It is important to note that CE and product innovation performance are conceptually and empirically different concepts despite their apparent similarity in terms of the dimension of new product development [15,49]. New product development is a process by which attempts are made to transform inventions into marketable and value-adding products, processes, services, or organizational changes [28]. It encompasses the R&D activities that a firm undertakes for the purpose of improving innovation performance. By contrast, product innovation performance assesses the contribution of product innovation to firm performance [15]. Based on the preceding discussion, we expect a positive link between a firm’s CE activities and its performance in terms of product innovation. Therefore, we propose the following hypothesis: