Knowledge Management, Learning Behavior from Failure and New Product Development in New Technology Ventures

This research examines how knowledge management influences new product development (NPD) in new technology ventures. Researchers demonstrate that knowledge management is a critical antecedent of NPD. However, few studies have explored the role of knowledge management in NPD from a behavioral perspective. By employing experiential learning theory, this research develops a conceptual model to study the relationships between knowledge management, learning behavior arising from failures, and new ventures' NPD performance. Using a sample of 176 new high-tech technology ventures, the theoretical model is examined. The findings show that, for new technology ventures, knowledge acquisition facilitates NPD performance positively and that the relationship is partially mediated by learning behavior from failures. In addition, it is demonstrated that knowledge application plays a moderating role between learning behavior from failure and NPD. Both the theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed. Copyright (C) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.