Organizational memory influences new product success

Publication Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

1-2008

Abstract

Prior research on the impact of organizational memory on new product success has divergent perspectives. Such inconsistency has accrued mainly from not considering memory's multifaceted aspects, which interact with specific project characteristics. This paper tries to sort out this paradox by proposing that project innovativeness moderates the relationship among variables of organizational memory and new product success. An empirical study of 169 NPD projects of Korean manufacturing firms finds that memory sharing and the use of external information and formal procedures enhance new product success, whereas organizational memory has no effect. Project innovativeness is found to moderate memory's effect, despite some tradeoffs. As innovativeness increases, the effect of organizational memory and use of external information become stronger whereas the effect of memory sharing and use of formal procedures weaken. This suggests that firms must activate organizational memory more carefully according to project characteristics and the memory level to maximize its positive effects.

Keywords

Organizational memory, Memory sharing, External information, Formal procedures, Project innovativeness, New product success

Discipline

Marketing | Sales and Merchandising

Research Areas

Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources

Publication

Journal of Business Research

Volume

61

Issue

1

First Page

13

Last Page

23

ISSN

0148-2963

Identifier

10.1016/j.jbusres.2006.05.005

Publisher

Elsevier

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