Customer involvement, business capabilities and new product performance

Purpose: This study aims to test the role of a firm’s marketing and technological capabilities in mediating the relationship between customer involvement in information provision (CIP) and customer involvement in coproduction (CIC) and new product performance, while also investigating the impact of the interactive effect of such capabilities. This investigation is at the firm rather than the project level. Design/methodology/approach: A survey-based questionnaire was distributed to senior managers from 101 Taiwanese electronics firms. The research model and hypotheses were evaluated using partial least squares structural equation modeling in SmartPLS 3. Findings: CIP and CIC improve new product performance indirectly through the development of marketing and technological capabilities. CIP has a stronger positive effect on marketing capabilities than CIC. In addition, the interactive effect of marketing and technological capabilities on new product performance is positive and significant. Research limitations/implications: The data came from a single respondent in each firm, which may lead to common method bias. In addition, the data were cross-sectional in nature, having been collected at a single point in time. This limits the ability to draw causal inferences, as would be possible with longitudinal data. Finally, the data came from a single industry in only one country. Practical implications: CIC is useful in terms of product idea generation and screening, as well as in helping to effectively learn and combine market knowledge from customers, whereas CIP takes on a more active role in strengthening marketing capabilities. Managers should understand these direct effects of CIP and CIC, as well as their indirect effects on new product performance. Originality/value: Previous empirical research is largely limited to project-level implications such as innovativeness, advantages and the financial performance of a specific new product; a clear understanding of the strategic, firm-level implications of CIP and CIC in the context of new product development is lacking. The findings highlight the importance of treating CIP and CIC as continuous processes in a firm rather than viewing each in isolation to a specific project.