Does marketing manager matter in new product development in high-tech firms?

: a dynamic managerial capability perspective

Abstract

Increasingly, the innovation literature recognizes the roles that key personnel play in successful new product development (NPD) and argues that product effectiveness is driven by the input of key participants, such as those who are central in the information network, who are perceived to have marketing or technical expertise, or who control critical scarce resources. Marketing participants, especially those who are deeply involved in the new product development process, are proposed to be pivotal. However, research concerning the marketing manager’s role in NPD is highly controversial. Some researchers believe that the participation of the marketing manager is necessary for successful NPD, whereas others believe that the marketing manager plays only a very limited role. This study attempts to address this issue by examining the influence of the marketing manager’s capabilities on NPD performance. Specifically, I propose that the marketing manager’s capabilities in terms of managerial human capital, social capital, and cognitive capability directly influence the success of NPD. Based on the resource-based view (RBV) and, especially, on the managerial capability perspective, a model is proposed that relates three dimensions of the marketing manager’s capabilities, human capital, social capital, and cognitive capability, with NPD success through the mediating process of the marketing manager’s participation in NPD decision making. This model was tested on a sample of 132 Chinese high-tech firms. The results indicate that the marketing manager’s dynamic capabilities explain a significant proportion of the sample variance in NPD market performance even when firm-level attributes and product level characteristics are controlled. The marketing manager’s social capital and cognitive capability were found to be positively related to NPD market performance. In contrast to the existing theory, the marketing manager’s human capital was found to be negatively related to NPD market performance. The results also confirm that the relationship between the marketing manager’s capabilities and NPD success is partially mediated by the extent to which the marketing manager participates in the NPD process. Based on these results, I propose implications for research on determinants of NPD outcomes and on managerial practice. By combining conceptualizations from the fields of marketing and NPD, I hope to offer some insights into how the marketing manager contributes to NPD success. Some of the main contributions follow. (1) This study complements the current NPD literature by taking the effect of the primary/key marketing manager into consideration. (2) By examining how the marketing manager’s capabilities influence NPD performance, the study further clarifies the way in which the marketing manager influences NPD success. (3) The analysis broadens the RBV agenda by considering the role of the marketing manager in the NPD process. Keywords: New product development (NPD), marketing manager, dynamic managerial capabilities, human capital, social capital, cognitive capability.

Date of Award	2 Oct 2007
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	City University of Hong Kong
Supervisor	Kwaku ATUAHENE-GIMA (Supervisor) & Siu Yun Steven LUI (Supervisor)