Can a good organizational climate compensate for a lack of top management commitment to new product development?

This study examines the marketing - R&D relationship at different levels of top management commitment to determine if such commitment moderates the effect of the climate between departments on new product performance. Four key variables of relationship marketing-cooperation, communication, trust, and internal commitment-serve to measure the interfunctional climate, and the measures of top management commitment rely on both top management support and risk aversion. According to surveys of R&D directors from 178 Spanish innovative firms pertaining to 345 products, low top management commitment enhances the importance of effective cross-functional communication flows for new product performance. Furthermore, this unique research (1) uses a relationship marketing approach to investigate intrafunctional relationships, (2) measures new product performance as a formative construct, and (3) includes top management commitment as a possible moderator. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.