創新產品開發之概念生成─以Eee PC和Wii為例

隨著台灣資訊科技系統大廠往自有品牌方向發展，接受委託代工製造業務之營運比重減少，自有品牌產品業務比重逐漸增加，然而發展自有品牌與替他人代工製造服務的新產品開發模式有所差異，自有品牌產品的產品規格與概念多半需由廠商自行定義，若只是參考他人之產品規格發展新產品，則生產出來的產品無特殊性，消費者的品牌印象與品牌認同也不強，並不符合發展自有品牌的目標；而若觀察全球資訊科技的品牌大廠，SONY與Apple皆有其成名代表作，代表作品皆為自行定義產品規格與概念的創新產品，而如何發想創新產品的概念遂成為本研究的研究目的。 近年來台灣電腦公司華碩，與日本遊戲機公司任天堂相繼在2006年及2007年推出足以對公司品牌印象貢獻良多的代表產品，遂成為本研究的研究對象，藉由對兩家公司的質性個案研究，蒐集與整理次級資料，並佐以公司訪談彌補次級資料不足的部分，嘗試找出這兩家雖屬不同產業的公司，在什麼市場環境背景下，新產品開法團隊如何發想新產品概念。而於研究結果發現，個案公司發起新產品開發專案皆有改變市場競爭狀況的動機，並期望用新產品創造新的市場，藉由在先進入新市場獲得優勢而爭強自己的市場競爭力；且當時市場上既有產品的某項屬性有性能過度提供的情形，因此個案公司跳脫產業對該產品屬性原有的技術路徑規畫，及性能與功能的追求，以使用者為中心，參考市場上既有產品的產品屬性及市場反應，與產品開發者獲取的使用者資訊發想產品概念。雖初期沒有外部使用者介入，但由於產品開發者同時具有使用者的身分，加上產品開發者平時對於使用者生活型態與行為多有觀察，或是在新產品開發後期，將測試原型提供給一般使用者試用，從此兩方面陸續取得使用者資訊；另外，個案公司若沒有強烈「與別人不同」的企業文化，獨立於原有組織主流運作方式與文化，且由跨部門成員組成的新產品開發團隊，將有助於產品創新。As Taiwan's information technology systems manufacturers to develop its own brand business, and the proportion of the OEM & ODM business gradually decreased as the proportion of own-brand business increased, but the way to develop new products in own-brand business is quite different from the way in OEM business, a innovative own-brand manufacturers usually generate the new product concepts or specifications by itself to make differentiation from other competitors. If someone just follow the concepts or specifications written on the orders by clients or imitating what others have done before, the new products are non- uniqueness to consumers, and firms can’t build strong consumer brand image and brand identity, does not comply with the objectives of the development of own-brand. Taking a look at global brand IT firms like SONY and Apple, we can find that they have their representative products, and the concepts and specifications of products are generated and defined by firms their self. Thus, how to make concepts of innovative products becomes the purpose of this study. In recent years, Taiwan's computer company ASUS launched its new product in 2007,and the Japanese gamesole company Nintendo launched its new product in 2006, both products were successful and made a great impact on the market, contributed so much to their brand image, and became each firm’s representative product. So these two products are qualified to be the cases of this study. For these two cases, the use of qualitative case study approach, through the collection of secondary data and interviews with company information to make up for lack of secondary data, trying to find out the new product development team of these two companies how to generate concepts of new product and the relation between new product development project and market environment at that time. The result of this study indicate that two companies both have motivations to change their market competition, want to create new markets then enter new markets through earlier access to get advantage and enforce market competitiveness. Some dimension of products already on the market in technology performance oversupply situation at that time, so the case companies are user-centered rather than following the industry usual technology planning path of pursuing performance and function, taking the consumer responses and concepts of products already on market as reference and the user information obtained by new product developer to generate product concepts. Although there is no user involved in the beginning of new product development, developer also can get user information because they also represent a kind of user, observe user daily lifestyle and even hold a user test with prototype in the later of new product development. Furthermore, the study results also indicate that if there is no strong corporate culture like “like no others”, a new product development team which is independent of the mainstream mode of operation of the existing organization and culture, and with cross-department members will contribute to product innovation