FRAMEWORK FOR THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRODUCT MANAGERS AND THEIR CLIENTS: CONCEPT AND DESIGN
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66104/5jwck070Keywords:
Product management; Innovation; Customer relationship.Abstract
This article presents the conception of a conceptual framework for the relationship between product managers and their clients, adopting the business context of startups as a backdrop for its development, aiming to help overcome the challenges arising from the construction of innovative businesses. The research has a mixed-methods approach and uses the Design Science Research (DSR) method, comprising three main stages. The first stage involved a literature review; the second stage consisted of a survey with 28 product managers in Brazilian startups, seeking to understand how the relationship with the client manifests itself in practice and the respective influencing factors. The third stage resulted in the development of the Product DNA Framework, elaborated based on the research results and literature review, consisting of a conceptual model that aims to strengthen the relationship between product managers and their clients. The originality of this work lies in the integration of a temporal evolution matrix, which connects classic collaboration models to the contemporary demands of co-adaptation and strategic agility. The framework aims to assist startups in designing innovative products and services with a higher probability of market success.
Downloads
References
APPIAH-KUBI, B. e DOKU, A. K. Towards a successful customer relationship management: A conceptual framework. African Journal of Marketing Management, 2(3), 037-043, 2010.
ASSOCIAÇÃO BRASILEIRA DE STARTUPS (ABStartups). O que é uma startup? Disponível em https://abstartups.com.br/o-que-e-uma-startup. Acesso em: maio de 2024.
ARNOLD, J. E. e CLANCEY, W. J. Creative engineering: Promoting innovation by thinking differently. Creat. Eng. Promot. Innov. by Think. Differ, 198-217, 1959.
AUERNHAMMER, J. e ROTH, B. The origin and evolution of Stanford University’s design thinking: From product design to design thinking in innovation management. Journal of Product innovation management, 38(6), 623-644, 2021.
BASKERVILLE, R., PRIES-HEJE, J. e VENABLE, J. Soft design science methodology. In Proceedings of the 4th international conference on design science research in information systems and technology (pp. 1-11), 2009.
BECK, K., BEEDLE, M., VAN BENNEKUM, A., COCKBURN, A., CUNNINGHAM, W., FOWLER, M., GRENNING, J., HIGHSMITH, J., HUNT, A., JEFFRIES, R., KERN, J., MARICK, B., MARTIN, R. C., MELLOR, S., SCHWABER, K., SUTHERLAND, J., e THOMAS, D. (2001). Manifesto for Agile Software Development. Disponível em http://agilemanifesto.org/. Acesso em: outubro de 2024.
BENASSI, J. L. G., AMARAL, D. C. e FERREIRA, L. D. Toward a conceptual framework for product vision International Journal of Operations & Product Management, 36 (2): 200–219, 2016.
BLANK, S. Why the lean start-up changes everything. Harvard business review, 91(5), 63-72, 2013.
BLEIZEFFER, K. Which schools produce the most unicorn founders? This Stanford prof has crunched the numbers. Disponível em: https://poetsandquants.com/2021/12/20/which-schools-produce-the-most-unicorn-founders-this-stanford-prof-has-crunched-the-numbers/2/. Acesso em: março de 2024.
BROWN, T. Design thinking. Harvard business review, 86(6), 84, 2008.
CAGAN, M. Inspired: How to create products customers love (p. 242). Sunnyvale, CA, USA: SVPG Press, 2008.
CARNEIRO, V., DA ROCHA, A. B., RANGEL, B., e ALVES, J. L. Design management and the SME product development process: bibliometric analysis and review. She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation, 7(2), 197-222, 2021.
CHESBROUGH, H. W. Open innovation: The new imperative for creating and profiting from technology. Harvard Business Press, 2003.
COOPER, R. G. The drivers of success in new-product development. Industrial marketing management, 76, 36-47, 2019.
COOPER, R. G. The 5-th generation stage-gate idea-to-launch process. IEEE Engineering Management Review, 50(4), 43-55, 2022.
DOZ, Y. L., e KOSONEN, M. Fast strategy: How strategic agility will help you stay ahead of the game. Pearson Education, 2008.
EISENHARDT, K. M. Building theories from case study research. Academy of management review, 14(4), 532-550, 1989.
Ghezzi, A., & Cavallo, A. (2020). Agile business model innovation in digital entrepreneurship: Lean startup approaches. Journal of business research, 110, 519-537.
HELFAT, C. E., FINKELSTEIN, S., MITCHELL, W., PETERAF, M., SINGH, H., TEECE, D. e WINTER, S. G. Dynamic capabilities: Understanding strategic change in organizations. John Wiley & Sons, 2009.
KAULIO, M. Customer, consumer and user involvement in product development: a framework and a review of selected methods. Total quality management, v. 9, n. 1, p. 141 149, 1998.
KOOSTRA, G. e SCHOMAKER, L. R. Prediction of human eye fixations using symmetry. In Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society Vol. 31, No. 31, 2009.
KUMAR, V.; KUMAR. L. e HALEEM, A. Selection of Rapid Prototyping Technology Using an ANP Based Approach. IOSR Journal of Mechanical and Civil Engineering (IOSR-JMCE), Vol. 13, Issue 4, pp 71-78, 2016.
MAGISTRETTI, S., PHAM, C. T. A. e DELL'ERA, C. Enlightening the dynamic capabilities of design thinking in fostering digital transformation. Industrial Marketing Management, 97, 59-70, 2021.
MARTIN, R. L. The design of business: Why design thinking is the next competitive advantage. Harvard Business Press, 2009.
MICHELI, P., WILNER, S. J., BHATTI, S. H., MURA, M. e BEVERLAND, M. B. Doing design thinking: Conceptual review, synthesis, and research agenda. Journal of Product innovation management, 36(2), 124-148, 2019.
PAYNE, A. e FROW, P. A strategic framework for customer relationship management. Journal of Marketing Vol.69, Issue 4, 2005.
RIES, E. The lean startup: How today's entrepreneurs use continuous innovation to create radically successful businesses. Crown Currency, 2011.
SALAMZADEH, A. e KAWAMORITA KESIM, H. Startup companies: Life cycle and challenges. In 4th International conference on employment, education and entrepreneurship (EEE), Belgrade, Serbia, 2015.
Scaled Agile. SAFe Scrum. Disponível em https://scaledagileframework.com/safe-scrum. Acesso em: junho de 2024.
SERVIÇO BRASILEIRO DE APOIO ÀS MICRO E PEQUENAS EMPRESAS (Sebrae). Você sabe o que é uma startup e o que ela faz? Disponível em https://sebrae.com.br/sites/PortalSebrae/ufs/pi/artigos/voce-sabe-o-que-e-uma-startup-e-o-que-ela-faz,e15ca719a0ea1710VgnVCM1000004c00210aRCRD. Acesso em: março de 2024.
SCHWABER, K. Agile project management with Scrum. Microsoft press, 2004.
SCHILLING, M. A. e HILL, C. W. Managing the new product development process: Strategic imperatives. Academy of Management Perspectives, 12(3), 67-81, 1998.
WOMACK, J. P e JONES, D. T. Lean thinking—banish waste and create wealth in your corporation. Journal of the operational research society, 48(11), 1148-1148, 1997.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Eliane Antonio Simões, Robson Anderson Martins de Souza do Carmo , Rosinei Batista Ribeiro, Alexandre Formigoni

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in this journal agree to the following terms:
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits the sharing of the work with proper acknowledgment of authorship and initial publication in this journal;
Authors are authorized to enter into separate, additional agreements for the non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in this journal (e.g., posting in an institutional repository or publishing it as a book chapter), provided that authorship and initial publication in this journal are properly acknowledged, and that the work is adapted to the template of the respective repository;
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post and distribute their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their personal websites) at any point before or during the editorial process, as this may lead to productive exchanges and increase the impact and citation of the published work (see The Effect of Open Access);
Authors are responsible for correctly providing their personal information, including name, keywords, abstracts, and other relevant data, thereby defining how they wish to be cited. The journal’s editorial board is not responsible for any errors or inconsistencies in these records.
PRIVACY POLICY
The names and email addresses provided to this journal will be used exclusively for the purposes of this publication and will not be made available for any other purpose or to third parties.
Note: All content of the work is the sole responsibility of the author and the advisor.
