Tohru Yoshioka-Kobayashi, Associate Professor, has been awarded the Best Paper Award at the 2025 JPIM Research Forum, organized by the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA). His conference paper was recognized for its significant contribution to the field of product development and innovation management.
This achievement underscores IIR’s commitment to advancing research with international impact, bridging academia and business practice.
Organization:
The Product Development and Management Association
Award:
2025 JPIM Research Forum Best Paper Award
Date:
September 13, 2025 (Chicago, USA)
Award Winner:
Tohru Yoshioka-Kobayashi (Associate Professor, IIR)
Atsushi Akiike (Associate Professor, Tohoku University)
Sotaro Katsumata (Professor, Osaka University)
Article Title:
“A technological turbulence in a product category and a borrowing of style from other product categories: An explorative study of the U.S. design patents”
Abstract of the paper:
This study examines how technological turbulence affects the effectiveness of borrowing product appearance styles from other categories. Using a dataset of U.S. design patents in home electronics (1990–2017), we explore the relationship between cross-category stylistic borrowing and design impact, measured by forward citations. Results show that borrowing styles from other product categories enhances design impact only when the focal category is technologically stable. Furthermore, this positive effect occurs only when the borrowing involves third-party products, not brand extensions. These findings provide empirical support for consumer information processing theory and offer practical implications for design strategy during different phases of technological change.