Investigating the Impact of Knowledge Management Factors on New Product Development Performance

Knowledge is recognized as an important weapon for new product development (NPD) performance, and many firms are beginning to manage the knowledge detained by their new product development processes. Researchers have investigated knowledge management factors such as enablers, creation processes, and performance. However, very few studies have explored the relationship between these factors in the context of new product development (NPD). To fill this gap, this article develops a research model which applies the knowledge management factors to the NPD context. The model includes five enablers: collaboration, trust, learning, team leadership characteristics, and t-shaped skills with an emphasis on the knowledge creation processes such as socialization, externalization, combination, and internalization. The results confirm the strong support of the research model and the impact of the independent variables (knowledge management enablers) on the dependent variables (knowledge creation and NPD performance). In light of these findings, the implications for both theory and practice are discussed.