研發。而公司領導人也在開發過程中，一方面以價值訴求的方式與顧客建立共同的願景，深化雙方的合作關係，並在公司內部也積極營造透明與彈性的組織文化，不斷引導團隊成員進行資訊的分享並提升團體決策的效率，最終得以促進公司的創新與研發能力，提高新產品開發的成功機率。More companies are now applying design thinking to their new product development in recent years. However, apart from studies on the tools and implementation of design thinking, it is also necessary to figure out how design thinking interacts with and inte-grates in different organizational structures and business operations. Hence, this research tries to provide a case study on how MedicusTek, a medical device startup, applies de-sign thinking in a more interactive and contextual perspective. This research discusses MedicusTek’s leadership styles and its customers’ role in new product development un-der design thinking process. The purpose is to find out what better leadership style and customer co-creation strategies are and, how they make a company more successful in applying design thinking. With better integration of different parties, companies will be able to conduct a more sophisticated new product development under limited resources. This study discovers that regarding customers’ involvement and co-creation in product development, a leader can not only exert his social network ties to form part-nership with the customers but also deepen their relationship by building up a common belief and vision. Secondly, in order to fully utilize customers’ feedback and further ad-vice, companies should communicate with customers on regular basis. In addition, the leader should create an open culture and flexible organizational structure which will ac-celerate the information flow. Lastly, group decision process should also be carefully managed. All of these manners will help increase the success rate of company’s new product development