The impact of external involvement on new product market performance : An analysis of mediation and moderation

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to bridge the gap in understanding the effects of external involvement on new product market performance. Particularly, the authors investigate the mediating effects of speed-to-market of new products and moderating effects of information technology (IT) implementation. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on the high-performance manufacturing (HPM) project database collected from 366 manufacturing plants in ten countries and three representative industries. The hierarchical regression analysis is employed to explore the relationships in the model. Findings The empirical findings indicate that speed-to-market of new products positively and significantly mediates the relationship between customer involvement and new product market performance. The results also demonstrate that IT implementation moderates the relationship between external involvement and speed-to-market of new products. More importantly, the findings reveal that supplier involvement is less likely to lead to the enhancement of speed-to-market if the firm is not able to establish a higher level of IT implementation. Practical implications This analysis uncovers the way of how customer and supplier involvement are related to new product market performance, and highlights the importance of IT implementation in absorbing and exploiting external resources. Originality/value This paper moves us from a simplistic understanding of external involvement to a more nuanced and complex model which is closer to reality. The obtained findings highlight the importance for manufacturers to establish speed advantage of new products and implement IT as an enabler.