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

这一早期概念探索性研究资助(EARGER)奖的目的是探索面向捆绑设计(DFB)的工程设计决策方面，并解决将工程设计、市场营销和公共政策这三个相关领域整合到一个统一的DFB决策框架中的挑战。DFB的定义是将多个互补产品类别的设计元素集成到一个产品中，并以一个价格将其出售给客户的过程。产品类别可以是实物、服务、软件或其组合。该方法将探索两个主要的研究问题。第一个研究问题纯粹从工程设计的角度探讨捆绑设计的表示、生成和评估问题。第二个研究问题调查了市场营销和公共政策在DFB设计决策环境中的含义。这些问题的答案将产生DFB在市场竞争、公共政策法规和不确定性考虑下可用于物理、服务和软件产品类别的系统决策所需的研究成分。如果成功，这项探索性研究将对美国制造商在考虑竞争和监管方面为国内和国际市场创造成功的产品捆绑创新具有重要意义。它还将使制造商了解在开发与外国品牌竞争的捆绑产品和功能方面的不确定性的影响。通过考虑结构的复杂性，设计方法将有助于工程设计、消费市场和公共政策的界面领域。DFB的方法还将促进一种新的产品创新模式，这种模式可以重塑市场结构，因为DFB本质上模糊了现有产品市场的既定边界。这种方法的广泛采用将打开新的市场，并重新定义制造商之间的竞争。研究奖涉及一名博士生的积极参与。私人投资机构计划转移研究成果，并让学生参加各自的工程设计决策、市场研究和公共政策方面的本科生和研究生课程。此外，预计这项热切的研究的成功完成将为启动一项全面的研究努力提供必要的基础，这将为社区中的其他研究人员带头。

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.