Product Development for the Service Sector: Lessons from Market Leaders (Hardcover)

by Robert G. Cooper (Author), Scott J. Edgett (Author) "A service organization has two choices in today's combative business environment: Succeed at developing new service products, or fail as a company..." (more)
Key Phrases: new service development process, successful new service development, winning new services, Royal Bank of Canada, Industrial Marketing Management, Scott Edgett (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
How service industries can become more competitive by employing the principles of product development

As the lines between products and services become less and less distinct, managers in service industries-such as banking, insurance, financial services, utilities, and retailing-can benefit enormously by learning from product leaders, employing a rigorous product development model to create and test new offerings, develop the most promising ones, and see them to market successfully. Product development experts Scott Edgett and Robert Cooper draw from their extensive research, teaching, and consulting experience to offer service sector executives and managers a comprehensive overview of the principles of product development and how they can be applied profitably.

About the Author
Scott J. Edgett is Associate Professor at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University, Ontario, and Director of the Product Development Institute.

Robert G. Cooper, founder of the widely used Stage Gate(tm) product development process, is Professor of Marketing at the DeGroote School, McMaster University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738201057
• ISBN-13: 978-0738201054
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #496,929 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, Practical Book But Repetitive, June 30, 2000

By	Leng Ho Keat (Singapore) - See all my reviews

This is a very good book for managers of new service development processes. It offers a framework for designing and implementing a new service development process and there are many good advice and techniques in the book that I believe will prove invaluable to these managers. I expect this is the result of the 1,500 case studies that the authors have conducted.

I especially liked the sections that the authors have entitled "Points for Management to Ponder". These short bits, interspersed throughout the book, forces a reader to link the theories to actual situations in a company. I found such exercises beneficial to the learning process.

However, I found that the authors tend to repeat themselves throughout the book. For example, Chapter 4 and 5 are essentially the same. Chapter 4 walks through the framework fairly quickly with a real case example while Chapter 5 examines the general framework in detail. I believe the 2 chapters could have been combined without much loss to content.

I recommend this book to practitioners, as this is a very practical book. For readers who just want to know more about service development but are currently not involved in any development work, this book is not for you. Like me, you may find some of the framework difficult to understand without a real case to relate to.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lessons from the master, June 24, 2000

By	William K. Westray (Cumming, Ga USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Well written and full of understandings... Bob, as with all his books, has made many key points. An excellent read for anyone who's business is dependent on new services and believes that luck is not a sustainable advantage. If you believe that the event or experience marketing is the key to most sales, then becoming excellent in launching new services is a must.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Repetitive but worthwhile, October 12, 2001

By	Bruce E. Hogge "free thinker" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Cooper is the guy if you are into development - from idea to delivery of the goods - be it a product (widget), software or services. He is a portfolio management guy that will help you wrap your thinking around making investments into ideas that are yearning to make a debut in reality.