Title: The role of integrative capabilities in involving suppliers in New Product Development: a knowledge integration perspective

Authors: Sarah Jinhui Wu, Gary L. Ragatz

Addresses: Graduate School of Business Administration, Fordham University, 113 West 60th Street, NY 10023, USA. ' Department of Supply Chain Management, The Eli Broad Graduate School of Management, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1122, USA

Abstract: Early Supplier Involvement (ESI) aims to facilitate New Product Development (NPD) success and create competitive advantage for the purchasing firm. Unfortunately, empirical results are inconsistent in verifying the linkage between ESI and NPD success. To solve this paradox, this paper views ESI as a knowledge integration process and examines the role of the purchasing firm|s integrative capabilities in the process. Competing models are proposed and tested. The results demonstrate that NPD success depends not only on the supplier|s knowledge and expertise, but also on the purchasing firm|s integrative capabilities to absorb knowledge and increase efficiency of knowledge integration.

Keywords: ESI; early supplier involvement; knowledge integration; integrative capability; RBV; resource-based view; new product development; NPD.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMTM.2010.029452

International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management, 2010 Vol.19 No.1/2, pp.82 - 101

Published online: 30 Nov 2009 *

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