Strategic management for product development

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to shed light on understanding how value creation can be improved by developing dynamic capabilities in product development, in the case of a software engineering process.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology involves a single‐case, longitudinal empirical study by progression of cycles of action research and data collection during a seven‐year period (1 January 2004‐31 November 2010), comprising 55 corporate projects.FindingsThis study will provide significant new information about value creation in multi‐disciplined product development. The study integrates value considerations into the principles and practices of software engineering, implements the aspect of dynamic capabilities in a software engineering process in order to create and sustain competitive advantage. As a result of the study, a model of value creation for software engineering process is created and guidelines are established.Research limitations/implicationsThe contextual features were strongly present during the research process, which means that the model created needs to be tested in other settings by other researchers.Practical implicationsThe results of the study provide management with guidelines for developing and maintaining the importance of value creation in the software engineering process.Originality/valueThe paper presents a new model of value creation for the software engineering process in product development, through which competitive advantage is created and sustained.