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Hyyryläinen, Satu (2012) Early Purchasing Involvement in New Product Development - Opportunities for Environmental Sustainability. [Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)] (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this dissertation is to identify what early purchasing involvement in product development consists of, in particular at operational level. A broad analysis of existing literature on new product development, materials selections, purchasing involvement in new product development, sourcing strategy and environmental sustainability is conducted. The objectives of this research are to investigate what factors influence the most in materials selection and how is environmental sustainability currently considered in today’s organisations. The aim is to find out whether early purchasing involvement can support the selection of greener raw materials into product design and improve delivery capability of the product during and after launch and, if so, how.

Design/Methodology/Approach – The research approach is qualitative, as this method allows for developing concepts, insights and understanding from patterns in the data. The data is collected through a case study method, by conducting semi-structured interviews of four employees of a company offering network infrastructure solutions to its customers. The themes and categories of interest are based on the literature review covered and one of the first collective case studies in purchasing involvement by Wynstra et al. (1999).

Findings – The findings of this dissertation illustrate that early purchasing involvement contributes to successful product development while supporting the implementation of environmentally sustainable raw materials into product design and building delivery reliability throughout product life cycle. However, cost and price issues remain to be the key influencer in decision making and the potential of environmental sustainability bringing cost reduction is not fully acknowledged.

Research limitations/contributions – This research provides a fresh new insight in the process of purchasing involvement in NPD. The study was based on Wynstra et al. (1999) study on the topic which concentrated on a strategic level while the focus of this research is on operational level of purchasing involvement, identifying the activities that enable the execution of sourcing strategy. The managerial implications is the need to enhance the role of purchasing, support cross-functional decision making and see environmental sustainability as a means to reduce costs.

Originality/value – This dissertation highlights the importance of early purchasing involvement and its benefits to product development. The findings also contribute to the growing interest in environmental sustainability in functional as well as corporate decision making.

Item Type:	Dissertation (University of Nottingham only)
Keywords:	New Product Development, Materials Selection, Early Purchasing Involvement, Sourcing Strategy, Operational Purchasing, Environmental Sustainability
Depositing User:	EP, Services
Date Deposited:	08 Apr 2013 12:47
Last Modified:	21 Jan 2018 08:31
URI:	https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/25780

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