Lectura-Aschehoug Gestion Ambiental

8132019 Lectura-Aschehoug Gestion Ambiental

httpslidepdfcomreaderfulllectura-aschehoug-gestion-ambiental 113

Environmental information from stakeholders supporting product development

Silje Helene Aschehoug a Casper Boks b Sigurd Stoslashren a

a Department of Engineering Design and Materials Norwegian University of Science and Technology N-7491 Trondheim Norwayb Department of Product Design Norwegian University of Science and Technology N-7491 Trondheim Norway

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history

Received 2 December 2009Received in revised form16 January 2012Accepted 25 February 2012Available online 2 March 2012

Keywords

StakeholderEnvironmental informationEnvironmental expectationsProduct development

a b s t r a c t

This article presents the results from an in-depth single case study in the Norwegian manufacturing

industry The scope of the research has been to identify collect and compile product developmentrelevant environmental information from the 1047297rmrsquos external stakeholders and compare this withinternal stakeholdersrsquo knowledge on the same issue Main results yield a substantial gap betweenenvironmental information availability and environmental information knowledge within this 1047297rmpartly due to limited stakeholder collaboration The understanding of information usefulness was foundto be affected by business priorities and goals internal competence in addition to function andprofessional training The competent use and exploitation of relevant environmental information inproduct development has the potential to add value to products beyond functionality quality and costand hence in general enhance 1047297rmsrsquo competitiveness

2012 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved

1 Introduction

Increasing pressure from key stakeholders is forcing 1047297rms tochange their business performance by not only focusing on 1047297nan-cial value creation but also on value creation in ecological andsocial terms (Cramer 2002) Tougher market competition global-ization of the economy changing human and societal valuesincreasing transparency and new forms of partnerships between1047297rms and other organizations are some trends that are expected tofurther change the playing 1047297elds of 1047297rms (Elkington1998) In termsof product development the shift in environmental policies andlaws pertaining to products puts further pressures on 1047297rms todevelop more environmentally friendly products (Maxwell and vander Vorst 2003)

In ecodesign researchers have developed tools and methodol-ogies for environmental considerations of products (Baumann

et al 2002 Byggeth and Hochschorner 2006 Karlsson andLuttropp 2006) with a predominant product and process datafocus As product development and design may be regarded as aninformation transformation process (Hubka et al 1988) or aninformation process relevant environmental information (EI) maybe considered a prerequisite for making informed decisions in thevarious stages of product development EI has to be ldquocollectedcompiled and disseminatedrdquo (Erlandsson and Tillman 2009)

Relevant information may be found among the different actors of a system Consequently dealing with environmental issues on thelevel of product design and manufacturing only or on the level of a single 1047297rm is insuf 1047297cient (Baumann et al 2002) Otherresearchers have previously addressed EI in the context of greeningthe innovation process (Foster and Green 2000) or EI collectionmanagement and communication (Erlandsson and Tillman 2009)EI relevant for supporting product development speci1047297cally asde1047297ned in this article is less explored

This article aims to address EI in manufacturing 1047297rms ina product development context using stakeholder theory asa research framework As stakeholders may be loosely described asldquoanything in 1047298uencing or in 1047298uenced by the 1047297rmrdquo (Freeman 1984Donaldson and Preston 1995) stakeholder theory seems appro-priate for addressing EI among the different actors of a system EI isin this article de1047297ned by the authors as stakeholder information

elements concerning the environment potentially capable of contrib-uting to knowledge in product development The goal of EI use inproduct development is to increase a 1047297rmrsquos ability to developenvironmentally friendly and commercially viable products EI ina product development context explicitly includes informationbeyond internal product and process data It encompasses infor-mation like customersrsquo environmental perception of a productNGOsrsquo campaigns targeted at environmentally harmful industrialpractices lsquointelligencersquo on competitorsrsquo environmental marketingand product portfolio strategies and upcoming laws and regula-tions EI also includes environmental expectations (EE) from 1047297rmstakeholders what 1047297rm stakeholders truly want from a product

Corresponding author Tel thorn47 40616264E-mail address siljeaschehougsintefno (SH Aschehoug)

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

Journal of Cleaner Production

j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e w w w e l s e v i e r co m l o c a t e j c l e p r o

0959-6526$ e see front matter 2012 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved

doi101016jjclepro201202031

Journal of Cleaner Production 31 (2012) 1e13



and a 1047297rm concerning environmental issues EE are important andintegral parts of EI but are in this article emphasized separately todemonstrate the potential value of also using more EE in productdevelopment EE are often less tangible less clearly expressed partsof EI and may also require transformation into performancerequirements before being used in product development egthrough the use of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) (Andersenand Fagerhaug 2002)

Through a case study it will be explored to what extent externalstakeholders haveEI including EE relevant to product developmentand to what extent the 1047297rm is knowledgeable about this informa-tion Hence the purpose of this article is to investigate if thestakeholder approach is viable for the identi1047297cation collection andcompilation of relevant EI including EE and to clarify the EIincluding EE structure among various stakeholders A theoreticalbackground to support the case study will 1047297rst be described beforethe article summarizes results main conclusions as well as prop-ositions for future research

2 Research framework

Information is required to make knowledge based decisions inproduct development hence our research partly draws on theassumption that manufacturing 1047297rms may experience synergiesfrom identi1047297cation and subsequent use of more relevant EIincluding EE in product development On one level relevantinformation for product development is available from externalstakeholders On another level information is received and inter-preted by different internal stakeholders We wish to explore whatinformation is available ldquoout thererdquo and compare it to in-houseknowledge as shown in Fig 1The research questions that will beexplored in a product development context are

Level 1 What EI including EE is available from externalstakeholders

Level 2 What EI including EE does the 1047297rm know about

Our research framework for studying EI including EE in productdevelopment in manufacturing 1047297rms elaborates and builds onprevious work by Foster and Green (Foster and Green 2000) andErlandsson and Tillman (Erlandsson and Tillman 2009) and isbased on stakeholder theory (Freeman 1984)

3 Theoretical background

As an introduction to the exploration of scienti1047297c literaturesupporting our case study approach we will begin by clarifying the

nature of information and knowledge Data information andknowledge are often viewed as being part of a sequential orderdata as the raw material for information and information being theraw material for knowledge (Zins 2007) Information may broadlybe regarded as what people need to be able to carry out their work(Braganza 2004) others describe information as an elementdescribing a fact (Hicks et al 2002) According to Nonaka infor-mation can loosely be described as a 1047298ow of messages whereasknowledge is created and organized from the information 1047298owstrongly in1047298uenced by and rooted in the commitments and beliefsof the holder (Nonaka 1994) Hence identi1047297ed collected andcompiled EI including EE have the potential to contribute toknowledge through being utilized

31 What EI and EE are available from external stakeholders

The general importance of stakeholder theory was 1047297rst intro-duced into strategic management literature through Freemanrsquosoriginal work in 1984 (Freeman 1984) and has later gained greatpopularity and importance Stakeholders may be de1047297ned as ldquoany

group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of

the 1047297rmrsquo

s objectiverdquo

(Freeman 1984) or ldquo

organizations institutionsor persons affected by or with a vested interest in the organization and

its business processes who hold expectations with regard to products

or services delivered by the organization through the businessprocesses that produce these products or services and support andenable the production of them (Andersen 1999)rdquo Commonlymentioned external stakeholder groups are shareholders 1047297nancialinstitutions competitors customers NGOs media governmentindustry associations academia and suppliers Internal stake-holders include management employees and unions (Andersenand Fagerhaug 2002) The relationship between a 1047297rm and itsstakeholders is characterized by a mutual exchange process of money goods information and expectations (Andersen andFagerhaug 2002) Our interest is the information and expecta-tions 1047298ows on environmental issues relevant to productdevelopment

Literature suggests approaching the stakeholders directly toidentify true insights (Andersen and Fagerhaug 2002) Obtainingthe required information may however be a challenge as there arelarge numbers of stakeholders involved and the majority of theseare not within the 1047297rmrsquos control (Erlandsson and Tillman 2009)The further upstream or downstream in the value chain thesestakeholders are situated the more dif 1047297cult it may be to interactand obtain relevant information Some 1047297rms may not be willing toshare information with other stakeholders in the value chain forproprietary reasons (Waage 2007) Also 1047297rms may be unaware of

Level 1 External Stakeholders

Environmental Information Flow Environmental Expectations Flow

Community

Customers Consumers Competitors Suppliers Media

ShareholdersFinancial Inst Academics All iance part

NGOsGovernment

Sales Marketing ProductionProcurement Logistics Management HRProduct Development

Level 2 Internal Stakeholders

Fig 1 EI and EE 1047298

ow among stakeholders

SH Aschehoug et al Journal of Cleaner Production 31 (2012) 1e132



which EI including EE could bene1047297t them Hence we believe theremust be an incentive for 1047297rm stakeholders to successfully exchangeinformation for example the potential of increased 1047297rm competi-tiveness through environmental improvements (Porter and van derLinde 1995)

One way of overcoming these obstacles may be to involveexternal stakeholders more directly in the 1047297rm business processesSuch involvement in product development may be both situationand 1047297rm speci1047297c Traditionally stakeholders have not been directlyinvolved in the generation of new ideas (Polonsky and Ottman1998) although supplier and consumer collaboration in productdevelopment is becoming increasingly common (Polonsky andOttman 1998 Hoffmann 2007 Darnall et al 2008) A model forstakeholder ldquoinformativerdquo ldquoconsultativerdquo or ldquodecisionalrdquo participa-tion may provide the opportunity for generating the required EIincluding EE (Oxley Green and Hunton-Clarke 2003) Informativeparticipation involves information transformation from one bodyto another Consultative participation involves more involvementstakeholders are asked for their opinion on speci1047297c issues Deci-sional participation refers to when the stakeholders participate inthe actual decision making process Decisional participation ismore likely to yield long-term success as decisions are mutually

agreed upon and thereby more socially acceptable (Oxley Greenand Hunton-Clarke 2003)

32 What do 1047297rms know

A 1047297rm is likely to possess a certain degree of knowledge aboutits stakeholdersrsquo performance and expectations through meetingsformal and in-formal communication internet news regulationsas well as supply chain management marketing and bench-marking activities The way a 1047297rm distributes such EI including EEwithin the organization and thus contributes to the possible crea-tion of knowledge has the potential to affect actions and prioritiesin product development

Stakeholder pressure is exerted and received at different levels

in a 1047297rm (Delmas and Toffel 2004) Community pressure maytypically be targeted at plant level whereas shareholder pressuremay be targeted at corporate level The way internal stakeholdersreact may depend on the recipientrsquos organizational belonging Forexample engineers may perceive environmental pressure differ-ently than legal departments Legal departments are likely tointerpret pressure in terms of risk liability and lawsuits whereasengineering designers may perceive environmental pressure as anincentive for creativity The information source itself may also bepart of the cultural framing in the sense that the managersrsquoperception of the source may in1047298uence the way managers adopttheir environmental practices (Henriques and Sadorsky 1999Delmas and Toffel 2004) In this perspective information fromshareholders is likely to be viewed as more important to product

development than NGO information concerning the same matterIndividuals within an organization constantly work to recreateand 1047297t the world into their own perspectives (Nonaka 1994) hencetheir personal values beliefs and knowledge on environmentalissues will strongly in1047298uence how they understand and assessstakeholdersrsquo information and requirements A manager with greatknowledge of and commitment to environmental issues is likely tobe perceptive and respond to environmental expectations Amanager with less commitment to environmental issues is morelikely to overlook or disregard such expectations Moreovermanagerial attitudes and roles as motivators play an important roleforthe environmental pro-activityof the1047297rm (Gonzaacutelez-Benito andGonzaacutelez-Benito 2008)

Employees are also affected directly and indirectly by the 1047297rmrsquos

values priorities and actions Environmental policies and

management systems are direct sources of environmental infor-mation to be used to guide strategically the development process(Maxwell and vander Vorst 2003) Other relevant information maybe related to materials and chemicals used pollutants releasedenergy sources logistics and distribution methods (Erlandsson andTillman 2009) although predominantly product and processrelated In-house environmental performance is also expected toaffect employeesrsquo actions and priorities A 1047297rm that pollutes thelocal river is likely to have less environmentally committedemployees than 1047297rms that continuously work to improve theirenvironmental performance

Indeed different people in different organizational domainswith different attitudes and responsibilities will look for differentsources of information and employ different ways of searching tosatisfy their different needs They may also be unaware of eachotherrsquos knowledge and might not see the bene1047297t of nor have theincentive to combine different types of information and knowledgeIncreased use and exploitation of such information is expected tobe bene1047297cial to the development of more environmentally benignproducts and in turn increased competitiveness

4 Research design and methodology

Little research exists on EI including EE related to productdevelopment therefore an in-depth exploratory case study in theNorwegian manufacturing industry was chosen Exploratory casestudies are considered strong in early stages of research whenvariables are still relatively unknown and the phenomenon notcompletely understood (Karlsson 2009) A detailed researchprotocol was developed and discussed with experiencedresearchers to enhance reliability and validity of the researchincluding case selection and sampling pre-visit preparations onsite data collection instruments who to contact triangulationrecording analysis and communication with the 1047297rm

Case collection and sampling are critically important for caseresearch and include relevance for research questions if the

phenomenon to be studied may appear and if it is feasible andethical (Karlsson 2009) Against this background we searched fora 1047297rm with high environmental standards to ensure that environ-mental concerns were integral parts of daily business We alsotargeted a 1047297rm of a certain size in order to be able to study EIincluding EE in a multiple stakeholder environment Having in-house product development logistics and sales departments wasalso important so that in-house knowledge on EI including EE wereavailable for study

In order to explore what EI including EE are available fromexternal stakeholders we interviewed 1e5 individuals from eachstakeholder group selected in cooperation with the 1047297rm to ensureinclusion of the most important ones 30 external stakeholderswithin different positions were interviewed to ensure that not only

the management perspective was included The interviews wereperformed through a combination of direct and telephone inter-views in 2010 In addition marketing material and annual reportsetc were used as additional sources of information

12 semi-structured interviews were performed within the 1047297rmin 2009 six within product development and six within theremaining departments Representatives from RampD sales produc-tion logistics and management were interviewed to obtaina representative picture on in-house knowledge Sales representa-tives have 1047297rsthand experience with customers and consumersProduction has information on internal processes governmentaland community relations Logistics has valuable information on the1047297rmrsquos extended supply chain Management has informationregarding the business setting including shareholders 1047297nancial

institutions and alliance partners And1047297

nally RampD was included as

SH Aschehoug et al Journal of Cleaner Production 31 (2012) 1e13 3



they have information from academia NGOs competitors andmost importantly knowledge as to what kind of information isused as input in decision making processes and evaluations inproduct development In addition to semi-structured interviewsdocument analysis and direct observations were used for datacollection within the 1047297rm The interviews and data collection werespread over time to allow for re1047298ection and to reduce the risk of ldquogoing nativerdquo (Karlsson 2009) Repeated visits were made toclarify previous information or to gather more information Tofurther increase the case study focus only one product group wasstudied within the 1047297rm

5 Results

51 Firm characteristics

The selected 1047297rm is part of a corporation counting six 1047297rms our1047297rm being the largest in terms of sales and revenues The 1047297rm islocated in Norwayand has a supply base of twentycore suppliers in10 different countries Based on revenues of approximately USD 65million in 2009 more than 90 of the 1047297rmrsquos revenues come from

the studied product group The production is fully automated andannual production volume exceeded 12 million units in 2009 Thecase 1047297rm does not produce for stock hence the production volumeis constantly adapted to sales Their overall goal is to be worldnumber one within its product segment Reduced cycle time inproduction and increased ef 1047297ciencyare also important areas for the1047297rm The case 1047297rm employs approximately 100 persons andproduces mostly for a global market

Approximately 5e10 of annual revenues are spent on productdevelopment activities either incremental improvements toexisting products or on new product development (NPD) Incre-mental improvements are typically driven by production problemsthe wish to streamline a particular process in production or thewish to enter a new market with an existing product NPD activitiesare typically driven by strategic decisions to develop new productsegments Development projects are run equally for NPD andimprovement projects but the development activities are limitedto existing production technology platforms Based on interviewsobservations and documents we 1047297nd support to characterize thedevelopment process as informal and democratic all employeesare encouraged to propose new ideas and projects

52 Interview results and discussions

Information from interviews with external stakeholderstogether with in-house information was analyzed and compiledaccording to Fig 2 Firm level refers to information and expecta-tions regarding environmental practices and issues at production

site Product level information and expectations refers to environ-mental properties of the product itself

Tables 1 and 2 demonstrate the EI including EE potentiallyrelevant to product development Envisioning a generic productdevelopment process (Cross 2008) the results in Tables 1and 2may be used as input for the development of environmentalproduct speci1047297cations and requirements in the development of alternative environmentally friendly product schemes and forchoosing between different solutions

521 The environmental information gap

Competitorsrsquo product portfolios are explored through productbenchmarking to obtain information relevant to product develop-ment The 1047297rm continuously tears down and examines competi-torsrsquo products to learn what others are doing as recommended inliterature (Boks and Stevels 2003) Environmental issues havehowever not been targeted in such activities by the 1047297rm andprovides a yet unexploited potential for more EI In this study theformer competitor interviewed was willing to share a full LCA fora similar product The LCA clearly identi1047297es which life cycle phasesthe case 1047297rm could target for environmental improvements inproduct development Besides the reported increased customer

focus on environmental product performance is a clear signal to the1047297rm to further improve its product through product developmentThe observed gap between EI availability and EI knowledge in thisdomain was suggested by the 1047297rm to exist due to lack of customerand regulatory demand for EI use in general

To some extent this statement was supported by EI resultsconcerning the major national customer (network-dealer) little EIwas suggested by the customer The customer reported solely ona consumer poll concerning the productrsquos use phasea poll inwhichenvironmental issues had not been topic For con1047297dentialityreasons only one customer was allowed to participate in this studyHence this result could potentially differ if more customers wereinterviewed on this topic On the other hand based on the currentresults the 1047297rm was very knowledgeable about its customers and

no signi1047297cant EI gap was observed Main information generatingactivities described by the case 1047297rm included regular sales andmanagement meetings with customers Contrary to recommen-dations in literature (Oxley Green and Hunton-Clarke 2003) theinformation gathering was described as an ad-hoc informativeprocess by the interviewees rather than consultative or decisionalparticipation which is likely to yield greater long term successAnother important issue concerns the understanding of informa-tion which is dependent on cultural context personal goals andprofession (Nonaka 1994 Gonzaacutelez-Benito and Gonzaacutelez-Benito2008) Hence sales and management may unintentionally 1047297lterout or miss the opportunity of obtaining relevant EI as they arelikely to be mostly occupied with sales numbers pricing anddelivery Consequently a standardization of information generating

activities including EI could be bene1047297cial to the 1047297rmContrary to the reported lack of regulatory demand for EI use governmental institutions provided several statements like ldquowe

expect BAT information to be used in product development rdquo State-ments like this clearly signal that the government expects EI to beused in product development although this is not yet a strictrequirement As the government is the provider and administratorof EI in1047298uential to product development the national and ECcandidate lists on hazardous substances and pre-regulations onextended producer responsibility for instance should be relevantwhen the 1047297rm develops environmental product speci1047297cations andrequirements or in choosing between different product schemesand solutions Such EI on future regulations may provide the 1047297rmwith a competitive advantage provided early integration in devel-

opment activities The case 1047297

rm was knowledgeable on a general

Firm LevelEnvironmental

Expectations


Information

Product LevelEnvironmentalExpectations

Product LevelEnvironmental

Information

External Stakeholders

I n t er n al S t ak eh ol d er s

Fig 2 EI and EE matrix




Table 1

Environmental information - 1047297rm and product level

Environmental information

Firm level externalstakeholders ldquoInformation

onrdquo

Product level externalstakeholders ldquoInformation

onrdquo

Firm level in-houseknowledge ldquoinformation

onrdquo

Product level in-houseknowledge ldquoinformation

onrdquo

Competitors- Largest competitor

1 interview

- Different manufacturingsolutions

- Customersrsquo increased focuson environmental issues in

general- EOL the outer part can be

recycled the inner part canbe incinerated for energyrecovery

- Full LCA available forsimilar product with goodresult

- Different product solutions- LCC which is lower than

competitor alternative

- None - Marketing and salesmaterial on environmental

issues publicly accessible oneg internet fairs andexhibitions

Customers- Largest National

Customer1 interview

- None - Consumers use scenariosof product in general

- Requirements for standardslike ISO 9001 ISO 14001ISO 14040

- Concerns on environmentalissues regarding productcontent rather than theproduct itself

- Positive environmentalperception of the 1047297rm

- Customersrsquo environmentalstandards

- Requirements for productspeci1047297c certi1047297cates

- Reclamationsfrom customers- Customersrsquo future product

environmental requirementsand preferences

- Customersrsquo demands todevelop more environmentallyfriendly products

- Customersrsquo willingness topay extra for moreenvironmentally friendlyproducts

- Customersrsquo increasinglyinquiring about EOL

Consumers5 interviews

- Perception of 1047297rmreputation which increasespositively if 1047297rm exceedsmandatory requirementson environmentalperformance

- Requirements for easilyaccessible EI on product

- Preferences for the mostenvironmentally friendlyproduct at equal price

- Acceptance of smallpremium (5e10) for

superior environmentalperformance- Preferences for color

schemes which symbolizethe environmentalperformance of the product

- None - Product reclamations orproblems forwarded fromcustomer

Government- The National Climate

and Pollution Agency2 interviews

- Willingness to assist 1047297rmson information onup-coming EC regulationsand their implications

- BATa and BREFb on internetcontinuously updated withnew info

- BAT and BREF which arenot legally binding but willbe used as guidelines inaudits

- Newsletters on regulationsregularly distributed

- National priority list(substitution list) on 30hazardous substances

- EC priority list on forbiddenhazardous substances

- EC candidate list onhazardous substances

- New regulations (banningof chemicals)

- Existing regulations


- Existing regulationsc

- Exportimport countriesrsquo

regulations

Community- The municipality1 interview

- Green papers relevant tothe industry

- Environmental conditionsin local river

- Local discharge data- Regulations for land

deposits of productionwaste

- None - None

Media- Newspaper radioTV 2 interviews

- None - Relevant issues frominternet new articlesbusiness journals etc

- None - None

(continued on next page)




Table 1 (continued )



onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo

Shareholders- CEO Shareholder

Board Room

Representatives5 interviews

- Attitudes and values onenvironmental issuesnational environmental

requirements notnecessarily applied abroadas they might be negativefor competition

- Attitudes and values onsocial issues child laborabsolutely unacceptable

- Environmental news fromenvironmental institutionsowners engage in

- Market material onsuppliers and competitorsfrom exhibitions

- Attitudes and values onenvironmental issues highenvironmental standardsamong suppliers is oftenrelated to higher quality of materials

- Ongoing work toimplement green supplychain managementstandards in thecorporation which willapply to all subsidiaries

- Strategic documentsconcerning environmentalissues available on internet

and intranet- Environmental technologies

from sister 1047297rms withincorporation

- Experience from customersin other markets theowners are in contact with

- Strategic documentsconcerning environmentalissues available on internetand intranet

- Attitudes and values onenvironmental issues veryhigh cost focus from 1047297rmshareholders environmentallyfriendly products mustalso be cost effective

- Attitudes and values onenvironmental issuespositive shareholders if EOL scenario was improved

Suppliers- Material Suppliers2 interviews

- Suppliersrsquo ownenvironmentalstewardship (eg EMS ISO14001 etc)

- New materials underdevelopment which aremore environmentallyfriendly and have lowersolvent content

- The wish to work togetherto develop moreenvironmentally friendlymaterials

- The wish to be 1047297rst tomarket with a betterenvironmental approachthan competitors

- New materials underdevelopment that arelighter and stronger andhave potential of evenlighter end product

- Suppliersrsquo working andenvironmental conditions

- Suppliersrsquo order andhousekeeping

- Suppliersrsquo ethics- Product Data Sheets

Technical Data SheetsMaterial Safety Data Sheets

- IMDS (InternationalMaterial Data System)

- Adherence to standards(ISO 9001 14001 14040)

- Use of hazardoussubstances in materialsfrom suppliers

- New environmentalproduction technologies

- New materials developedby suppliers

- Collaboration projectsconcerned with moreenvironmentally friendlymaterials

Financial institutions

- Banking Insurancecompanies2 interviews

- Checklists for rating 1047297rm

environmental risk- Green investment fundsavailable from bank

- Financial institutionsrsquo ownenvironmentalstewardship (eg EMS ISO14001 etc)

- New insurance product

concerned withenvironmental liability of products soon available asresponse to stricter ECregulations concerned withextended productresponsibility (EPR)

- Environmental liabilityinsurance which isexpected to become moreimportant in future Willinvolve more comprehensiveenvironmental auditsof 1047297rms and their products

- Financial institutionsrsquo own

environmentalstewardship

- None

Academia- University College

Research Inst

3 interviews

- RampD results from otherprojects

- New materials and EOL handling from other RampDprojects

- Innovations withinproduction processes EOL scenarios and materials

(less harmful chemicals)from other researchprojects or 1047297rms

- Relevant research articles

- Innovations within EOL scenarios and materials(less harmful chemicals)

from other research projectsor 1047297rms




level of the usefulness of governmental EI There was howevera signi1047297cant gap concerning the speci1047297c regulations relevant to the1047297rm In this respect the 1047297rm emphasized that they 1047297nd it hard tokeep track of all relevant existing and upcoming regulations as theydo not know where to look or what to look for The government on

the other hand emphasized the possibility of assisting the 1047297rmwith such issues

Consumers (end-users) are important stakeholders as theiracceptance of a product means either make or break For instanceseveral consumers expressed that they would choose the case1047297rmrsquos product if it was more environmentally friendly at equalprice or they might even accept a small price premium They alsoemphasized that such environmental friendliness preferablyshould be expressed through the productrsquos physical appearanceSuch EI directly affects design speci1047297cations concepts and choicesof solutions The case 1047297rm itself had never aggregated consumerinformation but had instead relied on brief product level reports(polls) from its customers in which environmental issues were notdiscussed This may explain the gap between EI availability and EI

knowledge Caution should however be taken when usingconsumer EI as consumers tend to be environmentally friendlywhen asked but their actions at the purchasing moment showanother behavior (Peattie 2001 Leire and Thidell 2005) Clearlythis demonstrates the importance of uncovering what consumersreally want through eg user centered design activities

A new land deposit regulation for handling of production scrapis an example of EI from the local community which directly affectsthe case 1047297rm This regulation will prohibit deposits of scrap fromthe 1047297rmrsquos production in years to come Dealing with this regulationwhich the 1047297rm was unfamiliar with will require changes both inmanufacturing and product development eg by minimize wasteduring manufacturing or by using more sustainable materialswhich are either easily reused or recycled The use of new materials

will require a fundamental redesign of the 1047297

rmrsquo

s current product

This is one example of EI which is extremely important for the 1047297rmto learn about at the earliest possible convenience but currentlythe 1047297rm and the local community reported to have little formal orinformal contact or collaboration which may account for thepresent information gap The community emphasized the possi-

bility of increased 1047297rm collaborationMedia are powerful communication agents but provided little

relevant EI in this case study The interviews were based on thelocal newspaper and the national broadcasting cooperation Mediathemselves reported to be more interested in presenting otheractorsrsquo information including EI rather than being a source of information themselves by aggregating new information This case1047297rm is known for its world class fully automated manufacturingprocess While reviewing media clips from the last years it becameevident that media focused more on presenting the 1047297rm its radicalincrease in production volume as well as new jobs created ratherthan being a critical information agent Hence the case 1047297rmrsquossporadic cooperation with media is likely to yield positive 1047297rmreputation rather than potentially interesting EI

Shareholders and owners expressed great interest in environ-mental issues especially the corporationrsquos CEO who also workedfor an independent non-pro1047297t NGO aiming at 1047297nding solutions tothe global climate challenge Environmental commitment andengagement are likely to motivate the corporationrsquos subsidiaries onenvironmental issues EI on the ongoing work to implement greensupply chain practices in the entire corporation for instance mayaffect supplier collaboration activities supplier choice choice of materials and possibly product design This is especially the case if current materials are to be substituted or if current suppliers areterminated due to poor environmental performance or new envi-ronmental requirements are implemented by the 1047297rm The 1047297rmwas unfamiliar with this EI even on management level (excludingCEO) Inadequate information 1047298ows either between the 1047297rmand its

shareholders or inside the 1047297

rm itself may explain this information




onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo

Alliance partners- Industry Associations- The Industrial Park

5 interviews

- Breakthroughs in RampD fromindustry or academia

- New and less

environmentally harmfulmaterials from newsletters

journals and conferencemonitoring

- New environmentaltechnologies for production

- RampD on recycling of speci1047297cmaterials

- News from internetrelevant sites

- Political signals on newoperating constraints forindustry segmentregarding stricterenvironmentalrequirements taxes etc


- New and less



- EOL scenario developmentwithin industry

- New areas of researchfunded nationally orinternationally givingsignals on future prioritiesand trends

- New trends within industrysegment

- Environmental issuesthrough knowledgeexchange from working

within similar projectsin other 1047297rms


within similar projects inother 1047297rms

NGOs- Environmental Group1 interviews

- National action plansconcerned with energy useand sources

- None - None - None

a BAT frac14 Best Available Technologyb BREF frac14 European IPPC Bureau Reference Documentc Includes relevant directives and communication from the European Commission (EC) such as REACH (REACH2006)RoHS (RoHS 2002)IPP(IPP2003) IPPC (IPPC 1996)

in addition to national laws and regulations









Environmental expectations

Firm level external stakeholders ldquowe

expect the 1047297rm tordquoProduct level external stakeholders ldquowe

expect the product tordquoFirm level in-house knowledge ldquowe

expect the 1047297rm tordquo

Alliance partners- Industry Associations- The Industrial Park5 interviews

- Comply with laws and regulationsbpreferably perform better

- Be actively concerned withenvironmental issues

- Have life cycle perspective on allwork processes

- Have high HSE standards for allemployees

- Handle production waste in aresponsible manner

-Have good housekeeping- Have deposit system for scrapped

products

- Be made with a life cycle perspectiveand be environmentally friendly

- Entail responsible handling of product EOL

- Be useful with a minimum of environmental footprint

- Be made of less environmentallyharmful materials

- Be easy to assemble and disassemble- Have minimized material input- Be made with reduced use of solvents- Have long lifetime- Be lighter in weight than competitor

alternative

- Comply with laws and regulationsb

- Have diffuse expectations and littleenvironmental focus



- Optimize environmental actions invalue chain perspective

- Have energy ef 1047297cient productionprocesses

- Minimize use of fossil energy sources- Minimize use of hazardous chemicals

in production- Minimize waste from production

- Have environmental performanceindicators- Have green supply chain management

systems- Have zero emission society as

ultimate goal

- Have LCA on product and alternatives- Have minimized use of hazardous

chemicals- Documented environmental

performance through eco-labeling

- None

a HSE frac14 Health Safety and Environmentb Includes relevant directives and communication from the European Commission (EC) such as REACH ( REACH 2006) RoHS (RoHS 2002) IPP (IPP 2003) IPPC (IPPC 199c CSR frac14 Corporate Social Responsibility



gap The 1047297rmrsquos lack of knowledge on shareholder EI and theirproactive attitude is a good example of the importance of actuallyasking stakeholders what they truly want also on environmentalissues

On the other hand the 1047297rm was very knowledgeable about EIfrom its suppliers and only a minor information gap was foundThis concerned one of the main suppliers which is currentlydeveloping an even lighter material with large environmentalbene1047297ts in transportation and use phase of the product As weightis one of the most signi1047297cant factors contributing to the overallenvironmental impact of this product according to the availableLCA implementing the use of this new material may requirea redesign of the current product as well as of the productionlines Besides this EI the case 1047297rmrsquos overall good knowledge onmost EI relevant to product development may be attributed totheir frequent involvement in various collaboration projects withsuppliers Both parties also highlighted the mutual bene1047297t of increased collaboration to develop new and more environmentallybenign materials Mutual bene1047297ts from supplier collaboration inproduct development as part of green supply chain activities havepreviously been reported in literature by other researchers(Darnall et al 2008)

Financial Institutions have the power to directly affect the 1047297rmrsquosbusiness situation through demanding a higher insurancepremium withdrawing capital or refusing to extend loans on poorenvironmental performers They can also favor 1047297rms by offeringlower interest rates based on good performance (Lundgren andCatasus 2000) eg low environmental risk Relevant EI identi1047297edincludes for instance checklist for rating 1047297rm environmental riskavailable green investment funds and a liability insurance productconcerned with stricter EC regulations on extended productresponsibility (EPR) Environmental risk checklists may in1047298uenceboth 1047297rm and product environmental performance If currentproduct andor 1047297rm environmental performance are below par1047297nancial institutions may choose to demand a higher premium orinterest rates or even withdraw capital from the 1047297rm if the 1047297rmrsquos

performance is considered damaging to the 1047297nancial institutionsrsquo

reputation or carries an unacceptably high risk Complying withcriteria for green investment funds on the other hand may be anexcellent way for a 1047297rm to demonstrate to the world and itscustomers its environmental excellence Currently product envi-ronmental improvements affecting product development isrequired by the case 1047297rm before such environmental excellence isachieved Finally EI on the future environmental liability insuranceproducts concerning EPR will affect this case 1047297rm as the currentproduct EOL scenario is unresolved Given this situation the case1047297rm may be faced with the risk of not getting insurance or of paying an unacceptably high insurance premium This situationmay be improved by making radical changes to the product Thecase 1047297rm was however not aware of this EI and how it could

in1047298uence both product development and the 1047297rmrsquos 1047297nancial situ-ation The idea of 1047297nancial institutions in1047298uencing product devel-

opment was completely new to our 1047297rm and is here suggested toexplain the identi1047297ed information gap

Academiarsquo s most important contribution may be its potential toforward new and relevant RampD information as they also exploreinnovation opportunities beyond the scope of industrial RampDAcademiarsquos role as ldquoknowledge brokersrdquo have also previously beendemonstrated in literature (Roy and Theacuterin 2008 Bos-Brouwers2009) Relevant EI in this domain concerned opportunities andsolutions relevant for product EOL handling No information gapwas identi1047297ed in this domain most likely due to current andprevious collaboration with academia on research projects The1047297rm emphasized however time constraint as an obstacle to

pursuing more collaboration

Alliance partners and the 1047297rm have mutual interests in helpingeach other and as such there is a potential for synergies byworking together in development projects Through different forathe 1047297rmrsquos alliance partners access EI on new environmental benignmaterials environmental trends within the industry or productsegments political signals on future operating constraints that maybe implemented or EOL scenarios developed within the industryAll this EI has the potential of in1047298uencing product developmenteither on a strategic level or as direct input on the operative levelPresently our 1047297rm had limited knowledge on EI from its alliancepartners This observed gap between EI availability and EI knowl-edge may be in1047298uenced by an observed ldquowe know bestrdquo attitudeexpressed during the interviews in which the 1047297rm does not fullyappreciate the potential bene1047297ts of closer cooperation with itsalliance partners

The same attitude appeared when discussing NGOs in the case1047297rm which mayexplain the observed EI gap In general NGOs werenot considered important by the 1047297rm interviewees On the otherhand the most in1047298uential environmental NGO in Norway was quitefamiliar with the case 1047297rm and described the new national actionplans concerning energy relevant both to the manufacturing of andthe product itself These action plans may open up new markets to

the case 1047297rm markets in which product development activities arenecessary NGOs are becoming increasingly in1047298uential in society asa whole and it is becoming more common to collaborate withNGOs through inclusion in product development activities orthrough establishing long-term relationships to improve the envi-ronmental performance (Kong et al 2002)

522 The environmental expectations gap

EE is an important part of EIbut often less clearly expressed lesstangible and requires more effort to obtain Some expectations areeven often forgotten due to their obviousness (Andersen andFagerhaug 2002) In this case study the results demonstratea substantial gap between EE availability and EE knowledge withinthe case 1047297rm for all stakeholders except customers The good

knowledge on customer EE may be explained through salesrsquofrequent formal and informal contact with customers on a weeklybasis Sales apply customized tools and checklists for such contactthese are however not standardized across the 1047297rm but vary asthey are based on the sales representativesrsquo individual experienceAs all sales representatives had been with the 1047297rm since its start-up they were highly experienced and had developed both formaland tacit knowledge on their customersrsquo expectations wants anddesires and were able to express more EE than the customerinterviewed An interesting observation was made the tools andchecklists reviewed did not include any reference to environmentalissues As sales representatives they were subjected to culturalframing (reference section 32) Consequently they were mostlyconcerned with sales volumes price and delivery aspects and did

not volunteer to discuss environmental issues unless uponcustomer initiative Given that EE knowledge within the 1047297rmmainly has been acquired through customersrsquo initiative to discusssuch issues and not as the result of a deliberate or targeted actionby the 1047297rm this result could imply that current EE knowledge oncustomers is random and inadequate as not all stakeholdersvoluntarily report expectations unless upon direct questions(Andersen and Fagerhaug 2002) However the fact that only onecustomer was allowed to participate in this research makes itdif 1047297cult to retain or reject such a conclusion

The degree to which this customer knowledge was madeaccessible to others including product development varied greatlyIt was observed that sales had product development relevant EE(and EI) which had not been forwarded to product development as

sales did not 1047297

nd it important Such 1047297

ltering mechanisms are




important as they enable organizations to see certain issues moreclearly by ignoring others as well as avoid information overload(Hoffmann 2007) On the other side such 1047297ltering mechanismsmay result in important EE (and EI) being overlooked or nottransferred to others as this example demonstrates Generallyinformation including EE wasnormally sharedin management forathrough ad-hoc corridors meetings or through minutes of meet-ings Since the 1047297rm lacks formal tools checklists and systems forsystematic identi1047297cation collection compilation and sharing of EEit is expected that all departments will execute a certain level of 1047297ltering as sales did dependent on individual motivation as well as1047297rm priorities and strategies

AgreatvarietyofEEavailabletothe 1047297rm fromother stakeholderswas identi1047297ed as demonstrated in Table2 On1047297rm level forinstancesome stakeholders expected the 1047297rm to operate within all relevantlaws and regulations as a minimum whereas others expected the1047297rm to perform above such As EE are wide-ranging and not alwayscoherent it is possible to use tools (eg Kano model prioritymatrixes) to further analyze expectations to differentiate betweenthe important and not so important ones (Andersen and Fagerhaug2002) Care should be taken when using these tools stakeholdertheory and belonging tools originate from the management

perspective (Donaldson and Preston 1995) not the product devel-opment perspective Hence EE considered unimportant onmanagement level may still be highly relevant to product develop-ment and vice versa The governmental expectation to use BATinformation in product development for instance or NGOsrsquo expec-tations on eco-labeling may be 1047297ltered out in the traditional way of applying these tools as neither governments nor NGOs are consid-ered among the most important stakeholders in such tools

The 1047297rm being unaware on EE from most stakeholders indicatesa lack of interest in the outside world An important in-1047297rm char-acteristic was re1047298ected in many of the answers a sense of self-suf 1047297ciency and ldquowe know bestrdquo attitude Being young with anentrepreneurship conduct and established on a world patentedproduction technology platform may explain this characteristic

Nevertheless this attitude will constantly affect the way the 1047297rmrelates to its surroundings including stakeholders and also to whatextent stakeholders are considered important to 1047297rm and productperformance External stakeholdersrsquo EI and EE have never beendirectly sought collected analyzed or documented in a systematicmanner

523 In 1047298uencing factors

Current 1047297rm priorities are expected to in1047298uence the 1047297rmrsquoswillingness to search for EI including EE relevant to productdevelopment Product level environmental improvements werere1047298ected in neither strategic nor operational goals as opposed to1047297rm level environmental improvements Firm level improvementsdirectly in1047298uence the work environment of employees and as such

are given high priority As a result senior management support forproduct level environmental improvements was reported to belimited hence relevant EI including EE risk being overlooked ordisregarded

The overall low environmental competence and knowledgeobserved during interviews may be yet another factor in1047298uencingthe large EI including EE gap Inadequate competence makes itdif 1047297cult for the individual to know what to look for to assesspotential importance in relation to product development and toknow what to forward inside the 1047297rm Environmental training aswell as systems for collecting and handling EI including EE mayimprove the 1047297rmrsquos ability to close the gap The results inTables 1and 2 clearly demonstrate the potential for identifyingcollecting compiling and exploiting EI including EE bene1047297cially in

product development by improved stakeholder collaboration

Finally most external stakeholders involved in the interviewswere positively surprised and pleased to be approached some even1047298attered Since they have relations to the 1047297rm they were all willingto contribute with EI including EE The case study work itself created a positive impression of the 1047297rm for two main reasons 1)the case 1047297rm cares enough about its stakeholders to ask for theiropinion and 2) the case 1047297rm contributes to society by participatingin research projects

6 Conclusion

The purpose of this research has not been to build new theoryrather the single case study of a Norwegian manufacturing 1047297rm andits stakeholders has provided an extensive overview of differenttypes and sources of EI including EE available and demonstratedthe viability of the stakeholder approach for the identi1047297cationcollection and compilation of EI including EE relevant to productdevelopment

A substantial gap between EI including EE availability ldquowhatrsquosout thererdquo and what the 1047297rm knows of was identi1047297ed through theinterviews The information gap can to a great extent be explainedby the 1047297rmrsquos current information generating activities ad-hocinformative stakeholder participation with a limited number of stakeholders The 1047297rmrsquos willingness to engage in stakeholdercollaboration was largely based on perceived stakeholder impor-tance thus customers competitors and suppliers were used toprovide information on an ad-hoc basis through activities likeproduct benchmarking sales and marketing meetings andcommunication logistics and purchasing activities Based on theresults we 1047297nd support to say that increased stakeholder collabo-ration is likely to yield more relevant EI including EE

The understanding of EI including EE usefulness within the 1047297rmwas found to be affected by current business priorities and goalsinternal competence on environmental issues in addition tofunction and professional training Cultural framing and 1047297lteringmechanisms were observed some departments had access to

relevant EI including EE but did not see the potential bene1047297t of it inrelation to product development others did not actively seek EIincluding EE when in a position to do so

Since product development relies heavily on information (Hickset al 2002) the competent use of EI including EE in productdevelopment have the potential to add value to products beyondfunctionality quality and cost and as a result enhance 1047297rmsrsquo

competitiveness For practitioners the results indicate where 1047297rmscan look for EI including EE and what they can look for Forresearchers the gap between EI including EE availability andknowledge within the 1047297rm indicates a need for further studies onthe information 1047298ows between 1047297rms and their stakeholders ina product development context but also on information 1047298owswithin the 1047297rm itself A future research path we hope to explore

through empirical work is how EI including as de1047297ned in thisarticle can be successfully exploited in product development inmanufacturing 1047297rms

Acknowledgement

This research was funded by the Centre for Research-basedInnovation e Norwegian Manufacturing Future through theNorwegian Research Council

References

Andersen B 1999 Business Process Improvement Toolbox ASQ Press MilwaukeeAndersen B Fagerhaug T 2002 Performance Measurement Explained Designing

and Implementing Your State-of-the-Art System ASQ Press Milwaukee




Baumann H Boons F Bragd A 2002 Mapping the green product development1047297eld engineering policy and business perspectives Journal of CleanerProduction 10 409e425

Boks C Stevels A 2003 Theory and practice of environmental benchmarking ina major consumer electronics company Benchmarking - An International

Journal 10 120e135Bos-Brouwers HEJ 2009 Corporate sustainability and innovation in SMEs

evidence of themes and activities in practice Business Strategy and theEnvironment

Braganza A 2004 Rethinking the data-information-knowledge hierarchy towards

a case-based model International Journal of Information Management 24346e347

Byggeth S Hochschorner E 2006 Handling trade-offs in ecodesign tools forsustainable product development and procurement Journal of CleanerProduction 14 1420e1430

Cramer J 2002 From 1047297nancial to sustainable pro1047297t Corporate Social Responsibilityand Environmental Management 9 99e106

Cross N 2008 Engineering Design Methods - Strategies for Product Design fourthed John Wiley amp Sons Ltd England

Darnall N Jason N Hand1047297eld R 2008 Environmental management systems andgreen supply chain management complements for sustainability BusinessStrategy and the Environment 17 30

Delmas M Toffel MW 2004 Stakeholders and environmental managementpractices an institutional framework Business Strategy and the Environment13 209e222

Donaldson T Preston LE 1995 The stakeholder theory of the corporationconcepts evidence and implications The Academy of Management Review 2065e91

Elkington J 1998 Cannibals with Forks - The Triple Bottum Line of 21st CenturyBusiness New Society Publishers Canada

Erlandsson J Tillman A-M 2009 Analysing in1047298uencing factors of corporateenvironmental information collection management and communication

Journal of Cleaner Production 17 80 0e810Foster C Green K 2000 Greening the innovation process Business Strategy and

the Environment 9 287Freeman R 1984 Strategic Management a Stakeholder Perspective Prentice-Hall

Engelwood Cliffs NJGonzaacutelez-Benito J Gonzaacutelez-Benito Oacute 2008 A study of determinant factors of

stakeholder environmental pressure perceived by industrial companies Busi-ness Strategy and the Environment

Henriques I Sadorsky P 1999 The relationship between environmentalcommitment and managerial perceptions of stakeholder importance TheAcademy of Management Journal 42 87e99

Hicks BJ Culley SJ Allen RD Mullineux G 2002 A framework for the require-ments of capturing storing and reusing information and knowledge in engi-neering design International Journal of Information Management 22 263e280

Hoffmann E 2007 Consumer integration in sustainable product development

Business Strategy and the Environment 16 322Hubka V Andersen MM Eder WE 1988 Practical Studies in Systematic DesignButterworthampCo UK

IPP 2003 Commission of the European Communities COM (2003) 302 1047297nalCommunication from the Commission to the Council and the EuropeanParliament - Integrated product policy - Building on environmental life-cycleThinking

IPPC 1996 Commission of the European Communities Council Directive 9661ECof 24 September 1996 Concerning Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control

Karlsson C 2009 Researching Operations Management Taylor amp FrancisKarlsson R Luttropp C 2006 EcoDesign whatrsquos happening An overview of the

subject area of EcoDesign and of the papers in this special issue Journal of Cleaner Production 14 1291e1298

Kong N Salzmann O Steger U Ionescu-Somers A 2002 Moving businessindustry towards sustainable consumption the role of NGOs EuropeanManagement Journal 20 109e127

Leire C Thidell Aring 2005 Product-related environmental information to guideconsumer purchases - a review and analysis of research on perceptionsunderstanding and use among nordic consumers Journal of Cleaner Production13 1061e1070

Lundgren M Catasus B 2000 The banks rsquo impact on the natural environment - onthe space between rsquowhat isrsquo and rsquowhat if rsquo Business Strategy and the Environ-ment 9 186

Maxwell D van der Vorst R 2003 Developing sustainable products and services Journal of Cleaner Production 11 883e895

Nonaka I 1994 A dynamic theory of organizational knowledge creation Organi-zation Science 5 14e37

Oxley Green A Hunton-Clarke L 2003 A typology of stakeholder participation forcompany environmental decision-making Business Strategy and the Environ-ment 12 292e299

Peattie K 2001 Golden goose or wild goose The hunt for the green consumerBusiness Strategy and the Environment 10 187

Polonsky MJ Ottman JA 1998 Exploratory examination of whether marketersinclude stakeholders in the green new product development process Journal of Cleaner Production 6 269e275

Porter ME van der Linde C 1995 Green and competitive ending the stalemateHaward Business Review 73

REACH 2006 Commission of the European Communities Directive 20061907ECof the European Parliament and of the Council of 18th December 2006 con-cerning the Registration evaluation Authorisation and restriction of chemicals(REACH) establishing a European chemicals Agency

RoHS 2002 Commission of the European Communities Directive 200295EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 th January 2003 on therestriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and elec-tronic equipment

Roy M-J Theacuterin F 2008 Knowledge acquisition and environmental commitmentin SMEs Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management 15249e259

Waage SA 2007 Re-considering product design a practical ldquoroad-maprdquo forintegration of sustainability issues Journal of Cleaner Production 15 638e649

Zins C 2007 Conceptual Approaches for de1047297ning data information and knowl-edge Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology58 479e493




and a 1047297rm concerning environmental issues EE are important andintegral parts of EI but are in this article emphasized separately todemonstrate the potential value of also using more EE in productdevelopment EE are often less tangible less clearly expressed partsof EI and may also require transformation into performancerequirements before being used in product development egthrough the use of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) (Andersenand Fagerhaug 2002)

Through a case study it will be explored to what extent externalstakeholders haveEI including EE relevant to product developmentand to what extent the 1047297rm is knowledgeable about this informa-tion Hence the purpose of this article is to investigate if thestakeholder approach is viable for the identi1047297cation collection andcompilation of relevant EI including EE and to clarify the EIincluding EE structure among various stakeholders A theoreticalbackground to support the case study will 1047297rst be described beforethe article summarizes results main conclusions as well as prop-ositions for future research

2 Research framework

Information is required to make knowledge based decisions inproduct development hence our research partly draws on theassumption that manufacturing 1047297rms may experience synergiesfrom identi1047297cation and subsequent use of more relevant EIincluding EE in product development On one level relevantinformation for product development is available from externalstakeholders On another level information is received and inter-preted by different internal stakeholders We wish to explore whatinformation is available ldquoout thererdquo and compare it to in-houseknowledge as shown in Fig 1The research questions that will beexplored in a product development context are

Level 1 What EI including EE is available from externalstakeholders

Level 2 What EI including EE does the 1047297rm know about

Our research framework for studying EI including EE in productdevelopment in manufacturing 1047297rms elaborates and builds onprevious work by Foster and Green (Foster and Green 2000) andErlandsson and Tillman (Erlandsson and Tillman 2009) and isbased on stakeholder theory (Freeman 1984)

3 Theoretical background

As an introduction to the exploration of scienti1047297c literaturesupporting our case study approach we will begin by clarifying the

nature of information and knowledge Data information andknowledge are often viewed as being part of a sequential orderdata as the raw material for information and information being theraw material for knowledge (Zins 2007) Information may broadlybe regarded as what people need to be able to carry out their work(Braganza 2004) others describe information as an elementdescribing a fact (Hicks et al 2002) According to Nonaka infor-mation can loosely be described as a 1047298ow of messages whereasknowledge is created and organized from the information 1047298owstrongly in1047298uenced by and rooted in the commitments and beliefsof the holder (Nonaka 1994) Hence identi1047297ed collected andcompiled EI including EE have the potential to contribute toknowledge through being utilized

31 What EI and EE are available from external stakeholders

The general importance of stakeholder theory was 1047297rst intro-duced into strategic management literature through Freemanrsquosoriginal work in 1984 (Freeman 1984) and has later gained greatpopularity and importance Stakeholders may be de1047297ned as ldquoany

group or individual who can affect or is affected by the achievement of

the 1047297rmrsquo

s objectiverdquo

(Freeman 1984) or ldquo

organizations institutionsor persons affected by or with a vested interest in the organization and

its business processes who hold expectations with regard to products

or services delivered by the organization through the businessprocesses that produce these products or services and support andenable the production of them (Andersen 1999)rdquo Commonlymentioned external stakeholder groups are shareholders 1047297nancialinstitutions competitors customers NGOs media governmentindustry associations academia and suppliers Internal stake-holders include management employees and unions (Andersenand Fagerhaug 2002) The relationship between a 1047297rm and itsstakeholders is characterized by a mutual exchange process of money goods information and expectations (Andersen andFagerhaug 2002) Our interest is the information and expecta-tions 1047298ows on environmental issues relevant to productdevelopment

Literature suggests approaching the stakeholders directly toidentify true insights (Andersen and Fagerhaug 2002) Obtainingthe required information may however be a challenge as there arelarge numbers of stakeholders involved and the majority of theseare not within the 1047297rmrsquos control (Erlandsson and Tillman 2009)The further upstream or downstream in the value chain thesestakeholders are situated the more dif 1047297cult it may be to interactand obtain relevant information Some 1047297rms may not be willing toshare information with other stakeholders in the value chain forproprietary reasons (Waage 2007) Also 1047297rms may be unaware of

Level 1 External Stakeholders

Environmental Information Flow Environmental Expectations Flow

Community

Customers Consumers Competitors Suppliers Media

ShareholdersFinancial Inst Academics All iance part

NGOsGovernment

Sales Marketing ProductionProcurement Logistics Management HRProduct Development

Level 2 Internal Stakeholders

Fig 1 EI and EE 1047298

ow among stakeholders





























5 Results



















Expectations


Information



Information







Table 1




onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


1 interview











Customer1 interview


































regulations






- None - None



- None - None








onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


Board Room










































- None


Research Inst

3 interviews

















rmrsquo

s current product










onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


5 interviews


- New and less








- New and less



































products






alternative











ultimate goal




- None






































6 Conclusion








Acknowledgement


References










































































5 Results



















Expectations


Information



Information







Table 1




onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


1 interview











Customer1 interview


































regulations






- None - None



- None - None








onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


Board Room










































- None


Research Inst

3 interviews

















rmrsquo

s current product










onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


5 interviews


- New and less








- New and less



































products






alternative











ultimate goal




- None






































6 Conclusion








Acknowledgement


References


















































5 Results



















Expectations


Information



Information







Table 1




onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


1 interview











Customer1 interview


































regulations






- None - None



- None - None








onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


Board Room










































- None


Research Inst

3 interviews

















rmrsquo

s current product










onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


5 interviews


- New and less








- New and less



































products






alternative











ultimate goal




- None






































6 Conclusion








Acknowledgement


References

















































Table 1




onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


1 interview











Customer1 interview


































regulations






- None - None



- None - None








onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


Board Room










































- None


Research Inst

3 interviews

















rmrsquo

s current product










onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


5 interviews


- New and less








- New and less



































products






alternative











ultimate goal




- None






































6 Conclusion








Acknowledgement


References




















































onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


Board Room










































- None


Research Inst

3 interviews

















rmrsquo

s current product










onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


5 interviews


- New and less








- New and less



































products






alternative











ultimate goal




- None






































6 Conclusion








Acknowledgement


References























































rmrsquo

s current product










onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


onrdquo


5 interviews


- New and less








- New and less



































products






alternative











ultimate goal




- None






































6 Conclusion








Acknowledgement


References


































































products






alternative











ultimate goal




- None






































6 Conclusion








Acknowledgement


References
































































products






alternative











ultimate goal




- None






































6 Conclusion








Acknowledgement


References






























































products






alternative











ultimate goal




- None






































6 Conclusion








Acknowledgement


References



















































































6 Conclusion








Acknowledgement


References




























































6 Conclusion








Acknowledgement


References


























































































Documents

Lectura-Aschehoug Gestion Ambiental