The customer knowledge management and customer collaboration: its impact on innovation capacity and marketing results in SMEs

Purpose - Customer Knowledge Management (CKM) has been recognized within marketing as a significant resource that can be managed to improve innovation, to facilitate sensing of emerging market opportunities and to support long-term customer relationships management. Specifically, the aim of this paper is to test a model in order to examine the impact of customer collaboration as an antecedent of CKM, and the influence of both variables on innovation capacity and marketing results, in order to better understand the customer's potential role on innovation. Design/methodology/approach - The conceptual model and the hypotheses are tested using PLS (Partial Least Squares) approach to Structural Equation Models (SEM) with survey data from 210 companies in Valencia (Spain). Using as key informants the owners of the company, data was collected using a random stratified probability sampling procedure with proportional allocation to the economic sectors. Personal interviews were developed using a structured questionnaire Originality/value - The value of this study appears as a result of combining the three theories in the field of innovation, not previously tested together - the Resource-Based theory, the Service Dominant Logic (SDL) and the Organizational Learning theory-for proposing model that allows better understanding of the role of CKM and customer collaboration in marketing results and innovation capacity. Moreover this paper provides a comprehensive approach working on all types of innovation (product/service, production processes, management and marketing). It also generates knowledge to empirically test the proposition no 2 of the theoretical work of Lush et al. (2007) based on the contribution of customer in the innovation co-creation process. Practical implications - The results of this study hold important implications for business management and policy management. The study shows the CKM importance on organizations innovation capacity and marketing results. Furthermore, it contributes to highlight the importance of customer collaboration in the innovation process. Recognizing CKM as an important variable that influences directly and indirectly innovation capacity and marketing results should encourage managers pay attention to their CKM processes.