Using Early Concept Narratives to Collect Valid Customer Input about Breakthrough Technologies: The Effect of Application Visualization on Transportation

Using Early Concept Narratives to Collect Valid Customer Input about Breakthrough Technologies: The Effect of Application Visualization on Transportation

Van den Hende, E.A.
Schoormans, J.P.L.
Morel, K.P.N.
Lashina, T.
Van Loenen, E.
De Boevere, E.I.

Industrial Design Engineering

Product Innovation Management

2007-05-01

The value of early customer input has long been recognized by companies. However, especially when breakthrough technologies are involved, more insight in valuable methods for collecting early customer input is needed. In this paper, we propose a method to evaluate a breakthrough technology with customers. First, a creative process should point out applications of the breakthrough technology. Applications allow customers to imagine the benefits of the technology behind it. By using early concept narratives, typically scenarios of somebody using and interacting with the application, this imagination process is enhanced. When no prototypes are available yet, it appears that narratives and visuals allow customers to really “see” the new world of the application, a process called transportation, which is a mix of imagery, feelings, and attention. In an experiment in which we make use of a case of an application of a breakthrough technology, we provide empirical support for our claim that early concept narratives could be a valuable tool to get valid customer reactions. Furthermore, we show which kind of visual format the applications should have in order to optimize transportation. The results of this study will support decision making about how to pursue breakthrough application evaluations early in the product development process.

concept testing
narrative transportation
product evaluation
imagery
realism

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:911c0f7b-6b8c-4e91-96c4-9dd1350ab2c5

Elsevier

Technological Forecasting & Social Change, 74 (9), 2007, p. 1773-1787 (authors version)

Institutional Repository

journal article

(c) 2007 Van den Hende, E.A. et al.