Contingent contingency: Knowledge heterogeneity and new product development performance revisited

This paper re-conceptualizes the meaning of knowledge heterogeneity—an important but under-developed collective-level concept that influences innovation. The new conceptualization extends the construct of knowledge heterogeneity beyond the traditional assessments of variability in professional background. This research further explores the quadratic relationship between knowledge heterogeneity and new product development performance. Drawing on and synthesizing knowledge clarity and uncertainty avoidance literature to consider work context, the possibility of a positive quadratic, rather than a linear or a negative quadratic, relationship between knowledge heterogeneity and innovation is suggested. This relationship is explored using data collected from 128 new product development teams from companies in knowledge-intensive and innovation-oriented industries located in Taiwan. Results are discussed in terms of the hypothesized positive quadratic relationship. The outcome of the study is discussed in terms of the influence of the knowledge structure and cultural factors, which suggest potential contingent contingencies across different contexts. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014