Title: Driving product life cycle: the relevance of knowledge-oriented leadership, customer knowledge management, competitor analysis and innovation quality

Authors: Zhenia Tahmasebinia; Amir Mohebi; Mahmoud Dehghan Nayeri; Foozhan Tahmasebinia

Addresses: Ivy College of Business, Iowa State University, Ames, USA ' Faculty of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran ' Management and Economics Faculty, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran ' Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, USA

Abstract: This study investigates how knowledge-oriented leadership (KOL), customer knowledge management (CKM), and competitor analysis (CA) influence product and process innovation quality and, in turn, early product life cycle performance in Iran's confectionery industry. Using survey data from 225 senior managers and analysing the relationships with PLS-SEM, we find that KOL strongly enhances both CKM and CA. However, only CKM directly improves innovation quality, while CA shows no significant effect. Higher innovation quality subsequently leads to stronger outcomes in the introduction and growth phases of the PLC. Mediation analysis further reveals that CKM transmits the effect of KOL to innovation quality, and innovation quality conveys CKM's impact on PLC performance, with no evidence for CA-based mediations. Theoretically, these findings integrate leadership, knowledge management, and life cycle perspectives to demonstrate that customer-centric knowledge flows are the primary pathway linking leadership to superior innovation in a risk-averse sector. Practically, managers should foster a KOL style and embed CKM systems to capture real-time customer insights, while treating competitor intelligence as a secondary input.

Keywords: knowledge-oriented leadership; KOL; customer knowledge management; CKM; competitor analysis; innovation quality; product's life cycle.

DOI: 10.1504/IJKMS.2026.155257

International Journal of Knowledge Management Studies, 2026 Vol.17 No.3, pp.398 - 425

Accepted: 29 Jan 2026
Published online: 29 Jul 2026 *

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