Organisational capabilities and relationship quality : Performance implications for palm oil processors in Malaysia

Purpose – The paper aims to examine the mediating role of relationship quality in the relationship between organisational capabilities and business performance in palm oil processing companies in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach – The study used a mail survey and achieved a final sample of 330 palm oil processing companies. Findings – The results show that relationship quality has strong mediating effects on the relationship between market orientation, learning orientation, and innovativeness and business performance, but does not have any significant effect on the relationship between manufacturing capabilities and performance. Practical implications – The study has implications for academics, managers and policy makers. Originality/value – The major contribution of this paper is to fill the gaps in theoretical and empirical perspectives about the mediating role of relationship quality.