Moderating effect of innovation capability on new product development success in manufacturing firm in Malaysia

New Product Development has become a major concern, especially among the manufacturing companies, and its success is undeniably vital to the viability, growth and prosperity of today’s modern corporations. This research aims to identify the relationships between variables that can generate market dominance for a company, as well as technically, to support the business operation in Malaysia. The identified variables are top management supports, product characteristics, its technology capability and ease of use, and innovation capability. Through an email survey, a total of 210 companies had responded. The hypotheses involved were tested using correlation and regression techniques and Smart PLS. The results of the study support all the hypotheses with factor loading of above 0.75, Ave above 0.5, and CR between 0.8-0.9. Four independent variables, one dependent variable, as well as one moderating variable, were included in the research framework, and together they were tested. The PLS analysis indicated that there were significant relationship among the variables for each criteria to the New Product Development Success. It is believed that the results of this study will be beneficial for manufacturers and companies’ top management to apply this innovative approach to their new product development. The findings are in line with technological innovation theories that suggest technological innovation, management support and environmental factors are critical to New Product Development Success stages of implementation. The outcome will hopefully provide guidance for Malaysian business organizations to evaluate and improve their use of New Product Development Success concepts. In addition, there are important implications for top management and policy makers to develop the use of New Product Development Success as these stakeholders need to communicate effectively with their organizations about their New Product Development Success concepts. Further investment in improving the manufacturing support infrastructure and creating conducive environments to develop the use of New Product Development Success when needed is also essential.