Collaborating to innovate: Effects on customer knowledge management and performance

Scholars regard customer knowledge management (CKM) as a strategic resource for businesses to improve innovation, facilitate the detection of new market opportunities, and support long-term customer relationship management. However, literature suffers from a lack of understanding of customer collaboration's role in the innovation process and innovation orientation in CKM. Accordingly, this paper tests a model examining how both variables act as antecedents of CKM. The model also explores CKM and customer collaboration's effect on marketing results. Findings have important academic and managerial implications, and show that collaboration with customers and openness to innovation are key inputs because of their effects on CKM and marketing results. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.