1st and 2nd stage commercialization guidelines: An indicator test for the commercialization of a traditionally manufactured product. Emphasizing value-based philosophy activity based costing, SETAC life cycle analysis, strategy and exit strategies, and

The intent of this dissertation is to provide a practitioner's set of commercialization guidelines when considering an idea for the marketplace; specifically a traditionally manufactured product. The guidelines focus on the first two stages of innovation: the conceptual stage and the feasibility stage. The intent of the guidelines is to provide lone inventors, academics in science and engineering, and product managers of smaller companies an increased probability of success when introducing a product to market by conducting an intensive, up-front evaluation of the entrepreneur's idea with regard to market needs. The methodology attempts to guide the innovator in collecting appropriate information early in the innovation process, in order to make more informed decisions regarding the ideas' commercialization marketplace potential.; The guidelines incorporate manufacturing related concepts that have been evolving over the past ten years and are becoming standard business practices in the areas of Total Quality Management, Enterprise Resource Planning, Activity Based Costing and Lean Manufacturing. Also included in this set of guidelines is a means of reviewing the idea with respect to its impact on the environment using the Society for Environmental Toxicology And Chemistry's Life Cycle Assessment (SETAC-LCA). In addition to these aspects, the guidelines are structured to ensure that the entrepreneur's idea is reviewed from a customer's point of view. A Value-Based approach rather than an engineering functional approach. These guidelines provide a methodology for academic and industrial R&D scientists and engineers to view their ideas for commercialization potential in today's global economy. It emphasizes exit strategies to optimize an entrepreneur's financial return of investment in the event time, money and resource constraints emerge.; The 1st & 2nd Stage Commercialization Guidelines have been critiqued by a variety of test groups. The test groups include: Case Study Entrepreneur, Entrepreneur, Angel/VC Investor, Institute for Plastics Innovation Advisors, Large Company Product Manager. These are individuals actively involved in commercializing products to market. Feedback from these test groups on the 1st & 2nd stage commercialization guidelines is an indicator test. Results compiled will indicate whether or not efforts should continue on this work by parties interested in the earliest commercialization process.; The 1st & 2nd Stage Commercialization Guidelines have been compiled from published tools and methods. These tools and methods have been successful for the authors. In this dissertation, three case studies are included. Each Case Study Entrepreneur was interviewed to determine if they did or did not, intentionally or intuitively conduct the steps in the guidelines developed by the author.; The purpose of the dissertation is to give lone inventors, academics and product managers of smaller companies an increased probability of success when introducing an idea to the marketplace. The increased probability of success is based on knowledge assembled on past commercialization successes, and the steps followed by those who commercialized an idea. The intent of the 1st & 2nd Stage Commercialization Guidelines is to combine market, manufacturing, environmental and customer-oriented concepts in an intensive, focused and up-front evaluation of the idea.