Factors That Boost the Technological Capability of Malaysian Food Manufacturing Industry

Abstract

The increasing urbanization of the world has created new issues and challenges for the modern food industry to meet customers’ changing demands. To address these issues, these firms need to invest in technological capability development. This study examines factors that affect the technological capability of food manufacturing firms. A large-scale survey of a sample of 270 food manufacturing firms in Malaysia was conducted. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the observed variables. The result shows that organizational innovation fully mediates the relationship between organizational learning and technological capability. Overall, the findings suggest that food manufacturing firms in Malaysia that want to enhance their technological capability should focus on developing and implementing organizational innovation practices, in addition to other strategies and practices that aim to promote organizational learning and innovation. This research contributes to the development of related theories and has practical implications for the stakeholders in the food manufacturing industry.