Product resource-capability complementarity, integration mechanisms, and first product advantage

The current study extends work on resource-based theory (RBT) by exploring resource-capability complementarity in a new context-that of new technology ventures' (NTVs) first product (FP) commercialization in India. This study examines the influence of marketing and technology resource-capability complementarity on FP positional advantages (differentiation and cost-efficiency) and their influence on first product performance (FPP). Furthermore, this study incorporates the influence of supplier integration (SI) mechanisms (in terms of knowledge sharing and co-commercialization) in the process of FP commercialization. The findings suggest that asset complementarities have a positive relation with FP positional advantages, in that both differentiation and cost-efficiency enhance an NTV's FPP, and that SI moderates the relationships between both marketing and technology R-C complementarity and FP positional advantages. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.