DESIR EE KNOPPEN EADA Business SchoolCompanies increasingly depend upon the knowledge of supply chain partners to deliver superior value to customers with ever shifting preferences. This transference requires absorptive capacity (AC), which allows an organization to identify external knowledge and convert it into value for the firm. Based on an approach of dynamic capabilities, AC encompasses three related learning processes: exploration, assimilation, and exploitation. Within the particular context of buyer-supplier relationships (BSR), the aim of this research is to examine AC, one of its most relevant antecedentsorganizational compatibilityand its outcomes. Two samples of 153 and 199 companies, operating as key suppliers of two focal buyers, a European multinational retail chain and an American multinational spare parts distributor, respectively, constitute the empirical base of the study. Results derived from structural equation modeling and, more precisely, multi-group confirmatory factor analysis and a formal test of mediation, strongly indicate for both samples that AC mediates between organizational compatibility on the one hand and innovation and efficiency performance on the other hand. Results also indicate that the mediating effect of AC related to innovation increases with demand uncertainty. This paper thus suggests that managers must be aware that the selection of supply chain partners based on their compatibility alone is not enough. AC is necessary to achieve sustainable performance improvement.
Companies increasingly regard relationships with other companies as a source of competitive advantage. Relationships constitute a context in which the firm may learn and build absorptive capacity. This study provides an in-depth explanation of the key mechanisms that interlace the different learning processes leading to innovations in a relational context. A theoretical elaboration of these mechanisms precedes their empirical study within four customer-supplier dyads, centred on two focal customer organizations.The article contributes by discussing how the mechanisms act and interact to create absorptive capacity for a focal firm across relationships. We find that structural learning mechanisms, while necessary are not sufficient to explain variation in the presence of absorptive capacity across different learning contexts. Cultural, psychological and policy learning mechanisms complement the picture. From the empirical analysis we derive propositions to guide further research into the creation of absorptive capacity in a relational context.
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