Researchers have used the absorptive capacity construct to explain various organizational phenomena. In this article we review the literature to identify key dimensions of absorptive capacity and offer a reconceptualization of this construct. Building upon the dynamic capabilities view of the firm, we distinguish between a firm's potential and realized capacity. We then advance a model outlining the conditions when the firm's potential and realized capacities can differentially influence the creation and sustenance of its competitive advantage.

https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5629&context=lkcsb_research

Absorptive Capacity: A Review, Reconceptualization, and Extension

Unstable market conditions caused by innovation and increasing intensity and diversity of competition have resulted in organizational capabilities rather than served markets becoming the primary basis upon which firms establish their long-term strategies. If the strategically most important resource of the firm is knowledge, and if knowledge resides in specialized form among individual organizational members, then the essence of organizational capability is the integration of individuals' specialized knowledge. This paper develops a knowledge-based theory of organizational capability and draws upon research into competitive dynamics, the resource-based view of the firm, organizational capabilities, and organizational learning. Central to the theory is analysis of the mechanisms through which knowledge is integrated within firms in order to create capability. The theory is used to explore firms' potential for establishing competitive advantage in dynamic market settings, including the role of firm networks...

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/2635098.pdf

Prospering in Dynamically-Competitive Environments: Organizational Capability as Knowledge Integration

A role congruity theory of prejudice toward female leaders proposes that perceived incongruity between the female gender role and leadership roles leads to 2 forms of prejudice: (a) perceiving women less favorably than men as potential occupants of leadership roles and (b) evaluating behavior that fulfills the prescriptions of a leader role less favorably when it is enacted by a woman. One consequence is that attitudes are less positive toward female than male leaders and potential leaders. Other consequences are that it is more difficult for women to become leaders and to achieve success in leadership roles. Evidence from varied research paradigms substantiates that these consequences occur, especially in situations that heighten perceptions of incongruity between the female gender role and leadership roles.

/pdf/role-congruity-theory-of-prejudice-toward-female-leaders-4ldbwpzzgm.pdf

Role congruity theory of prejudice toward female leaders.

The Social Psychology of Organizations.

The paper is concerned with spatial clustering of economic activity and its relation to the spatiality of knowledge creation in interactive learning processes. It questions the view that tacit knowledge transfer is confined to local milieus whereas codified knowledge may roam the globe almost frictionlessly. The paper highlights the conditions under which both tacit and codified knowledge can be exchanged locally and globally. A distinction is made between, on the one hand, the learning processes taking place among actors embedded in a community by just being there dubbed buzz and, on the other, the knowledge attained by investing in building channels of communication called pipelines to selected providers located outside the local milieu. It is argued that the co-existence of high levels of buzz and many pipelines may provide firms located in outward-looking and lively clusters with a string of particular advantages not available to outsiders. Finally, some policy implications, stemming from this argumen...

/pdf/clusters-and-knowledge-local-buzz-global-pipelines-and-the-29bsuyvekg.pdf

Clusters and knowledge: local buzz, global pipelines and the process of knowledge creation

Organizational flexibility has recently received much attention from researchers, management consultants and practitioners. In general, the term ‘flexibility’ has a positive connotation: flexible organizations are the better ones. However, the meaning of flexibility as well as its relation to the functioning of an organization is still ambiguous. This article develops a systematic and multidimensional picture of flexibility on the basis of views taken from the systems theory of control. The general idea is that flexibility can be analysed as a characteristic of some dual and relative control relation between the organization and its environment, which fosters organizational independence. It is argued that flexibility is a function of the control capability of the management as well as the controllability of the organization. Flexibility is thus concerned with the promotion of the management's control capability or competence. The management's ability to allocate and use this capacity with success, however, is dependent upon organizational conditions that determine the controllability. The organization design task, therefore, involves the creation of appropriate organizational conditions to foster flexibility. This article clarifies the paradoxical nature of flexibility and the existence of different types of flexibility.

/pdf/on-the-concept-of-flexibility-a-dual-control-perspective-4jjh0b7hah.pdf

On the concept of flexibility: A dual control perspective

/pdf/on-the-concept-of-flexibility-a-dual-control-perspective-3opl7ikyzw.pdf

On the Concept of Flexibility: A Dual Control Perspective

This paper presents the findings of a longitudinal study of a large corporation's transition to a new business model in the face of a major transformation in the ICT industry brought about by Cloud computing. We build theory on the process of business model innovation through a qualitative study that investigates how an established firm organizes for an emerging business model. Contrary to previous findings that presented spatial separation as the optimal structural approach for dealing with two competing business models, our findings indicate a need for recursive iterations between different modes of separated and integrated structures in line with the emergent nature of strategic intent toward the new business models. Our analyses reveal strategy formation to be a collective experimental learning process revolving around a number of alternative strategic intentions ranging from incremental evolution and transformation to complete replacement of the existing business model. Given the fundamental differences in the nature and requirements of those alternative intents, iterations between different structural modes and differing combinations proved to be crucial in enabling the organization to make transition to the new business model.

Business model renewal and ambidexterity: structural alteration and strategy formation process during transition to a Cloud business model

https://repub.eur.nl/pub/6397/eur_volberda_26.pdf

Building Flexible Organizations for Fast-moving Markets

Research on strategic decision making has considered advice-seeking behaviour as an important top management team attribute that influences organizational outcomes Yet, our understanding about how top management teams utilize advice to modify current strategies and pursue exploratory innovation is still unclear To uncover the importance of advice seeking, we delineate between external and internal advice seeking and investigate their impact on exploratory innovation We also argue that top management team heterogeneity moderates the impact of advice seeking on exploratory innovation Findings indicated that both external and internal advice seeking are important determinants of a firm's exploratory innovation In addition, we observed that top management team heterogeneity facilitates firms to act upon internal advice by combining different perspectives and developing new products and services Interestingly, heterogeneous top management teams appeared to be less effective to leverage external advice and pursue exploratory innovation

Henk W. Volberda

Papers

On the concept of flexibility: A dual control perspective

On the Concept of Flexibility: A Dual Control Perspective

Business model renewal and ambidexterity: structural alteration and strategy formation process during transition to a Cloud business model

Building Flexible Organizations for Fast-moving Markets

Top Management Team Advice Seeking and Exploratory Innovation: The Moderating Role of TMT Heterogeneity