Investigating the role of customer relationship management on the relationship between customer knowledge management and new product development (case study: active industrial companies in the plastic sector)

The present study investigates the impact of customer relationship management (CRM) as mediating variable on the relationship between customer knowledge management (CKM) and new product development (NPD). The research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-survey in nature. The statistical population of the research is the active companies of Khuzestan and West Azarbaijan province, among which 169 companies were selected as a sample based on Morgan Table, which sampling has been available. The data collection tool was a standard questionnaire which has taken of literature. The dimensions of customer knowledge management variable, including knowledge about the customer, from the customer, and for the customer, respectively, have been measured based on the scales of Buchnoska (2011), Moosakhani, Haghighi, and Torkzadeh (2012), and Shami Zanjani and Najafloo (2011). The dimensions of customer relationship management variable including information, value, and multi-channel communication have been measured according to the scales of Kohli and Jaworski (1990), Jarvis, et al. (2003), and Jindal, et al. (2007). Also, New Product Development variable has been measured based on the scale of Cooper and Kleinschmidt (1995). To analyze the data, partial least squares method and SmartPLS software were used. Data reliability examination using Cronbach's alpha coefficient and composite reliability test showed that the lowest value of Cronbach's alpha is related to the variable of customer knowledge with a value of 0.775 and the lowest value of composite reliability is related to the variable of customer knowledge with a value of 0.843. Therefore, the reliability of all variables was confirmed. The results showed that the path coefficient of CKM-CRM and CKM-NPD has been 0.833 and 0.612, respectively, the path coefficient of CRM-NPD has been 0.774, and the mediating effect of CRM on the CKM-NPD relationship has been 0.648. So all cases are significant at the 5% error level. These findings have several important scientific and practical implications, and therefore it is suggested that companies pay special attention to the importance of customer relationship management in activating knowledge management talent and new product development.