The purpose of this perspective paper is to advance understanding of absorptive capacity, its underlying dimensions, its multilevel antecedents, its impact on firm performance, and the contextual ...factors that affect absorptive capacity.Twenty years after the Cohen and Levinthal 1990 paper, the field is characterized by a wide array of theoretical perspectives and a wealth of empirical evidence. In this paper, we first review these underlying theories and empirical studies of absorptive capacity. Given the size and diversity of the absorptive capacity literature, we subsequently map the existing terrain of research through a bibliometric analysis. The resulting bibliometric cartography shows the major discrepancies in the organization field, namely that (1) most attention so far has been focused on the tangible outcomes of absorptive capacity; (2) organizational design and individual level antecedents have been relatively neglected in the absorptive capacity literature; and (3) the emergence of absorptive capacity from the actions and interactions of individual, organizational, and interorganizational antecedents remains unclear. Building on the bibliometric analysis, we develop an integrative model that identifies the multilevel antecedents, process dimensions, and outcomes of absorptive capacity as well as the contextual factors that affect absorptive capacity. We argue that realizing the potential of the absorptive capacity concept requires more research that shows how "micro-antecedents" and "macro-antecedents" influence future outcomes such as competitive advantage, innovation, and firm performance. In particular, we identify conceptual gaps that may guide future research to fully exploit the absorptive capacity concept in the organization field and to explore future fruitful extensions of the concept.
Research on organizational knowledge transfer is burgeoning, and yet our understanding of its antecedents and consequences remains rather unclear. Although conceptual and qualitative reviews of the ...organizational knowledge transfer literature have emerged, no study has attempted to summarize previous quantitative empirical findings. As a first step towards that goal, we use meta‐analytic techniques to examine how knowledge, organization and network level antecedents differentially impact organizational knowledge transfer. Additionally, we consolidate research on the relationship between knowledge transfer and its consequences. We also demonstrate how the intra‐ and inter‐organizational context, the directionality of knowledge transfers, and measurement characteristics moderate the relationships studied. By aggregating and consolidating existing research, our study not only reveals new insights into the levers and outcomes of organizational knowledge transfer, but also provides meaningful directions for future research.
Closing Knowledge Gaps in Foreign Markets Petersen, Bent; Pedersen, Torben; Lyles, Marjorie A.
Journal of international business studies,
10/2008, Letnik:
39, Številka:
7
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Knowledge and learning are ascribed pivotal roles in firms' internationalization processes: perceived market uncertainties, namely knowledge gaps related to business environments in foreign markets, ...may curb firms' inclinations to commit resources to these markets. This study explores whether knowledge gaps tend to increase or decrease with time when operating in the foreign market, and it discusses which learning components narrow - or widen - the perceived knowledge gap. A theoretical model is developed based on the internationalization process view and the more recent organizational learning perspective, including such concepts as overconfidence and absorptive capacity. The theoretical model is tested on a set of primary data covering Danish and Swedish firms and their foreign market operations. The results suggest a more subtle relationship between experience and perceived knowledge gaps than the "mechanical" relationship portrayed by the internationalization process view - a relationship in which absorptive capacity and, in particular, overconfidence play important roles.
The field of dynamic capabilities has developed very rapidly over the last ten years. In this paper we discuss the evolution of the concept, and identify two major current debates around the nature ...of dynamic capabilities and their consequences. We then review recent progress as background to identifying the contributions of the seven papers in this special issue, and discuss the relative merits of qualitative and quantitative studies for investigating dynamic capabilities. We conclude with recommendations for future research arguing for more longitudinal studies which can examine the processes of dynamic abilities over time, and for studies in diverse industries and national contexts.
Many papers have been published recently in the fields of strategy and international business research incorporating the role of organizational knowledge as a basis of firm competitive advantage. ...While such knowledge is normally developed within the firm, it is important that firms possess the ability to learn from others in order to meet the increasing pace of competition. Knowledge transfer, defined here as an event through which one organization learns from the experience of another, has thus become an important research area within the broader domain of organizational learning and knowledge management. This paper presents a theoretical framework, identifies key themes covered by the six articles included in the Special Issue on Inter‐Organizational Knowledge Transfer, and then discusses priorities for future research.
Drawing on organizational learning and economic sociology, we address how relational embeddedness between the foreign parent and international joint venture (IJV) managers influences the type of ...knowledge (i.e., tacit and explicit) transferred to the IJV, and how the importance of relational embeddedness varies between young and mature IJVs. We also examine the influence of tacit and explicit knowledge on IJV performance. Our results show the importance that tie strength, trust, and shared values and systems play in the transfer of tacit knowledge, especially for mature IJVs. Our findings are consistent with Uzzi's tenets: tacit learning is accumulative, assists in explaining explicit knowledge, and is enhanced by social embeddedness. We also find that the influence of transferred tacit knowledge on IJV performance stems principally from its indirect effect on the learning of explicit knowledge.
Research Summary
This article examines whether and under what conditions multinational enterprises (MNEs) are likely to divest a subsidiary exposed to host‐country terrorist attacks. Drawing on ...construal level theory from social psychology, we propose that the association between subsidiaries' exposure to host‐country terrorist attacks and MNEs' likelihood of divesting these subsidiaries depends on their executives' social distance from the event host country. Based on a sample of Fortune US 100 MNEs and their foreign subsidiaries from 2003 to 2014, we find that on average, MNEs are more likely to divest their subsidiaries when their exposure to host‐country terrorist attacks increases; however, the effect is only prominent in host countries to which MNE executives are socially proximate.
Managerial Summary
MNEs confronting terrorism threats in a host country sometimes respond by divesting subsidiaries exposed to the threats even when the high opportunity costs of divestment render this response irrational. We argue that the MNEs' divestment response may not be driven by rational economic calculations but by their executive’ subjective threat perceptions. We investigate how top executives’ subjective threat perceptions, as a function of their social distance from the event host country, influence MNEs’ divestment decisions. We find that on average, MNEs do tend to divest their subsidiaries when they are exposed to a high terrorism threat in a host country; however, they are much less likely to do so when their top executives are socially distant from the focal host country.
This editorial introduces the literature on informal institutions and international business (IB) as well as the Special Issue. Informal institutions serve as the invisible threads that connect the ...fabric of social groupings, making them a critical element in the study of IB, but also especially challenging to capture both theoretically and empirically. As a result, there has been limited work on the topic, a lack of clarity on how to conceptualize and measure informal institutions, and a limited understanding of the role they play in IB. This editorial and Special Issue seek to address these gaps. Specifically, this editorial teases out the definitions of institutions, formal institutions, and informal institutions, and clarifies how they differ from organizations and culture. It then reviews the literature on the three main institutional traditions, explaining for each the role of informal institutions, and connecting them to the IB literature and Special Issue articles. Finally, it identifies gaps and proposes a future research agenda. The goal is to stimulate the academic conversation on the topic by showing how informal institutions are essential in studying international business.
This paper attempts to bring the discussion about knowledge creation, innovation and organizational learning to a level that addresses how messy problems are addressed and how the organizations must ...integrate the viewpoints of the key decision-makers, establish a process for testing their assumptions, include the context including the environment design, and to allow innovation and creativity to enter the choice of actions. It builds on the literature of problem formulation, innovation, and experimentation and on the articles in this special issue.
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of a manufacturer’s absorptive capacity (AC) on its mass customization capability (MCC).
Design/methodology/approach
– The authors ...conceptualize AC within the supply chain context as four processes: knowledge acquisition from customers, knowledge acquisition from suppliers, knowledge assimilation, and knowledge application. The authors then propose and empirically test a model on the relationships among AC processes and MCC using structural equation modeling and data collected from 276 manufacturing firms in China.
Findings
– The results show that AC significantly improves MCC. In particular, knowledge sourced from customers and suppliers enhances MCC in three ways: directly, indirectly through knowledge application, and indirectly through knowledge assimilation and application. The study also finds that knowledge acquisition significantly enhances knowledge assimilation and knowledge application, and that knowledge assimilation leads to knowledge application.
Originality/value
– This study provides empirical evidence of the effects of AC processes on MCC. It also indicates the relationships among AC processes. Moreover, it reveals the mechanisms through which knowledge sourced from customers and suppliers contributes to MCC development, and demonstrates the importance of internal knowledge management practices in exploiting knowledge from supply chain partners. Furthermore, it provides guidelines for executives to decide how to manage supply chain knowledge and devote their efforts and resources in absorbing new knowledge for MCC development.
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