Title: The impact of government support and innovation culture on new product development of manufacturing SMEs: does innovation strategy matter?

Authors: Haniruzila Hanifah; Ali Vafaei-Zadeh; Teoh Ai Ping

Addresses: Graduate School of Business, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Gelugor, Penang, Malaysia ' Graduate School of Business, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Gelugor, Penang, Malaysia ' Graduate School of Business, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Gelugor, Penang, Malaysia

Abstract: Manufacturing SMEs play a significant role in the nation's growth, especially in a rich country with organisational resources and talent, such as Malaysia. However, studies on the factors contributing to the innovation of manufacturing SMEs in Malaysia are still scarce. Thus, this study examines the importance of government support and innovation culture towards innovation strategy in driving new product development, indirectly enhancing organisation performance. A survey was conducted to gather data from manufacturing SMEs. A total of 127 responses were obtained, and analyses were carried out using Smart-PLS software. The findings indicate that innovation culture is an important factor for innovation strategy. However, government support has no impact on innovation strategy as well as indirect impact. The finding also indicates that innovation strategy has positive significance towards new product development and improves organisation performance. This study offers an important contribution to the factors enhancing organisational performance to the manufacturing SMEs in Malaysia.

Keywords: new product development; NPD; manufacturing small medium enterprise; SME; innovation strategy; innovation culture; government support.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMP.2021.117291

International Journal of Management Practice, 2021 Vol.14 No.5, pp.519 - 538

Received: 15 Oct 2020
Accepted: 28 Oct 2020
Published online: 31 Aug 2021 *

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