The role of indigenous technological capability and interpersonal trust in supply chain learning

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of indigenous technological capability and interpersonal trust on product innovation through supply-chain learning under a dynamic environment. Design/methodology/approach The proposed model is tested with a sample of 300 manufacturers in China. Findings The results show that the learning from customers partially mediates the relationship between indigenous technological capability and product innovation, as well as between interpersonal trust with customers and product innovation. In addition, the influence of indigenous technological capability on learning from customers is weakened under a dynamic environment as well as the influence of learning from customers on product innovation. Originality/value This study illustrates the comparative roles of indigenous technological capability and interpersonal trust in learning customer knowledge and promoting innovation. It also enriches the innovation research by understanding the learning roles of indigenous technological capability and interpersonal trust under a dynamic environment.