Absorptive capacity and organizational mechanisms

Abstract

Purpose This study aims to contribute to fill the gap in the existing absorptive capacity (AC) literature relating to how organizational mechanisms applied both at the national and international level affect a firm’s AC. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review was carried out using analytical articles from two sources – Web of Science and Scopus – aiming to cover as many studies related to the AC research topic. Findings The results show that the majority of the studies do not include a specific analysis of an organizational mechanism’s role as mediator or moderator of a firm’s AC. The analysis of the reverse knowledge set of mechanisms will provide for international business scholars and practitioners a compilation of specific strategies that MNC apply to improve AC. Originality/value The study identifies four sets of organizational mechanisms: external search strategy; organizational knowledge management; reverse knowledge; and mechanisms not orientated to knowledge management; and it describes their specific relationships with AC.

Effect of market versus nonmarket environmental policy stringency on knowledge sourcing behavior for green technology: evidence from OECD countries

“…We also adopt and broaden absorptive capacity theory (Cohen and Levinthal, 1990) by investigating a moderating role of the firm’s green technological capabilities. Some scholars report that internal and external knowledge have complementary relations and both can help a firm achieve better innovation (Cordero and Ferreira, 2019; Cassiman and Veugelers, 2002). On the other hand, it is reported that internal R&D might substitute for external knowledge search activities (Laursen and Salter, 2006) or an inverted U-shaped relationship between them (Song and Shin, 2008).…”

“…A firm’s internal technological capabilities may have a complementary and/or a substitutive relationship with external knowledge sourcing. Many scholars argue for a complementary relationship between a firm’s internal technological capability and external knowledge sourcing, which results in a better innovation performance (Cordero and Ferreira, 2019; Cassiman and Veugelers, 2002; Song et al , 2018). Rothwell (1992) emphasizes how scientists and skilled labor, a well-prepared organization and openness to external knowledge sources can increase absorptive capacity.…”

Empowering Clusters: How Dynamic Capabilities Drive Sustainable Supply Chain Clusters in Egypt

“…In addition, SCC also contains supporting entities (e.g., governmental agencies and research institutes) that enhance overall cluster development as they provide training and technical support [3]. This supports organisations' ability to adapt to changes and make use of opportunities [38,40,41]. In turn, it facilitates their development of absorptive capacity [12] and resilience [20,37], especially since collaboration and governance among organisations support supply chain dynamic capabilities [42].…”

Moderating Effect of Proactivity on Firm Absorptive Capacity and Performance: Empirical Evidence from Spanish Firms

“…Numerous studies on business performance have been conducted in the field of business management, strategy, knowledge management and other related fields since the authors of [19] first introduced the concept of ACAP in 1990 [21]. However, despite the existence of a large number of studies addressing them, the literature on this topic is confronted with an "ambiguity problem" mainly about conceptualisation as well as measurement.…”

“…However, despite the existence of a large number of studies addressing them, the literature on this topic is confronted with an "ambiguity problem" mainly about conceptualisation as well as measurement. This is because researchers have used ACAP as a general-purpose construct, overlooking previous studies on the topic that have presented, for example, its multidimensional nature, among other relevant theories, and because of the lack of understanding of the nature of the construct itself [18,21]. Furthermore, few studies examine ACAP in depth [20], despite that, of all the dynamic capabilities, ACAP is among the so-called high-level capabilities, as it serves to explain both the success and failure of a company, in addition to favouring the creation of wealth and participation in the creation of a competitive advantage over time [22].…”