EAGER: Design for Bundling Decisions with Marketing and Public Policy Considerations

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The objective of this EArly-Concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) award is to explore the engineering design decision aspects of Design For Bundling (DFB) and address the challenge of bringing together the three related areas of engineering design, marketing and public policy into a unified DFB decision framework. DFB is defined as the process of integrating the design elements of multiple complementary product categories into a single product and selling it to the customers for one price. The product categories can be physical, service, software or a combination. The approach will explore two main research questions. The first research question explores the issues of representation, generation and evaluation of a bundled design purely from an engineering design perspective. The second research question investigates the implications of marketing and public policy in a design decision making context in DFB. The answer to these questions will produce the research ingredients necessary for a systematic decision making in DFB that can be used for physical, service, and software product categories under market competition, public policy regulations and uncertainty considerations.If successful, this exploratory research will have important implications for United States manufacturers in creating successful product bundling innovations for national and international markets that take competition and regulatory aspects into account. It will also enable manufacturers to understand the impact of uncertainties in developing bundled products and functionalities that compete with foreign brands. The design method will contribute to the area of interface of engineering design, consumer markets, and public policy by taking into account structural complexities. The DFB approach here will also promote a new product innovation model which can reshape the market structures because DFB essentially blurs the established boundaries of existing product markets. Wide adoption of the methodology will open up new markets and redefine the competitions among the manufacturers. The research award involves active participation of one Ph.D. student. The PIs plan to transfer research results and engage students in their respective undergraduate and graduate courses in engineering design decision making, marketing research and public policy. Additionally, it is expected that the successful completion of this EAGER research will provide the necessary foundations for launching a full-scale research effort that will lead the way for other researchers in the community.