The Influence of Relational Capital on Product Innovation Performance at Innovative SMEs

• Autor(a) principal: Dorrego, Pedro Figueroa
• Data de Publicação: 2013
• Outros Autores: Costa, Ricardo, Fernández, Carlos Fernández-Jardon
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.24/240
• topic: intellectual capital; relational capital; product innovation; new product development; innovative SMEs; Portugal

The authors build on the intellectual capital and new product development perspectives to study the influence of relational capital on product innovation performance. An empirical research was conducted, using a questionnaire administered to Portuguese innovative SMEs. The results suggest that relational capital does have a positive effect on product innovation performance. In particular, ”Vertical relationships” stands out as the main relational capital element significantly affecting product innovation at the innovative SMEs level. The existence and proactive management of relationships with customers and suppliers emerge as critical factors to product innovation success. We find our results to be useful for both researchers and practitioners: at the intellectual capital level, we contribute to the ongoing understanding of relational capital’s impact on critical business activities; at the product innovation level, we contribute to the identification of additional critical success factors for new product development. At a time when intellectual capital and product innovation management are both considered to be critical for companies to gain a competitive edge (and even survive) in today’s unstable business environment, this study contributes to acknowledge the relevance of relational capital management on product innovation success at innovative SMEs.