Abstract
This paper highlights the role of firm’s three “basic capabilities”—customer orientation, proactiveness, and mindfulness in determining its learning capacity—a “dynamic capability”, which in turn can help firms improve new products outcomes. The authors use data collected from manufacturing firms in the United States and test a model using structural equations. The results indicate that customer oriented firms that are proactive about identifying future opportunities and mindful of their current surroundings have greater learning capacity. Further, they show that firm’s learning capacity enhances new products outcomes such as creativity, timeliness and new product advantage.