Radical Fashion and Radical Fashion Innovation

Dan Zhang,C,Anthony Di Benedetto 한국마케팅과학회 2010 Journal of Global Fashion Marketing Vol.1 No.4

This is a study of the related concepts of radical fashion and radical fashion innovation. Radical fashions are defined here as those that may never enter the market at all, and exist primarily on runway shows, in exhibitions and in publicityby contrast, radical fashion innovations may be very successful in the marketplace. Radical fashions represent a clear break from the old designs, as opposed to incremental fashions, which are defined as an extension or evolution of the old designs. Using this definition, radical fashion seems to be at odds with the definition of marketable fashion. Nevertheless, while most radical fashions do not enter the market at all and live only in runway shows, exhibitions, and museums, there are many examples of radical fashion innovations successful in the market. Accordingly, a series of questions rise: What is radical fashion? What is radical fashion innovation? What are the differences and similarities between these, and how are they connected? This study seeks to address these questions, using a foundation developed in the radical product innovation literature. Fashion innovations may be in terms form or function, or style, and can be radical(involving the breaking down of old ideas) or incremental (involving the evolution of new ideas from old ideas). We draw from the radical product innovation literature to build two related models. The first is a model of radical fashion and radical fashion innovation that illustrates the components of both concepts. The second is a model of radical fashion innovation diffusion, drawn from the general product innovation diffusion literature, which explores the evolution of and the connections between these two concepts from the beginning (i.e., the radical fashion) to the end (i.e., success in the mass market). Radical fashion may result in designs that are more suitable for the runway, catalogues, or even museum display, than for actual wear. Radical fashion has sometimes been called “new ideas before their marketing phase.” Radical fashion may successfully enter the market, however, and gain wide acceptance among consumers. The transition from radical fashion to radi- 1) Ph. D. Candidate, Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA, E-mail: tua65411@temple.edu 2) * Corresponding Author: Professor and Senior Washburn Research Fellow, Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA USA and Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, The Netherlands, Tel. +1 215 204 8147. E-mail: anthony.dibenedetto@temple.edu ? 2010 KAMS. All rights reserved. cal fashion innovation is not too different from the transitionfrom invention to innovation, which is familiar to researchers in product innovation. Notable in this transition process is the fact that, for many product innovations, what drives the first customers to purchase (the “Visionaries,” to use Moore’s terminology in his “crossing the chasm” model of innovation diffusion) may be very different from what drives the rest of the market (the “Pragmatists.”). If this “chasm” or divide between the two market segments is not recognized, the innovating firm may find that their product stalls during the diffusion process and never effectively reaches the mass market. In the case of fashion products, visionaries (such as celebrities and the fashion press) prime the market and create favorable word of mouthyet, at the same time, less-radical, wearable designs may be seen on the runway, or may be manufactured for the mass market and sold through department stores, specialty clothing stores, or even discounters. The most successful worldwide designers instinctively know this, and can continuously produce radically innovative fashion which also usually transitions to the mass market successfully.

産品設計: 硏究趨勢與未來規劃

( C. Anthony Di Benedetto ) 한국마케팅과학회 2012 Journal of Global Fashion Marketing Vol.3 No.3

産品設計无疑是使新産品暢銷的重要因素, 新産品設計的學術硏究也越來越廣泛。近年來, 對于設計的新定義層出不窮, 而且對于能구創造意義與創新過程的設計的作用也有新的理解。在這樣一個高速發展的硏究領域里, 我們面臨着許多富有挑戰性、高難度的問題。如下궤方面的問題就有待硏究: 作爲一種戰略資源的設計的重要性, 新産品團隊中設計師的地位, 在産品設計中顧客意見的采納以及産品設計是즘樣在不同文化中傳播的。本文旨在對如上궤方面及産品設計硏究相關問題進行分析。本文首先討論了在創新設計新理論中設計的作用。傳統認爲, 産品創新的動力來自于市場或者科技。在兩種情況下, 設計都有改良的作用(使産品設計更符合顧客期望或者産品性能特点)。著名的設計學家Roberto Verganti指出, 像Alessi這樣的大設計公司都將設計看作是偉大創新的動力。産品設計還未有被公認的定義, 但在産品設計師眼中産品設計的作用及其在企業中的重要性是无需置疑的。卽使在企業的最高戰略層中, 設計也是産品創新中重要的一環。出色的設計可以使企業在以下궤方面奪得競爭優勢: 通過設計降低生産成本或快速將産品投放到可以帶來成本效益市場中, 同時通過設計可以加大産品差異性或者滿足顧客需求。在企業環保義務方面, 通過産品設計還可以提高可持續發展的能力。凡此種種原因, 加强産品設計的力度可以提高企業的競爭力。在創新這一學術領域中, 與之相近的課題便是新産品團隊中成員的合作與團結。但是, 之前的硏究都將重点放到市場中的互動, 硏究與開發與制造業員工方面, 却忽視了設計師的地位。新興的硏究重在分析營銷人員與設計師的中間層面, 這樣便能구在新産品生産過程的初始階段乃至全過程中引進工效學及美學。령一個需要考慮的問題是近年來跨國新産品團隊是즘樣運作的。設計師們正面臨這一問題, 他們必須與世界各地的同事共事幷且爲全世界的客戶進行産品設計。設計普遍性這一課題在學術領域中被發掘潛力還흔大, 這里我們부부是在新産品發展這一課題中開了一個頭。最近, 設計學中又開피了一個新硏究領域, 主要分析了顧客意見的作用。在當下的産品配置中(消費者可以網絡購物幷且T恤衫, 포鞋, 手表甚至汽車都可以自行設計。顧客意見的价値尙是一個有爭議的話題。相關的硏究員通過衡量購買意愿的强度來評고用戶貢獻的价値, 幷且發現顧客意見確實可以提高其他顧客的購買意愿進而高价購買, 這是因爲顧客設計的産品更加适應用戶偏好。同樣, 這是一個能구引起興趣的學科, 但仍有待發展。綜合考慮産品創新學科中以上及其他最新硏究趨勢, 本文爲産品設計提出了未來硏究規劃。通過大量的文獻, 其中包括關于設計的最前沿的創新期刊, 本文闡述了在發展硏究規劃中有助于激勵設計硏究員的硏究趨勢。除上文論述外, 這些趨勢還包括: 産品設計中形式與功能的互動; 産品設計對産品意義的影響; 設計對享樂主義行爲的影響; B2B産品與服務中的設計; 設計與環境以及産品設計變化與提高的表現結果。最后, 本文討論了這些趨勢是즘樣影響硏究員以及最新時尙與奢侈品牌商品相關從業人員的。 Academic research in product design is growing in popularity, and new challenging research questions are emerging. This article explores several of these product design research issues. We first explore the role of design as a driver of innovation and as a strategic resource to senior managers for competitive advantage. We revisit the topic of functional integration on the new product team, focusing in particular on the cooperation between designers and marketers. There is also a rich literature emerging on customer-initiated design and user toolkits for design, and we explore this intriguing stream as well. Considering these topics, and several others identified in a recent special issue on design research in the Journal of Product Innovation Management, we present an agenda for research in product design. We conclude with a discussion of how these design research trends affect researchers as well as practitioners involved in high-fashion or luxury-brand goods.

Corporate social responsibility as an emerging business model in fashion marketing

C. Anthony Di Benedetto 한국마케팅과학회 2017 Journal of Global Fashion Marketing Vol.8 No.4

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an important part of many fi rms’ customer relationship management programs and can be a source of competitive advantage. Many fi rms have reaped competitive advantage by making CSR a central part of their corporate mission, rather than an afterthought, since this ensures sustained commitment to CSR. Sustainability can be an important CSR target for fi rms in the fashion industry, though the adoption of sustainability initiatives has been slower than in other industries such as food production. This article explores the reasons why fashion manufacturers and retailers have been reluctant to take action to increase the production of sustainable fashion products, and why consumers have generally been reluctant to purchase sustainable fashion products. We present an agenda for the future, which details several concrete steps for fashion manufacturers and retailers to overcome the barriers to customer adoption. The central idea is for fi rms in the fashion industry to recognize the long-term benefi ts of adopting a business model which includes CSR, and specifi cally sustainability, as an integral part of the corporate mission. We conclude with managerial implications.

Open innovation and the value of crowds: implications for the fashion industry

C. Anthony Di Benedetto 한국마케팅과학회 2014 Journal of Global Fashion Marketing Vol.5 No.1

Firms in many industries are seeking to incorporate ideas from outside parties tocomplement their own internal resources and capabilities. Suppliers, distributors, endusers, scientists, firms in unrelated industries and even competitors can be importantsources of information and ideas. Furthermore, with the computing capabilitiesavailable today, firms can scan online communities for sources of ideas and evenharness the ideas generated by a select few key users with insights into emergingmainstream customer needs. All of this additional input helps firms compete profitablyin an increasingly difficult environment. New trends include open innovation,crowdsourcing, user toolkits, mass customization and lead-user analysis. While there isemerging academic research on all of these topics, their usefulness in fashionmarketing and merchandising remains relatively unexplored. This is potentially a greatresearch opportunity, as fashion designers can obtain key ideas that boostcompetitiveness by working more closely with customers, suppliers, retailersand other parties. This article presents the state of the art in each of these trends,and concludes with a discussion of the implications for fashion marketing andmerchandising academic research and practice.

From the special issue editors: Global Business-to-Business Marketing

C. Anthony Di Benedetto,한상린 한국마케팅과학회 2016 마케팅과학연구 Vol.26 No.1

Welcome to the JGSMS Special Issue on Global Business-to-Business Marketing! Our global marketplace presents unique challenges to firms that sell goods and services in the business-to-business (B2B) market. B2B marketing is perhaps less appreciated because many B2B marketing activities are behind the scenes for most people. We go into an auto dealership and purchase a car – one business-to-consumer (B2C) transaction. Consider how many B2B transactions occurred in the process of manufacturing that car and bringing it to the consumer (for example, dozens or hundreds of suppliers provide parts and components, capital equipment, soft ware, consulting services and so forth). Consider also how the firm will seek economies in car manufacture, for example, by developing a single platform upon which many lines of cars may be manufactured over several years. Other opportunities for economies may exist in operations, or procurement, or research and development (R&D). Ultimately, all of these components of the B2B marketing activity network combine to offer increased value to the ultimate consumer. Here is the point: all of these components become ten times, or a hundred times, more complex once the firm is on a global scale. And, like competitors in so many other industries, car manufacturers have gone global in a big way. In many ways, B2B marketing resembles B2C marketing. Analysis of the customer base, the competition and the market and technology environment leads to the development of a marketing strategy (segmentation, targeting and positioning) and marketing programs (product, price, promotion and distribution). Brand value is also becoming critical, even in the B2B market setting (Han & Sung, 2008 ). But there are special challenges facing B2B marketers, especially those operating on a global scale. Product demand may be very volatile and uncertain, and demand may depend heavily on the target country’s stage of development. Steel exporters, for example, might target countries in early stages of development (some parts of the Middle East, for example, or sub-Saharan Africa) due to their great need for basic infrastructure. Also, unlike B2C producers, B2B marketers experience the effects of derived demand. As was illustrated by the “ Intel Inside ” campaign, derived demand is one of the most representative characteristics of B2B marketing. A components manufacturer for the car or aircraft industry experiences sales shortfalls and possibly inventory overstock if demand for cars or aircraft slows. Some carmakers may have better strategies for smoothing out peaks and valleys in fi nal demand, which in turn lessens unpredictability due to derived demand. Toyota or Ford, for example, produce and sell cars in many parts of the world, so a slowdown in the European market may be balanced by stable sales in North America. On the other hand, there are oft en fewer differences due to cultural reasons, so adaptation of the product or other marketing programs may not be necessary. Businesses in Southeast Asia, Western Europe or North or South America all need laptops, soft ware, projectors, copiers, phones, and so forth, and requirements and preferences are not so different. All B2B marketers care about quality, of course, but when operating on a global scale, one must consider global quality standards. Manufacturers wishing to export parts and components for sale strive to meet ISO 9000 certification standards. This is a set of industrial standards developed to assess and assure quality control, including quality of delivery and levels of customer satisfaction. Many B2B buyers, in fact, will not even purchase components from a company that does not have ISO 9000 certifi cation. At the same time, getting and maintaining the certifi cation can be a big competitive advantage for a B2B marketer. Let us not forget the importance of B2B services. Many service providers, such as banks, advertising agencies, market research firms, accoun...

From the Special Issue Editor

C. Anthony Di Benedetto 한국마케팅과학회 2015 마케팅과학연구 Vol.25 No.1

Welcome to the JGSMS Special Issue on Global New Product Development!In today’s global marketplace, firms need to consider how to leverage their globalscale and scope in order to improve new product development. In the car industry, forexample, it is hard to imagine a major car company trying to protect its home nichemarket. Its competitors have already extended their scope to many manufacturing anddesign centers around the world, resulting in better products that incorporate bettertechnology, developed in less time and at lower overall cost. Consider Ford as a typicalexample. Ford has incorporated a Global Product Development System and a GlobalVehicle Program. Since the inception of these programs, Ford has specialized theengineering for each car component by location. One engineering plant, for example, isresponsible for exhaust systems for all cars using a given platform and sold worldwide;another would be assigned the task of engineering all steering columns. Since the design ofthese components is consistent globally, every Ford built on a given platform will “feel”the same and “sound” the same when being driven, regardless of where it was actuallymade. Ford claims reductions in engineering costs of 60% between 2005 and 2008, andnew global cars such as the Ford Fusion have been successfully launched into the worldmarket (Vasilash, 2009). Ford successfully targets these products at consumers around theworld, since they have very similar desires regarding fuel economy, environmentalimpact, comfort, technology and safety. While cost reductions of this type are certainly impressive, one must also consider thechallenges involved in global new product development. While most of a car may bestandardized to take advantage of scale economies, certain adaptations will need to bemade to customize the product to the needs of the marketplace. A car may have airconditioning or automatic gear shifting as standard in the North American market, whilethese may be sold as options in Europe or Asia. Some cars will have the steering wheel onthe left side and others on the right, depending on the convention in the target country. Other small design differences may need to be made for safety or emission-controlreasons. Even if the tangible product is standardized throughout the world, its positioningmay differ across markets. Mercedes-Benz and BMW cars are sold as prestigious luxuryvehicles in the North American market, at a higher price point than in Germany, theircountry of origin, and other European countries. Honda cars are sold as youth-orientedcars in Japan and high-quality cars in North America. There are other interesting concerns as well. For example, managing a global productteam presents its own challenges: meetings will mostly be of the virtual type, there may belanguage or cultural barriers, and of course time zones can be tricky as well. But an abilityto leverage the skills and different problem-solving capabilities of the various global teammembers should outweigh these difficulties. Another consideration: should the sameproduct produced in the home market be sold in global markets, or should adaptations ortotally new products be sold globally? There is much new intriguing research on productdevelopment for the bottom-of-the-pyramid (BOP) market – emerging or developingmarkets that nevertheless offer much untapped potential. For example, a phonemanufacturer could take an existing phone and remove features so as to sell it at a cheaperprice point, or simply build a totally new phone that specifically addresses consumer needsin that market (Dubiel & Ernst, 2013). Nokia developed a phone charger for the Indianmarket which used bicycle power: the rider charges the phone when pedaling his or herbicycle to work (Bagla, 2011). Finally, a firm that is accustomed to engineering anddesigning a product for its home market may now seek to become a global player in itsindustry. This is happening currently with firms such as L...

Consumer innovativeness and consideration set as antecedents of the consumer decision process for highly globalized new products: a three-country empirical study

김우양,C. Anthony Di Benedetto,James M. Hunt 한국마케팅과학회 2012 마케팅과학연구 Vol.22 No.1

In global, competitive markets, an understanding of consumer innovativeness is required to manage the adoption process for new high-tech products. Crucial to this understanding is the role of culture. Although a key element in the process by which consumer innovativeness and product experience impact consideration sets, little research exists regarding howculture actuallymoderates that process. In this study,weinvestigate the role that culture plays in facilitating the relationship between consumers’ general and domainspecific innovativeness, and their decision-making as characterized by the size and composition of their consideration sets. We undertake this work in the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, and the United States. We develop and test several research hypotheses pertaining to cultural effects on decision-making. The results support most of our hypotheses, suggesting that it is important for global marketers to target markets on the basis of domain-specific measures of consumer innovativeness.

Consumer innovativeness and international consumer behavior: Comments and extensions

김우양,C. Anthony Di Benedetto,James M. Hunt 한국마케팅과학회 2017 마케팅과학연구 Vol.27 No.3

This study aims to discuss consumer innovativeness, as proffered by Kim, Di Benedetto, and Hunt in the Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science and found in other work carried out by Kim et al. We first review research pertaining to the dimensionality of innovativeness in the study of the consumer decision process. We then review current trends in research regarding innovation. Finally, we make several suggestions in the interests of improving research on the concept, with a particular focus on social interaction surrounding various forms of innovation.

前衛時裝和前衛時裝革新

( Dan Zhang ),( C. Anthony Di Benedetto ) 한국마케팅과학회 2010 Journal of Global Fashion Marketing Vol.1 No.4

This is a study of the related concepts of radical fashion and radical fashion innovation. Radical fashions are defined here as those that may never enter the market at all, and exist primarily on runway shows, in exhibitions and in publicity; by contrast, radical fashion innovations may be very successful in the marketplace. Radical fashions represent a clear break from the old designs, as opposed to incremental fashions, which are defined as an extension or evolution of the old designs. Using this definition, radical fashion seems to be at odds with the definition of marketable fashion. Nevertheless, while most radical fashions do not enter the market at all and live only in runway shows, exhibitions, and museums, there are many examples of radical fashion innovations successful in the market. Accordingly, a series of questions rise: What is radical fashion? What is radical fashion innovation? What are the differences and similarities between these, and how are they connected? This study seeks to address these questions, using a foundation developed in the radical product innovation literature. Fashion innovations may be in terms form or function, or style, and can be radical (involving the breaking down of old ideas) or incremental (involving the evolution of new ideas from old ideas). We draw from the radical product innovation literature to build two related models. The first is a model of radical fashion and radical fashion innovation that illustrates the components of both concepts. The second is a model of radical fashion innovation diffusion, drawn from the general product innovation diffusion literature, which explores the evolution of and the connections between these two concepts from the beginning (i.e., the radical fashion) to the end (i.e., success in the mass market). Radical fashion may result in designs that are more suitable for the runway, catalogues, or even museum display, than for actual wear. Radical fashion has sometimes been called "new ideas before their marketing phase." Radical fashion may successfully enter the market, however, and gain wide acceptance among consumers. The transition from radical fashion to radical fashion innovation is not too different from the transition from invention to innovation, which is familiar to researchers in product innovation. Notable in this transition process is the fact that, for many product innovations, what drives the first customers to purchase (the "Visionaries," to use Moore`s terminology in his "crossing the chasm" model of innovation diffusion) may be very different from what drives the rest of the market (the "Pragmatists."). If this "chasm" or divide between the two market segments is not recognized, the innovating firm may find that their product stalls during the diffusion process and never effectively reaches the mass market. In the case of fashion products, visionaries (such as celebrities and the fashion press) prime the market and create favorable word of mouth; yet, at the same time, less-radical, wearable designs may be seen on the runway, or may be manufactured for the mass market and sold through department stores, specialty clothing stores, or even discounters. The most successful worldwide designers instinctively know this, and can continuously produce radically innovative fashion which also usually transitions to the mass market successfully. They recognize the need to reach the visionaries successfully to generate sufficient publicity and word of mouth, and also to use product design, promotion, and distribution strategies, as well as appropriate price lining policies, to reach the mass market (the pragmatists) effectively. We conclude with generalized findings and managerial implications for firms in the fashion industry. We attempt to bring the radical innovation literature, and its understanding of the process of radical innovation diffusion in the marketplace, to the expanding discussion of fashion marketing success strategic development.

Launch timing and launch activities proficiency as antecedents to new product performance

Roger Calantone,C. Anthony Di Benedetto,Gaia Rubera 한국마케팅과학회 2012 마케팅과학연구 Vol.22 No.4

Accelerating time to market is widely viewed as a contributor to increased new product sales and profit performance. The new product literature also agrees that better performance of the activities related to product launch should result in improved product performance. Relatively less understood, however, is the important role played by launch timing. That is, the firm must choose the correct moment to launch the product with respect to the objectives of top management, distributors, and customers. The emerging literature on this topic suggests a complex relationship between launch timing, launch activities, and new product performance. Based on the literature on market orientation, time-to-market acceleration, launch timing, project management leadership, and cross-functional integration, we develop a conceptual model of new product performance. We empirically test the model using data from US-based product managers. We find that market orientation, cross-functional integration, and leadership style are significant antecedents to timing and speed to market as well as to launching activities proficiency, both of which lead to improved new product performance. We conclude with managerial recommendations and implications.