How does intellectual capital affect product innovation performance? Evidence from China and India
International Journal of Operations & Production Management
ISSN: 0144-3577
Article publication date: 20 February 2018
Issue publication date: 12 March 2018
Abstract
Purpose
Intellectual capital reflects the sum of existing knowledge a manufacturer is able to leverage and plays a critical role in new product development. The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the mechanisms through which intellectual capital enhances product innovation performance and how economic and institutional environments affect the mechanisms.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a knowledge-based view and institutional theory, this study proposes a model on the relationships among intellectual capital, supplier knowledge integration, supply chain adaptability, and product innovation performance. The hypotheses are empirically tested using multiple group structural equation modelling and data collected from 300 Chinese and 200 Indian manufacturers.
Findings
The authors find that intellectual capital improves product innovation performance both directly and indirectly through supplier knowledge integration. However, the effects are different in China and India. In particular, the direct effect of intellectual capital on product innovation performance is significantly higher in China than that in India, and intellectual capital improves product innovation performance indirectly through supplier knowledge integration only in India. The authors also find that supplier knowledge integration improves product innovation performance indirectly through supply chain adaptability in both China and India.
Originality/value
Using a moderated mediation model, this study provides insights into the joint effects of intellectual capital, supplier knowledge integration, and supply chain adaptability on product innovation performance. The findings enhance current understandings of how supply chain management helps a manufacturer develop new products using existing knowledge and the influences of economic and institutional environments on knowledge and supply chain management.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (#71420107024, #71473087), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, SCUT (#XZD03).
Citation
Zhang, M., Qi, Y., Wang, Z., Pawar, K.S. and Zhao, X. (2018), "How does intellectual capital affect product innovation performance? Evidence from China and India", International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 38 No. 3, pp. 895-914. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOPM-10-2016-0612
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited