In December 2024, Professor Zeng Fu'e from our School was competitively awarded a 2-million-yuan direct grant by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) for the research project "Generative AI-Based New Product Development", which was selected as a key initiative under NSFC's 2024 Special Program on Management Science ("Business Administration in the Generative AI Era"). This program was designed to decode the operational mechanisms and transformative potential of generative AI in business management, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and context-sensitive data integration to catalyze theoretical breakthroughs in management research. By addressing core scientific challenges in corporate AI adoption, it aims to provide both conceptual frameworks and actionable strategies for enterprise transformation.

Principal Investigator Profile

Professor Zeng Fu'e, a Tier II Professor and Ph.D. Supervisor at Wuhan University, serves as Director of the Marketing Research and Consulting Center. Her distinguished accolades include being recognized as a National High-Level Talent, recipient of the Baosteel Outstanding Teacher Award, Hongyi Scholar, Luojia Distinguished Professor, and Outstanding Young Scholar in Humanities and Social Sciences at Wuhan University. With an outstanding research track record, she has secured eight national-level grants, comprising two Key/Special Projects from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), one Major Research Grant in Philosophy and Social Sciences commissioned by the Ministry of Education, one NSFC Major Research Plan Cultivation Project, and four NSFC General Projects. Her scholarly contributions include nearly 90 publications, seven of which appear in premier UTD24/FT50 journals, alongside ten authored/translated books - two designated as National Planned Textbooks. Her work has garnered multiple honors, including the Ministry of Education's Outstanding Research Achievement Awards (Second and Third Prize), Baosteel Education Award for Teaching Excellence, and Hubei Province's Second Prize for Distinguished Achievements in Humanities and Social Sciences.

Project Introduction

Amidst the current technological revolution and industrial transformation, generative artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a pivotal driver of industrial innovation and high-quality development. By integrating technologies such as real-world simulation, transfer learning, and supercomputing, generative AI can rapidly respond to market demands, accelerate creative iteration, and provide intelligent precision support throughout design and optimization processes.

This project focuses on the application of generative AI in new product development, with an emphasis on exploring the integration mechanisms between generative AI and human intelligence to enhance the creativity and efficiency of product development. Additionally, the project will investigate the fusion and application of multi-source heterogeneous data in AI-driven new product development to improve design accuracy and intelligence. By analyzing the role of generative AI in idea generation, association, and conceptual design, the research aims to facilitate efficient creative generation and the realization of innovative concepts. Furthermore, the project will examine the application of human-AI collaboration in market validation, helping enterprises better align with market needs. It will also explore how iterative optimization through human-AI integration can enhance product adaptability and competitiveness at different stages of development.

Through these studies, the project seeks to establish a future-oriented intelligent new product development framework, providing enterprises with efficient innovation solutions to accelerate digital transformation and industrial upgrading. The expected outcomes will significantly improve R&D efficiency and product competitiveness, offering a solid theoretical foundation and technological support for achieving high-quality development.