This paper focusses on a comparative study of 16 British and West German machine tool manufacturers, which shows clear differences in the extent of user involvement in the product development process. Broadly speaking in the West German companies, user involvement was greater and was associated with the development of higher quality products better suited to user needs. A sample of 129 machine tool buyers from the two countries supported this generalisation from the customer's viewpoint. Comparisons between the approach to user involvement in each country are drawn from case studies of the British and West German machine tool suppliers. These case studies were developed from discussions held with managers involved in the new product development process in each company.
Students of public opinion are well aware that important differences exist in people's involvement with the major (social) issues of the day. The concept of involvement has no scientific status in the social sciences, and there has been no endeavour to measure this kind of involvement in any systematic way. Based on a theory of involvement, we have developed a program of measurement for (the various dimensions of) involvement. (MDMI) It is argued that : 1. The system is highly suitable for obtaining continuous measures of involvement with social issues (problems) amongst the population; 2. To measure an important modifying variable to assist in the interpretation of public opinion research data; 3. To develop a general, empirically verified theory concerning involvement with social issues.
In the U.S. the Federal government is now participating more actively in marketing activities. It does so to reflect consumer interests and protect consumer welfare. Decisions reached by government regulators have far reaching effect on such marketing activities as product development, pricing, advertising, packaging, labelling and branding. Federal regulators have the responsibility of making rules that reflect consumer interests as well as those of business and the society at large. This exploratory research investigates the characteristics of those consumers who participate actively in the Federal rule-making processes. The following issues are investigated. Are the attitudes of involved consumers congruent with those held by industry and Federal regulators? Are involved consumers really concerned with a specific issue or are they consumer activists? Do involved consumers exhibit the same characteristics as consumers in general?