Findings regarding research question 1

According to the results the process begins when someone gets an idea or identifies a problem or a deficiency that might be fixed with a solution. Customers are strongly involved already in the early phases: four cases emphasized that ideas come besides staff also from customers. Ideas are also sought from customers by interviewing them. The same problem might concern several customers.

“Those working close to customers and problem solving notice a recurring problem that customers face which could be automated or we could develop a tool for it. … Sometimes it solves several problems at once.”

The market potential needs to be initially estimated, which means conducting market research, concept design, calculating development expenses and how much customers might be willing to pay for the solution, and figuring out stakeholders such as distribution channels. Interviewees emphasized that such investigation needs to be done in early stages of product development.

“We did quite a lot of market research even before designers did proper CAD designs. … When product is being transferred to production you have to have a conception about the volume.”

Depending on the company next steps involve pre-investigation, planning of technical implementation, and creating a business case or assembling test groups, interest groups or panels that include potential customers. The operations are often simultaneous, e.g., conducting several product development iteration rounds and at the same time doing market research about competitors and market potential.

“Product design should never be thought of as one rail that proceeds from one stop to another, but instead as many parallel rails and matters that proceed simultaneously. Sure, it has points in which one thing needs to be ready before another can be started. They are superimposed, simultaneous and sometimes might not cross in many months. And they necessarily don’t need to since everyone has their own corner of the house to mold. It kind of derives from product design that all the work has been preplanned, ideally.”

Commercial potential is being ensured by doing various pre-investigations: commercial and technical risk evaluations regarding e.g., competition, regulations, and safety, interviewing existing customers, and accepting criticism. Decision to proceed is done according to calculations or estimations. In the end taking a risk is necessary.

“We calculated together with our certain partners that how many of their customers are doing a repetitive process that could be fully automated with our technology. It mitigates the risk.”

”We create a business case of what the technical solution would be, how much development and manufacturing would cost, and what are the benefits for the customer. Then we look at payback calculations and pricing criterion.”

The case companies had somewhat different views on what occurs after the starting phases. For one case the mid-commercialization phase comprises mostly various pre-marketing activities: finding a good effective channel in the target group to get message across, writing, discussing with specialists, and plenty of field work.

”When you know that the market launch is six months away you need to already try to make the product familiar. Especially with consumer products.”

The phase includes also arranging internal or external financing, deciding a team, and proceeding to product development. For others it includes pricing, formulating a marketing plan, a sales plan, and doing actual sales work. Striving to pass several required regulations was also mentioned.

“Normally when we know what the problem and the technical solution is we pilot it with projects and pilot customers who were involved from early development. Usually, we find out the potential ideas then.”

One of the interviewees described the phase in their company as a systematic process.

“Executive group evaluates the pre-investigation made earlier and decides to proceed. Then we proceed to concept development and further clarify the requirements in cooperation with the customer. Then we start to do pre-planning during which the shape, size, and component composition of the product start to show.

Simultaneously, we plan a timetable and a clarified budget for the product development project. Then concept design formulates technical specifications for product development. In the end of this phase the executive group can still stop the project from proceeding to product development. They receive a report that summarizes e.g., development expenses vs. market potential, how much we expect to sell it, the timeline, and how it sort of starts to amortize the product development expenses.”

The end of commercialization process is seen mostly as administrating sales process after product development: training of sales force, doing sales, continuing marketing, and increasing of customer awareness. For tangible products this phase can also include preparing packages, brochures, and delivery channels. Additionally, the final phase comprises maintaining product life cycle by evaluating the effectiveness of marketing, getting feedback from clients, making necessary changes, and providing product support.

According to one interviewee the customers involved from the early product development phases can become pilot customers. This can be utilized to collect feedback before actual market contact with new potential clients.

“We held a launch event to which we invited lots of customers. There we presented what we had done together with the pilot customers, started conversations, and collected contact lists. Then our sales team called them during the next six months and tried to arrange meetings for further demonstrations.”

One interviewee again highlighted the importance of doing certain activities simultaneously.

”As (product development) timetable is known also sales and marketing start to do certain agreed actions.

This is done to avoid the situation that product development would have finished the product and the

project is done but the sales and marketing would just then start their operations. It might cause quite a long delay.”

As mentioned in Chapter 2.2.4., perceiving the transitions between commercialization phases are considered challenging in past research. Three case companies described the limits between phases to be wavering or impossible to distinguish. The transitions are done either on instinct without analyzing or precisely recognizing the phases, or in some companies based on some analysis, metrics, or according to a pre-formulated process.

”Usually the marketing team does the work and executive group makes decisions. When there is big money involved it goes to the board of directors.”

“Working by the book we would set some kind of metrics on the product design, product-specifically. We would try to measure the potential and search for a signal which would imply that what we have now is good. Sufficient amount of data, minimum viable product or maybe that a prototype or some technology has been tested. That way we get to cut off some unknown factors. After dealing with those matters, we move to the next step.”

“Information is being transferred on document-level pretty far between phases. Then we have handover meetings with certain written meeting minutes and there is a person in charge for example in concept design and a project manager in product development takes the responsibility further. Then we have certain gate- models which refers to having particular requirements for proceeding from one phase to another. For instance, risk evaluation, schedule, or budget needs to be done or accepted or there are no prerequisites to proceed further.”

All case companies agree that commercialization process includes overlap, repetition, and iteration.

Reasons might be e.g., changed competition situation, feedback from pilot customers, or company’s own sales team.

“There’s a lot of it. We do something, realize it does not work, go back, do it again, try it, realize it does not work, do it again. Pumping back and forth.”

“It is natural that for example a technical solution turns out to be too expensive or benefits are not commensurate with selling price and then we need to go back and think of a new solution.”

All case interviewees agree that commercialization process differs strongly in different international locations. For example, distribution channels, cultures, laws, and regulations can be very different and knowing local market dynamics is essential. Risk needs to be taken and therefore doing marketing research and preparations is considered even more important than in home country.

Often companies also need to have references and marketing needs to be customized due to e.g., cultural differences.

The biggest differences in commercialization process between the 2020s and 5-15 years ago were considered to be the significance of social media and distribution possibilities through e-commerce.

According to one company social media advertising has reduced marketing expenses and it competes with tv, radio, or newspaper advertising but others state that nowadays getting effective visibility online is increasingly more difficult and expensive due to globalization, increased competition, and increased prices in limited channel options.

“If you nowadays want to do a massive product launch and target it to mainstream audience in a way that it is visible to your target audience you in principle must be in contact with Facebook, Google or Microsoft.

Three firms control access to all media on earth from commercial perspective.”

Another difference is tightened surveillance and regulations. Risk evaluation, quality requirements, and getting certifications need to be considered even earlier in the process. However, many tasks are done similarly now as years ago such as communicating with customers, doing market research, and solving customer’s problems.

According to interviewees digitalization has changed commercialization process mostly in a positive way. It lowers customer’s hesitation to try new technologies as positive attitude towards new technology increases. Also, ERP and CRM systems facilitate management, effectiveness, and predictability of business development. In addition, online shops reduce 3^rd party commissions and facilitate managing marketing communication. Mentioned drawbacks are integration challenges between certain operating systems and that many customer groups are not very acquainted with digitalization.

”Customers clearly have a willingness and a need to make use of digitalization and it creates visible and hidden possibilities.“