The contingent roles of R&D-sales versus R&D-marketing cooperation in new-product development of business-to-business firms

•This paper explores the effectiveness of R&D-marketing vs. R&D-sales cooperation for new product development.•The effect of R&D-marketing and R&D-sales cooperation on new product advantage varies depending on market, company and R&D characteristics.•R&D-marketing cooperation may be beneficial if firms follow a cost leadership strategy, or if R&D collectivism is strongly pronounced.•R&D-sales cooperation may be beneficial if technological turbulence is high in the market, or if the firm follows a differentiation strategy.

This investigation explores the effectiveness of R&D-marketing cooperation as compared to R&D-sales cooperation for new-product development under different market and organizational circumstances in business-to-business settings. Using a cross-industry dyadic data set of 230 industrial firms, we show that the effects of R&D-marketing and R&D-sales cooperation on new-product advantage vary significantly, depending on the velocity of the market environment, company strategy, and R&D characteristics. Specifically, R&D-marketing cooperation exhibits a stronger association with new-product advantage if firms follow a cost leadership strategy, if R&D holds high power levels regarding new-product decisions, and if R&D collectivism is strongly pronounced. Conversely, R&D-sales cooperation exhibits a stronger effect on new-product advantage if technological turbulence is pronounced in the market, if the firm follows a differentiation strategy, and if R&D is influential in firm-wide budgeting decisions. These results may help firms decide which R&D cooperation type might be encouraged to maximize innovation success in a given situation.