Abstract
Abstract: The present study aimed at investigating the impact of the coexistence of marketing and operations on product innovation performance in the flexible plastic packaging industry in Brazil. To this end, the study was conducted in two stages: one, exploratory and qualitative, and the other, descriptive and quantitative. In the first stage, a construct was chosen and validated to identify the effect of integrating the functions of innovation and develop an instrument for data collection. In the second stage, we defined the research population, collected data, and performed statistical analysis of the results. To measure the relationship of marketing and operations, we used a theoretical construct which investigates the level of integration in the four phases of the new product development process and innovation performance, considering both financial and non-financial dimensions. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire and statistically analyzed through linear regression and correlations between variables. The results showed that the integration of these areas has a positive and significant impact on the success of innovation, indicating that information-sharing in the initial and final stages of the product innovation process is a driver for achieving better performance. One of the main findings of this study is that, in isolation, the field of marketing does not perceive the impact of the integration of functions on innovation.
Highlights
The marketing and operations functions are key areas in organizations as they are responsible for delivering added value to customers (Piercy, 2007)
To formulate the first hypothesis we considered theoretical and empirical studies that found a positive relationship between the integration of marketing and operations functions and organizational performance (O’Leary-Kelly & Flores, 2002; Song et al, 2010; D’Avila, 2013); marketing functions and operations as precursors of key activities in development of new products (Tatikonda & Montoya-Weiss, 2001; Swink & Song, 2007; Song et al, 2010); and studies supporting that the integration of these functions increases the innovation performance in new product development (Calantone et al, 2002; O’Leary-Kelly & Flores, 2002; Song et al, 2010; Kong et al, 2015)
Considering the importance of exchanging and sharing information between marketing and operations in the different stages of the new product development process (Swink & Song, 2007; Song et al, 2010; Schneider & Engelen, 2015; Lin et al, 2015) and integration of knowledge of both functions to promote superior innovation performance in the development of new products (Song et al, 2010; Frishammar et al, 2012; Peng et al, 2013; Lin et al, 2015; Kong et al, 2015), we propose hypotheses 2, 3, 4 and 5: Hypothesis 2 – Information sharing between marketing and operations in the analysis of market opportunities has a positive effect on innovation
Summary
The marketing and operations functions are key areas in organizations as they are responsible for delivering added value to customers (Piercy, 2007) These two areas are responsible for the basic duties of any organization, specifying what is produced, how it is produced, and how products and services are delivered (Tang, 2010) while promoting the interaction between the organization and the customer (Hill, 2005). In this context, a better integration of marketing and operations, in a collaborative and cooperative environment, is of fundamental importance to create and sustain competitive advantages (Piercy, 2007; Kong et al, 2015). The dominance of one or another perspective may lead to deficiencies in innovation, both regarding market relevance and the company's ability to deliver what has been promised with excellence (Swink & Song, 2007)
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