Product development for distant target groups an experimental study for the silver market

Forschungs-/ Entwicklungs- /
Innovations-Management
Hans Dietmar Bürgel (em.) · Diana Grosse
Cornelius Herstatt · Hans Koller
Christian Lüthje · Martin G. Möhrle Hrsg.

Malte Marwede

Product Development
for Distant Target
Groups
An Experimental Study
for the Silver Market


Forschungs-/ Entwicklungs-/
­Innovations-Management
Edited by
H. D. Bürgel (em.), Stuttgart, Germany
D. Grosse, Freiberg, Germany
C. Herstatt, Hamburg, Germany
H. Koller, Hamburg, Germany
C. Lüthje, Hamburg, Germany
M. G. Möhrle, Bremen, Germany


Die Reihe stellt aus integrierter Sicht von Betriebswirtschaft und Technik Arbeits­
ergebnisse auf den Gebieten Forschung, Entwicklung und Innovation vor. Die
einzelnen Beiträge sollen dem wissenschaftlichen Fortschritt dienen und die For­
derungen der Praxis auf Umsetzbarkeit erfüllen.
Edited by

Professor Dr. Hans Dietmar Bürgel
(em.),
Universität Stuttgart
Professorin Dr. Diana Grosse vorm. de
Pay,
Technische Universität Bergakademie
Freiberg

Professor Dr. Hans Koller
Universität der Bundeswehr Hamburg
Professor Dr. Christian Lüthje
Technische Universität HamburgHarburg
Professor Dr. Martin G. Möhrle
Universität Bremen

Professor Dr. Cornelius Herstatt
Technische Universität
Hamburg-Harburg

Weitere Bände in dieser Reihe />

Malte Marwede

Product Development
for Distant Target Groups
An Experimental Study
for the Silver Market
With a foreword by Univ. Prof. Dr. Cornelius Herstatt

Malte Marwede
­Hamburg, Germany
Dissertation Technische Universität Hamburg-Harburg, 2017

Forschungs-/ Entwicklungs-/ ­Innovations-Management
ISBN 978-3-658-18324-0
ISBN 978-3-658-18325-7  (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-658-18325-7
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017940813
Springer Gabler
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Foreword

V

Foreword
Successful product development requires that the target groups' exact customer needs
are inscribed in new products and services. The share of over 65-year-olds of the total
population is growing as a result of demographic changes, for example in the Western
world and Japan. This entails a shift in the customer base in the respective countries,
which presents new challenges and opportunities for product developers. In many
respects, the so-called "Silver Agers" represent a remote target group, which means that
there is a presumed, cognitive distance between the product developers and the target
group. In consequence, this can lead to suboptimal product and service development
outcomes in terms of matching customer needs.
Mr Marwede addresses the outlined topics in his doctoral thesis and, with his research,
contributes to innovation research that is relevant and valuable in both theoretical and
practical terms. Mr Marwede examines the presumed influence of different distance
dimensions between developers (social and temporal) and the target group with regard
to the idea quality as well as quality in new product development. The accentuated target
group is the "Silver Market", i.e. persons in their third age.
The motivation for this work is the frequently stated assumption of authors and
practitioners that product development for Silver Agers can only be successfully carried
out if the responsible developers are of similar age and sharing similar life experiences to
relate well with the needs and wishes of the target group. Mr Marwede disproves this
assertion based on experimental evidence. He bases his empirical research contribution
on a comprehensive, experimental investigation of product and service innovation in the
aviation industry.
The work of Mr Marwede is, to the best of my knowledge, the first work to empirically
investigate cognitive distances at the individual level in the field of product development.
Furthermore, it enriches the body of knowledge in of user involvement of elderly people

in the early stages of the innovation process.
Researchers as well as practitioners in the field of innovation management significantly
benefit from reading this dissertation.
Hamburg, April 2017
Univ. Prof. Dr. Cornelius Herstatt


Acknowledgements

VII

Acknowledgements
I would like to thank everyone who directly or indirectly supported me and my
dissertation project over the last three years.
In particular, I am grateful to have Professor Herstatt as my dissertation advisor – for
providing research guidance, practical support and for establishing such a fertile
environment at the Institute for Technology and Innovation Management. I also thank
Professor Koller for valuable feedback at our colloquia and for his willingness to be my
second evaluator. Furthermore, I want to express gratitude to Professor Ringle for
chairing my dissertation examination.
I want to acknowledge the many partners in the different phases of the project: the Silver
Ager associations Deutsche Seniorenliga e.V. Unie KBO and ANBO for supporting and
distributing my web-based pre-study to their members; the Senior Research Group of
Berlin for providing real first hand insights about Silver Agers' needs, their willingness to
conduct several preparatory sessions and for taking part in the experimental workshops;
the two industrial partners from the aviation industry for sending developers to the
workshops, supplying inspirational locations, challenging the structure and last but not
least for covering the costs; Twente University and Frans Jonkman for making this study
international and having me host a workshop at their Design Lab. Furthermore, I would
like to thank the many students who backed my thesis with their research or

pragmatically helped to prepare, conduct and wrap-up the workshops, in particular Jia
Lui Hew and Hilrike Hildebrandt.
I also want to recognize my fellow PhD comrades for their helpfulness and support, in
particular André Schorn and Florian Denker for instant problem-solvings, practical help
at the workshops and morale support.
Last but not least I am thankful for my family for raising me and helping out, friends for
distraction, and mostly for my wife Anna. You are everything for me, taking every role
from coach, critique, and also for being the loving mother of our children Matteo and
Karla.
Hamburg, April 2017
Malte Marwede


Table of contents

IX

Table of contents
Index of figures ............................................................................................................................................XIII
Index of tables ............................................................................................................................................... XV
List of abbreviations ................................................................................................................................ XVII
1

2

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 1
1.1

Context and relevance ................................................................................................................. 1

1.2

Research questions and objective .......................................................................................... 4

1.3

Research approach ....................................................................................................................... 6

1.4

Structure of dissertation ............................................................................................................ 8

Theoretical foundations of silver agers and user involvement .........................................11
2.1

Demographic changes and the establishment of the silver market ........................11

2.1.1 Ageing societies .........................................................................................................................11
2.1.2 Characterisation of silver agers ..........................................................................................11
2.1.3 Silver agers as a distant target group ...............................................................................15
2.1.4 Age-based innovation for silver agers ..............................................................................15
2.2

User involvement in new product development ............................................................16

2.2.1

Innovation management, fuzzy front-end of innovation and idea
generation .............................................................................................................................16

2.2.2

Meeting customer requirements ..................................................................................17

2.2.3

User involvement to meet customer needs..............................................................18

2.2.3.1 Development history of user involvement in new product
development ....................................................................................................................18
2.2.3.2 Effects of user involvement .......................................................................................19
2.2.3.3 Typology of user involvement..................................................................................20
2.2.3.4 Frameworks on the degree of user involvement ..............................................24
3

Foundations of research in the field of cognitive distance ..................................................33
3.1

Co-citation methodology ..........................................................................................................33

3.2

Results .............................................................................................................................................36

3.2.1

Cluster distribution ...........................................................................................................37

3.2.2

Cluster 1 – Cognitive distance and construal level ................................................37

3.2.3

Cluster 2 – Interrelation between four dimensions of cognitive distance ...39

3.2.4

Cluster 3 – Spatial distance and construal levels ...................................................40

3.2.5

Cluster 4 – Subjective distance and emotional involvement .............................40


X

Table of contents

3.2.6

Cluster 5 – Social distance and focalism ....................................................................41

3.2.7

Cluster 6 – Temporal distance influencing behaviours and decisions ..........42

3.2.8

Cluster 7 – Communication between geographically distributed or

virtual teams ........................................................................................................................42

3.2.9

Cluster 8 – Network and organisational proximity...............................................43

3.3

Cognitive distance – A gap in innovation management ......................................45

3.3.2

Applicability of cognitive distance subcategories in new product
development ........................................................................................................................47

3.3.3

Requirements for cognitive distance subcategory measures ...........................50

3.3.4

Social distance operationalisation through social capital ..................................51

3.4
4

Discussion ......................................................................................................................................44

3.3.1

Conclusion of co-citation analysis ........................................................................................52

Research questions and hypotheses for the experimental study .....................................53
4.1

Research gap and research question ...................................................................................53

4.2

Hypotheses development for product development outcomes ................................54

4.2.1

Hypothesis regarding idea quality...............................................................................55

4.2.1.1 Cognitive distance .........................................................................................................56
4.2.1.2 User involvement ..........................................................................................................60
4.2.1.3 Cognitive distance and user involvement ............................................................65
4.2.2

Hypothesis regarding idea quantity............................................................................67

4.2.2.1 Cognitive distance .........................................................................................................67
4.2.2.2 User involvement ..........................................................................................................68
5

6

Selection of research context for quantitative study .............................................................71
5.1

Choice of experimental approach .........................................................................................71

5.2

Classification of experimental approach............................................................................73

5.3

Industry context of experimental setting ..........................................................................75

Pre-study – Analysis of silver agers’ personal dispositions and air travel
customer experiences ........................................................................................................................77
6.1

Purpose and methodology.......................................................................................................77

6.2

Data collection ..............................................................................................................................77

6.2.1

Survey development .........................................................................................................77

6.2.2

Structure and constructs .................................................................................................79

6.2.3

Cooperation partners .......................................................................................................81

6.2.4

Sample description ............................................................................................................82

6.3

Flight patterns and preferences of silver agers...............................................................83


Table of contents

6.4

7

XI

Silver-ager characteristics .......................................................................................................86

6.4.1

Cognitive age ........................................................................................................................86

6.4.2

Innovation- and product-related user characteristics.........................................88

6.5

Pain points of air travel customer experience .................................................................92

6.6

Interim conclusion......................................................................................................................97

Distance effects in product development for silver agers ................................................ 101
7.1

Study methodology/approach ............................................................................................ 101

7.1.1

Research framework ...................................................................................................... 102

7.1.2

Context and institutional partners ........................................................................... 103

7.1.3

Survey for development participants ...................................................................... 104

7.1.4

Experimental workshops ............................................................................................. 105

7.1.4.1 Workshop structure .................................................................................................. 105

7.1.4.2 Treatments ................................................................................................................... 107
7.1.4.3 Design of ideation session ...................................................................................... 111
7.1.4.4 Trial runs ....................................................................................................................... 113
7.1.4.5 Addressing reliability and validity of experimental design ....................... 113
7.1.5

Idea assessment ............................................................................................................... 115

7.1.5.1 Judge selection ............................................................................................................ 116
7.1.5.2 Rating method ............................................................................................................. 117
7.1.5.3 Rating session .............................................................................................................. 118
7.1.6

Operationalisation of constructs ............................................................................... 118

7.1.6.1 Independent variables from participant survey ............................................ 118
7.1.6.2 Independent and dependent variables from experimental
workshops..................................................................................................................... 123
7.1.6.3 Dependant variables from idea assessment .................................................... 124
7.1.7
7.2

Data analysis technique ................................................................................................ 125

Findings from experimental study .................................................................................... 126

7.2.1

Data set for analysis ....................................................................................................... 126

7.2.2

Exemplary ideas generated in workshops ............................................................ 127

7.2.3

Descriptive analysis........................................................................................................ 129

7.2.3.1 Control variables – Diversity of workshop participants ............................. 129
7.2.3.2 Independent variables – Characteristics of participants ............................ 131
7.2.3.3 Dependant variables – Ideated output from workshops ............................ 134
7.2.3.4 Descriptive analyses of workshop control variables ................................... 137


XII

Table of contents

7.2.3.5 Interim conclusion of descriptive analyses...................................................... 143
7.2.4

Multiple regression analysis ....................................................................................... 144

7.2.5

Study 1 – Effects on idea quality................................................................................ 145

7.2.5.1 Correlation analysis .................................................................................................. 146
7.2.5.2 Regression model ....................................................................................................... 149
7.2.6

Study 2 – Effects on idea quantity............................................................................. 154

7.2.6.1 Correlation analysis .................................................................................................. 154
7.2.6.2 Regression model ....................................................................................................... 155
7.2.7
8

Evaluation of hypotheses of study 1 and study 2 ............................................... 156

Discussion and implications ......................................................................................................... 159
8.1

Relevant streams of research on cognitive distance .................................................. 159

8.2

Cognitive distance and user involvement in ideation................................................ 160

8.2.1

Summary of effects on idea quality (study 1) ...................................................... 160

8.2.2

Summary of effects on idea quantity (study 2) ................................................... 160

8.2.3

Effects of cognitive distance ........................................................................................ 161

8.2.4

User involvement and moderation of cognitive distance ................................ 164

8.2.5

Dyadic co-creation with silver agers ....................................................................... 167

8.3

Contribution ............................................................................................................................... 169

8.3.1

Academic research .......................................................................................................... 169

8.3.1.1 Implications for cognitive distance research in management
research ......................................................................................................................... 169
8.3.1.2 Implications for user involvement of silver agers in ideation .................. 170
8.3.2

Managerial implications ............................................................................................... 171

8.3.3

Limitations and suggestions for further research .............................................. 174

References .................................................................................................................................................... 177
Appendix ....................................................................................................................................................... 201

Index of figures

XIII

Index of figures
Figure 1: Frame of reference of dissertation project........................................................................ 4
Figure 2: Structure of dissertation........................................................................................................... 8
Figure 3: Silver-ager consumption ....................................................................................................... 13
Figure 4: Ideas-to-products ..................................................................................................................... 16
Figure 5: Morphological box of user-involvement criteria ......................................................... 22
Figure 6: Degrees of user involvement in literature ...................................................................... 30
Figure 7: Steps of data collection and co-citation analysis.......................................................... 35
Figure 8: Overview of co-citation network........................................................................................ 36
Figure 9: Overview of co-citation clusters ......................................................................................... 38
Figure 10: Identified clusters by discipline and level of analysis ............................................. 46
Figure 11: Need and solution knowledge for different types of persons .............................. 60
Figure 12: Levels of customer knowledge ......................................................................................... 62
Figure 13: Questionnaire design process ........................................................................................... 78
Figure 14: Survey structure..................................................................................................................... 79
Figure 15: Customer flight experience ................................................................................................ 80
Figure 16: Importance x satisfaction matrix ..................................................................................... 81
Figure 17: Age distribution...................................................................................................................... 83
Figure 18: Travel reasons, flight duration and frequency ........................................................... 83
Figure 19: Flight frequency per age group ........................................................................................ 84
Figure 20: First/last flight ........................................................................................................................ 85
Figure 21: Limitations of silver agers .................................................................................................. 86
Figure 22: Differences in cognitive and chronological age ......................................................... 87
Figure 23: Share of active flyers depending on age differences ................................................ 88

Figure 24: Use experience by age .......................................................................................................... 90
Figure 25: Cognitive empathy ................................................................................................................ 91
Figure 26: Lead-userness GER vs. NL .................................................................................................. 92
Figure 27: Average importance and satisfaction scores .............................................................. 93
Figure 28: Importance x satisfaction of air travel customer experience ............................... 94
Figure 29: GER vs. NL innovation/satisfaction ................................................................................ 96
Figure 30: Data collection steps of main study .............................................................................. 101
Figure 31: Research framework ..........................................................................................................102
Figure 32: Treatment structure ...........................................................................................................105
Figure 33: Structure of ideation session...........................................................................................112
Figure 34: Judge characteristics ..........................................................................................................117


XIV

Index of figures

Figure 35: Breakdown of data set for analysis ............................................................................... 126
Figure 36: Exemplary ideas from experimental workshops ....................................................127
Figure 37: Top idea categories .............................................................................................................128
Figure 38: Disciplines of participants ................................................................................................129
Figure 39: Development experience ..................................................................................................130
Figure 40: Use experience of participants .......................................................................................130
Figure 41: Social proximity....................................................................................................................131
Figure 42: Distribution of temporal proximity and group allocation ...................................134
Figure 43: Histogram of idea quality .................................................................................................135
Figure 44: Boxplot and histogram of idea quantity .....................................................................136
Figure 45: Idea quality per workshop ...............................................................................................138
Figure 46: Idea quantity per workshop ............................................................................................139
Figure 47: Idea quality by participant status..................................................................................140

Figure 48: Idea quantity by participant status............................................................................... 141
Figure 49: Idea quality by idea length ...............................................................................................142
Figure 50: Idea quality by idea order ................................................................................................143
Figure 51: Scatter plots and distributions of variables influencing idea quality ..............149
Figure 52: Interaction effect of social proximity and user involvement ..............................151
Figure 53: Graphical representation of effects on idea quality ...............................................160
Figure 54: Graphical representation of effects on idea quantity ............................................161
Figure 55: Effects of cognitive distance subcategories ...............................................................162
Figure 56: Effects of user involvement .............................................................................................165
Figure 57: Implications for Construal Level Theory ....................................................................169
Figure 58: Gathering ego-centric networks for measurement of social proximity .........202
Figure 59: Cluster 5 – Social distance and focalism .....................................................................203
Figure 60: Normal distribution, residuals, residual scatter plot and P-P plot of
study 1 model ........................................................................................................................206
Figure 61: Normal distribution, residuals, residual scatter plot and P-P plot of
study 2 model ........................................................................................................................207
Figure 62: Scatter plots and distributions of variables influencing idea quantity ...........207
Figure 63: Idea length by degree of user involvement ...............................................................209
Figure 64: Depiction of user involvement treatment 1 ..............................................................210
Figure 65: Extracts of information needs from interviews .......................................................211


Index of tables

XV

Index of tables
Table 1: Framework of degrees of user involvement.................................................................... 26
Table 2: Subcategories of cognitive distance and applicability for product
development ................................................................................................................................. 48

Table 3: Correlations of user characteristics .................................................................................... 89
Table 4: Descriptives and correlation of social distance measures .......................................132
Table 5: Exploratory factor analysis of social distance ..............................................................133
Table 6: Descriptives and test for normality of idea quality ....................................................135
Table 7: Descriptives and test for normality of idea quantity .................................................137
Table 8: Descriptives of idea quality of different workshops ..................................................138
Table 9: Hypotheses for idea quality, source: own analysis .....................................................146
Table 10: Correlations, means and standard deviations on idea quality ............................147
Table 11: Regression results of study 1: effects on idea quality .............................................152
Table 12: Hypotheses for idea quantity ............................................................................................154
Table 13: Correlations, means, standard deviations on idea quantity .................................155
Table 14: Regression results of study 2: effects on idea quantity ..........................................156
Table 15: Evaluation of hypotheses ...................................................................................................157


List of abbreviations

XVII

List of abbreviations
EFA
B2B
B2C
cf.
Chronolog.
CLT
Cogn.
Cogn. emp.
Diverg. think.
Domain-spec. innov.

EFA
e.g.
et al.
etc.
EUR
F
GER
i.e.
KMO
Lead-usern.
Mdn
MSA
N
n.s.
n/a
NGT
NL
NPD
ORA
p
Prod. knowl.
R&D
R²
RQ
SD
Sig
SRG
U
UI
Use exp.

Exploratory factor analysis
Business-to-business
Business-to-consumer
Confer
Chronological
Construal Level Theory
Cognitive
Cognitive empathy
Divergent thinking
Domain-specific innovativeness
Exploratory Factor Analysis
Exempli gratia (English: for example)
Et alii (English: and others)
Et cetera (English: and so forth)
Euro
F-statistic value
Germany
Id est (English: that is)
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin
Lead-userness
Median
Measure of sampling adequacy
Sample size
Not significant
Not applicable
Nominal group technique
Netherlands
New product developmentf
Name of co-citation visualisation tool

Probability
Product knowledge
Research & Development
Coefficient of determination/explained variance
Research question
Standard deviation
Significance
Senior Research Group Berlin
U-statistic (minimum-variance unbiased estimator)
User involvement
Use experience


1 Introduction
1.1 Context and relevance
The current demographic trend raises the question of how best to cater for the emerging
market of elderly consumers with customer preference matching products and services.
The proportion of silver agers,1 that is, people above 65 years of age, is constantly
increasing in the more developed regions of the world, reaching 30% in 2030 (United
Nations, 2013). This renders silver agers a key target group for consumer product
companies – a point of view shared by the two aviation companies who supported the
experimental study component of this dissertation project.
Initial associations with the idea of the elderly trigger images of people who are partly
averse to technology, frail and with decreasing physical or mental capabilities (Nelson,
2004). Thus, specific silver-ager product design aims at regaining autonomy and serves
to compensate for mental and physical decline (Kohlbacher, Herstatt, & Schweisfurth,
2011; Peine, Rollwagen, & Neven, 2014). But does that picture really fit for the majority
of today’s silver-ager generation? First of all, increasing life expectancy, along with the
relatively stable retirement age of 60-65 years in Western countries, creates a new life
phase compared to previous generations. Silver agers stay fit longer and as a consequence

can ‘have it all’, all at the same time – time and flexibility as well as high levels of fitness,
at least in the early years of retirement. Secondly, compared to the previous generation
who were affected by the Second World War, the current retiring baby-boomer
generation is financially better off and more keen to consume.
So, what differentiates product development for this seemingly attractive target group,
compared to other target groups? Bluntly speaking, this target group, like children, is
probably not directly represented in corporate product development teams. Thus,
product developers simply referring to their own needs and preferences would appear to
be insufficient in this case. Extant scientific literature presents several explanatory
approaches as to why younger developers might struggle to accurately address silverager needs. First of all, each generation is shaped by the technology designs and user
interfaces of their so-called formative period, which they reach in their twenties, as stated
in generation theory (Docampo Rama, Ridder, & Bouma, 2001). Product interfaces and
technologies that people are exposed to in this formative period are mastered and
For the course of this work, silver, as in ‘silver agers’, does not refer to the precious metal, but rather to
elderly customers and users (65 years and above) who represent an emerging customer segment, i.e. the
‘silver market’ (Levsen, 2015; Kohlbacher & Herstatt, 2011).

1

© Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH 2017
M. Marwede, Product Development for Distant Target Groups,
Forschungs-/ Entwicklungs-/ Innovations-Management,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-658-18325-7_1


2

Introduction

perceived as the most coherent and intuitive to use. This could result in greater

difficulties for silver agers when using state-of-the-art software interfaces which they
have not grown up with. Secondly, quite apart from usability issues, preferences and
needs might differ due to the different roles, socialisations and fashions that silver agers
have experienced in their lives. Thirdly, people tend to interact more closely with people
from their own age cohorts (Adams & Blirszner, 1998). Thus, exchanges between young
developers and silver agers are expected to be lower in quantity and depth compared to
interchanges with peers of the same age group. Subsequently, learning opportunities
from interacting with silver agers through personal acquaintanceships are rare. In
conclusion, scattered evidence reveals potential obstructive effects that product
developers face in product development for silver agers.
In psychological literature, these effects can be attributed to cognitive distances, also
referred to as psychological distances. Studies of cognitive distances are grounded in
social psychology. As early as the beginning of the nineteenth century, scientists studied
the root causes and implications of distance in personal relations, at first predominantly
in the areas of social class and race relations (Bogardus, 1933). Besides these two areas,
several other dimensions of cognitive distance were examined. Liberman and Trope
(1998) experimentally developed a theory, initially called temporal construal theory,
which links the level of mental construal to how far in the future a situation is. They found
that near-future situations are construed more concretely compared to distant-future
ones, which were envisioned more abstractly. In the following years, this theory also
proved to be applicable for other dimensions, such as social distance, spatial distance or
the probability of occurrence of certain events. It was subsequently renamed Construal
Level Theory (Liberman, Sagristano, & Trope, 2002). Cognitive distance is defined as “the
extent of divergence from direct experience of me, here and now along the dimensions of
time, space, social perspective, or hypotheticality [probability]” (Liberman & Trope, 2014,
p. 365). All cognitive distances are egocentric, which means they are anchored on the
direct experience of the here and now (zero distance point). To move beyond this zero
distance point to the past or future, geographically distant places, experiences of other
people or hypothetical alternatives to reality involves mental construal (Liberman, Trope,
& Stephan, 2007). The estimation of distance is perceived subjectively rather than being

decided by objectively measured units (ibid.).
In an innovation context, the notion of cognitive distance is established by Nooteboom in
his earlier work regarding the cognitive theory of the firm according to the constructivist


Context and relevance

3

view of knowledge (Nooteboom, 1992). There, the focus is not on the individual employee
but on the relationship and cooperation behaviour between companies. Other
management-related studies have picked up the concept of cognitive distance in the
context of corporate teams, e.g. for geographically dispersed virtual teams (Wilson, Boyer
O'Leary, Metiu, & Jett, 2008). However, there are no innovation studies linking cognitive
distance to meeting user needs in innovation. This thesis attempts to fill this gap by
exploring different cognitive distance dimensions and their effect on customer-centric
product development.
User needs are considered in new product development processes in various ways.
Product design literature has brought forward several means to incorporate users’ wants
and needs into product development, e.g. through design principles like human-centred,
participatory or user-centred design (International Standardization Organization, 2010;
Schuler & Namioka, 1993; Veryzer & Borja de Mozota, 2005). Besides these design
philosophies, management and innovation research lists tens, if not hundreds, of
approaches and methods that aim to bring the customer closer, or literally into the
product development process – from market desk research, user surveys and focus
groups to the lead-user approach (Hansen, Berente, & Lyytinen, 2009). These approaches
can be differentiated by the degree of user involvement (Kaulio, 1998), which is
determined by the intensity of how the users are engaged. Does the approach just support
development for the users or does it contain active in-person interaction with the user?
Besides arguments on the benefits of user involvement, there is ample discussion about

the right degree of user involvement in product development. On the one hand, it is
argued that the more and the closer the user is embedded in the development phase, the
more successful the resulting products and services will be (Gruner & Homburg, 2000).
On the other hand, some argue that ordinary users are less capable of inventing really
radically (Leifer, 2006; Norman, 2005; Norman, 2010; Verganti, 2008) or technologically
(Magnusson, 2003) new products. As a consequence, user involvement should be kept to
a lower degree.


4

Introduction

Cognitive Distance

Product
developer

User-involvement
approaches

Distant target
group

Figure 1: Frame of reference of dissertation project, source: own depiction

In the case of silver agers, this debate is even more sensible: “dramatic professional, age
and gender differences between developers and users, rendered developers’ initial
assumptions of shared experience [as] rather misplaced (as it did with I-design too),
particularly in both technologies for the elderly” (Hyysalo, 2009, p. 731). Thus, user

involvement seems to be particularly crucial for age-based innovations (Bechtold &
Sotoudeh, 2013). On the other hand, age-related decreases in cognitive flexibility and
motivation can adversely affect user-involvement success (Reinicke & Blessing, 2007).
Thus, the second aim of this study is to contribute to the discussion on the ideal degree of
user involvement and find out whether user involvement can potentially mitigate the
adverse effects of distance (see Figure 1).
1.2 Research questions and objective
I have described the challenges that product developers are potentially faced with when
attempting to develop new products or services for distant target groups like silver agers.
Both psychological research regarding cognitive or psychological distance and innovation
management research via user involvement-research and practice have made significant
contributions in their respective fields. To the best of my knowledge, no integrated
studies exist in either field that explore cognitive distance on the individual level in
product development or the potentially confounding effects of user involvement. Thus, I
acknowledge the accumulated knowledge in the research stream of cognitive distance
and user involvement and contribute with this thesis to cognitive distance in innovation
research, specifically in ideation settings. Here, I explore which dimensions of cognitive
distance substantially influence ideation outcomes and determine experimentally how
user involvement influences and moderates these outcomes. To conclude, the following
research questions are answered in this dissertation project:
ƒ

Research question 1: What are the schools of thought and relevant streams in
inter-disciplinary literature on cognitive distance?


Research questions and objective

ƒ

5

Research question 2: Does cognitive distance between product developers and
silver agers have an influence on ideation outcomes in new product development?

ƒ

Research question 3: Can potentially negative distance effects be offset through
user involvement in ideation phase of new product development?

Combining concepts from social psychology and innovation management research offers
new perspectives on the micro-foundations of ideation and user involvement in general,
specifically for the silver-market stream of research.
First, I extend Construal Level Theory to the individual product developer setting. Here, I
explore how cognitive distance affects product development outcomes and which
subcategories of cognitive distance influence product development outcomes in
particular. This finding adds to the growing stream of management literature on
Construal Level Theory (Kankanhalli, Ye, & Teo, 2015; Tumasjan, Welpe, & Spörrle, 2013;
Wilson et al., 2008; Zhao & Xie, 2011).
Second, I add to user-involvement literature by revealing its effect on ideation outcome
depending on different levels of cognitive distance to the target group on the part of the
product developer. These findings present a unique contribution to literature as I find
that user involvement influences ideation outcomes depending on the level of cognitive
distance. I sketch a nuanced picture separating effects of user involvement on ideation
output quality from effects on ideation quantity (productivity).
Third, there are many studies that evaluate the effects of user involvement on
performance, measured either in terms of financial success or by the quality of the
generated product or service ideas. These studies predominantly base their findings
either on surveys that include managers’ ratings on the perceived value of the userinvolvement measures in different project settings or on embedded longitudinal studies
which lack a sufficient number of observations for inferential statements. In this

dissertation, I apply an experimental approach that allows the drawing of statistical
inferences in a controlled setting. This approach responds to Witell, Kristensson,
Gustafsson, and Löfgren’s (2011) call for studies comparing the effects of different userinvolvement techniques in idea generation.
Furthermore, I contribute to the growing body of silver-market research in the realm of
product development. This study explicitly addresses the growing segment of silvermarket products or services which focus on customer needs and are not predominantly
aimed at compensating for age-specific deficiencies or limitations, which are addressed


6

Introduction

by products such as rollators, special care products or assistive services (Levsen &
Herstatt, 2014). Furthermore, I confirm and add to silver-market/gerontological research
findings concerning chronological and cognitive age (Cleaver & Muller, 2002; Kohlbacher
& Chéron, 2012; Wellner, 2015) and on the progression of cognitive empathy levels for
silver agers. These findings directly affect innovating companies aiming at co-creating
with silver agers.
Methodologically, I respond to a call for more experimental studies in innovation
management, which has generally lagged behind other disciplines (Boudreau & Lakhani,
2015).
This research is relevant because it delivers insight into how different cognitive distance
dimensions affect idea and product development success for companies addressing
distant target groups like silver agers. Furthermore, the impact of user involvement is
tested experimentally, indicating what companies can do to alleviate potentially negative
effects of cognitive distance.
1.3 Research approach
My research approach encompasses several methods, of both a quantitative and
qualitative nature, in order to exhaustively explore the fields of cognitive distance and
user involvement in innovation. The research approach qualifies as a mixed-method

design (Creswell, 2014) as it employs both qualitative research methods to explore the
nascent field of cognitive distance in management studies as well as quantitative and
deterministic methods in the experimental study.
For the main study, I applied an experimental approach to reproduce product
development for silver agers. Centred on ideation sessions, the product developers’ task
was to ideate solutions based on an exact representation of the target groups’ needs
under different user-involvement treatments. This experimental approach has several
advantages. First of all, due to the standardisation of workshop conditions, several
confounding effects could be ruled out with a very high degree of confidence. Secondly,
participants filled in online surveys to control for the individual’s cognitive distance to
the target group and other effects influencing ideation performance. Therefore, the effects
of cognitive distance and/or user involvement could be empirically tested. Prior to the
experimental setting, two mock-up workshops were held at the university and at one
company’s site to optimise the workshop set-up, content and structure.


Research approach

7

Prior to conducting the experiment, a thorough literature search on cognitive distance
was conducted. Whereas cognitive distance is well established in social psychological
research, it just recently found its way into management science, and has not yet been
deployed in product development settings. One aim of this dissertation is to
systematically discover areas of application and schools of thought potentially applicable
in innovation management. This is accomplished via a co-citation analysis, which is the
examination of frequency, patterns and graphs of citations in articles and books (Rubin,
2010). The experimental study was embedded in the aviation industry, with the generous
support of two major aviation companies. Prior to the experimental study, an empirical
pre-study was conducted for several reasons. One aim was to identify the silver-ager

target groups’ wants and most pressing pain points in the customer experience of air
travel. Additionally, the study served to gather silver-ager personal characteristics data
in order to gain insights on potentially age-related deficiencies. Furthermore, this largescale survey helped to source suitable silver agers for involvement in the experimental
workshops. In cooperation with German and Dutch senior citizen associations, i.e.
Deutsche Seniorenliga e.V., ANBO and Unie KBO, more than 1,100 responses were
collected via an online survey. In preparation for the experimental study, a focus group
was conducted with Senior Research Group of Berlin. Focus groups consist of a group
discussion in order to elicit customer needs (McQuarrie & McIntyre, 1986). Here, specific
pain points of the air travel customer experience were discussed by silver agers, steered
by two moderators. The recording of the session is qualitatively analysed and condensed
into a short audio recording to serve the purpose of an experimental treatment in the
workshops. The experimental workshop itself consists of creativity methods to structure
the ideation. Here, a storyboard was developed based on adaptions of the creativity
methods brainstorming and 6-3-5 methods (Smith, 1998).
In order to link the outcome of the workshop to the degree of user involvement (through
different workshop treatments) and individual cognitive distance (measured via the
participant survey), the individual participants’ output (generated ideas) is assessed.
Here, I employ the Consensual Assessment Technique (Amabile, 1983), which is
commonly used for idea quality evaluations in innovation management (Franke, Hippel,
& Schreier, 2006; Magnusson, 2009; Poetz & Schreier, 2012; Ramakrishnan, 2012; Riedl,
Blohm, Leimeister, & Krcmar, 2013; Walcher, 2007). Practically, a one-day workshop with
seven Senior Research Group expert judges was held.


8

Introduction

1.4 Structure of dissertation
This dissertation is divided into four parts: the theoretical foundation, an argumentation

of the research questions and the context, a quantitative pre-study and the main
experimental study (see columns from left to right in Figure 2). Chapter 2 presents an
introduction to past findings on the phenomenon of ageing societies, characteristics of
silver agers as described in the literature and a review of user-involvement research in
innovation management. Here, the concept of different degrees of user involvement is
introduced. Chapter 3 analyses cognitive distance related literature by applying a cocitation analysis. Here, scientific roots from different scientific fields are uncovered
qualitatively. In chapter 4, the research questions and the research approach are laid out.
This includes the derivation of hypotheses based on the theoretical background detailed
in the previous chapters. Chapter 5 argues for the use of an experimental approach and
characterises the chosen methodology along established criteria for experiments.
Furthermore, the industry setting of the main study is explained and argued for.

2

3

Theoretical
foundations

4

Research questions & approach

Demographics &
silver agers

Research gap

User involvement

Hypothesis
development

Theoretical
foundations
Co-citatation
analysis of
cognitive distance

5

Research
context
Experimental
approach

Experimental
study

7

Focus group/expeerimental setting
Quantitative
pre-study

6

Silver-ager characteristics
Air travel
experience

Industry setting

Web-based
participant survey
Conducting
workshops
Idea assessment

Analyses and
implications
x

Figure 2: Structure of dissertation, source: own depiction

chapter number


Structure of dissertation

9

Chapter 6 contains the quantitative pre-study conducted in association with the
European senior citizen organisations Deutsche Seniorenliga e.V., ANBO and Unie KBO.
Here, I collected more than 1,100 responses from silver agers in order to discover their
preferences and the obstacles they face when travelling by air. Furthermore, various
personal characteristics in terms of psychological dispositions such as lead-userness,
cognitive age or divergent thinking were gathered. These characteristics helped to
identify and recruit suitable silver-ager candidates for the experimental workshops.
Chapter 7 covers the main experimental study. The methodology and the operational setup are described, including the derivation of the three experimental user-involvement

treatments which were developed up front. Additionally, the methodology of generating
personal characteristics data via a web-based participant survey is revealed.
Furthermore, the idea assessment session is described in order to draw conclusions
about the influence of cognitive distance and degree of user involvement on perceived
silver-ager use value of the ideation outcomes. Statistically, two hierarchical regression
models are used, one to test effects of cognitive distance and user involvement on how
well customer needs are addressed (dependent variable use value) and one to gain
insights on the productivity (idea quantity) of the ideation session. Chapter 8 (not shown
in Figure 2) discusses the findings of the regression models and links the results back to
the research questions raised at the outset of the dissertation. Finally, theoretical as well
as managerial implications are revealed. The dissertation closes with an outlook on future
research opportunities.


2 Theoretical foundations of silver agers and user involvement
2.1 Demographic changes and the establishment of the silver market
2.1.1 Ageing societies
Most countries, and Western countries in particular, are experiencing the demographic
ageing that results from increased life expectancy and/or decreased fertility rates. This
trend poses a challenge for societies on many levels. First of all, the share of the
population who are in the active workforce will decrease under the current retirement
legislation. This leads to a projected increase in dependency ratio in Europe from 42
retirees above 65 years per 100 workers to 65 in 2060 (Samuel, 2016). Dependency ratio
is the ratio of the number of people claiming retirement benefits versus the number of
people paying income tax. Furthermore, governments have to bear the higher social
healthcare costs of an ageing population. Higher pension obligations and healthcare costs
put pressure on taxation levels for the remaining working population, i.e. income tax
payers. Another controversial issue is the impact of demographic ageing on the supply of
skilled workers. A widely held position is that without significant immigration, companies
will face a shortage of workers (‘Fachkräftemangel’, Allmendinger & Ebner, 2006). Others

argue that technological progress, e.g. through the digitisation trend, will make some
work activities obsolete, reducing the need for labour (Hank & Meck, 2016).
Despite these challenges, an economic opportunity is emerging. The new target group can
be addressed by both consumer products and services, including age-based, specialised
designs, such as rollators, and universal products marketed specifically to silver agers,
such as travel offerings. Due to longer life expectancy and more active lifestyles, in
combination with sufficient purchasing power, this silver-ager generation sets itself apart
from previous generations. Thus, silver agers present an attractive target group and
business opportunity for consumer product or service companies. The detailed
characteristics of silver agers are elaborated in the next section.
2.1.2 Characterisation of silver agers
Attempting to draw a unitary picture of the silver ager is difficult as they are a very
heterogeneous group (Kohlbacher et al., 2011). Instead, this chapter aims to look at silver
agers from different perspectives. Silver agers is not the only term for this target group of
elderly consumers. They are also known as Generation 55+, Best Agers or Golden Agers.
Besides different names, there are also different approaches to delineate this market
segment. Chronological age is the most obvious method of segmentation. Here, a

© Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden GmbH 2017
M. Marwede, Product Development for Distant Target Groups,
Forschungs-/ Entwicklungs-/ Innovations-Management,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-658-18325-7_2