95 Journal of Marketing Vol. 71 (January 2007), 95–112 © 2007, American Marketing Association ISSN: 0022-2429 (print), 1547-7185 (electronic) Luigi M. De Luca & Kwaku Atuahene-Gima Market Knowledge Dimensions and Cross-Functional Collaboration: Examining the Different Routes to Product Innovation Performance There is consensus in the marketing literature that market knowledge and cross-functional collaboration are two fundamental resources for successful product innovation. However, few studies examine the dimensions or characteristics of market knowledge and how and why these resources influence product innovation performance. Drawing on contingency theory and the knowledge-based view of the firm, the authors argue that knowledge integration mechanisms may account for the effects of market knowledge dimensions (i.e., breadth, depth, tacitness, and specificity) and cross-functional collaboration on product innovation performance. They find that market knowledge specificity and cross-functional collaboration affect product innovation performance through knowledge integration mechanisms. In contrast, whereas the effect of market knowledge depth is partially mediated, market knowledge breadth has a direct, unmediated effect on product innovation performance. A test of an alternative moderating perspective shows that the effects of market knowledge depth and cross-functional collaboration on product innovation are negatively moderated by knowledge integration mechanisms. By showing the differential effects of market knowledge dimensions on product innovation performance, the authors provide a more refined understanding of the interplay among market knowledge, its integration, and the firm’s performance in product innovation.The authors also conclude that by overlooking the role of knowledge integration mechanisms, previous research may have provided an overly optimistic view of the value of cross-functional collaboration in product innovation. Luigi M. De Luca is a doctoral candidate, Management Department, Boc- coni University (e-mail: luigi.deluca@unibocconi.it). Kwaku Atuahene- Gima is Professor of Marketing and Innovation Management, China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) (e-mail: kwaku@ceibs. edu). The authors thank the three anonymous JM reviewers for their con- structive feedback. The work described in this article was supported by a grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Admin- istrative Region, China (No. CityU 1263/03H) awarded to the second author. To read and contribute to reader and author dialogue on JM, visit http://www.marketingpower.com/jmblog. T he marketing literature has established that product innovation performance is enhanced by three distinct yet highly complementary factors: market knowledge (Atuahene-Gima 1995, 2005; Day 1994; Li and Calantone 1998), cross-functional collaboration (e.g., Griffin and Hauser 1996; Kahn and Mentzer 1998, Song and Parry 1997), and knowledge integration mechanisms (hereinafter KIMs; see also Madhavan and Grover 1998; Maltz and Kohli 2000; Ruekert and Walker 1987). Market knowledge refers to the firm’s knowledge about its customers and com- petitors (Day 1994; Kohli and Jaworski 1990; Narver and Slater 1990). Cross-functional collaboration refers to the degree of cooperation and the extent of representation by marketing, research and development (R&D), and other functional units in the product innovation process (Kahn 1996; Li and Calantone 1998; Song, Montoya-Weiss, and Schmidt 1997). Knowledge integration mechanisms refer to the formal processes and structures that ensure the capture, analysis, interpretation, and integration of market and other types of knowledge among different functional units within the firm (Olson, Walker, and Ruekert 1995; Zahra, Ireland, and Hitt 2000). The inability of firms to manage the inter- play of these factors lies at the root of many failures in product innovation. For example, Fisher, Maltz, and Jaworski (1997, p. 54) report several examples, such as Texas Instruments’s unsuccessful early entry into the desk- top personal computer business, and Hewlett-Packard’s early entry into the laptop business with a technology- oriented 23-pound laptop. Although the contributions of previous studies are sub- stantial, extant research is lacking in three respects. First, the knowledge-based view (hereinafter KBV) of the firm underscores the importance of several different dimensions of market knowledge in product innovation: breadth, depth, specificity, and tacitness (see Galunic and Rodan 1998). However, although studies in marketing emphasize the importance of broad market knowledge as reflected in the concept of market orientation (e.g., Atuahene-Gima 2005; Atuahene-Gima, Slater, and Olson 2005; Jaworski and Kohli 1993; Li and Calantone 1998), there is little or no insight into the relative importance of the different dimen- sions of market knowledge as drivers of product innovation performance. Given the strategic importance of market knowledge, an approach that considers its dimensions and parses out their distinct contributions seems appropriate if