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

Malte Marwede explores the impact of cognitive distance in product development, in particular whether large distances between developers and the customer target groups adversely affect the creation of customer-centric product ideas. Furthermore, he shows how practical user involvement measures can potentially mitigate negative effects of cognitive distance in an applied industry-context. Silver Agers, people in their third age, and the aviation industry are in focus for the empirical analysis. Extensive market knowledge and insights are provided for this target group. Contents Theoretical foundations of silver agers and user involvement Foundations of research in the field of cognitive distance Analysis of silver agers’ personal dispositions and air travel customer experiences Experimental study - new product and service ideation Distance effects in product development for silver agers Implications for research and practice Target Groups Researcher and students of engineering, marketing and sales Practitioners in the field of product development, innovation and product marketing The Author Dr. Malte Marwede graduated at the Institute of Technology and Innovation Management at the Hamburg University of Technology with Univ.-Prof. Dr. Cornelius Herstatt