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

The primary purpose of this article is to clarify the nature of the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) construct and to propose a contingency framework for investigating the relationship between EO and firm performance. We first explore and refine the dimensions of EO and discuss the usefulness of viewing a firm's EO as a multidimensional construct. Then, drawing on examples from the EO-related contingencies literature, we suggest alternative models (moderating effects, mediating effects, independent effects, interaction effects) for testing the EO-performance relationship.

Clarifying the Entrepreneurial Orientation Construct and Linking It To Performance

How has Japan become a major economic power, a world leader in the automotive and electronics industries? What is the secret of their success? The consensus has been that, though the Japanese are not particularly innovative, they are exceptionally skilful at imitation, at improving products that already exist. But now two leading Japanese business experts, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hiro Takeuchi, turn this conventional wisdom on its head: Japanese firms are successful, they contend, precisely because they are innovative, because they create new knowledge and use it to produce successful products and technologies. Examining case studies drawn from such firms as Honda, Canon, Matsushita, NEC, 3M, GE, and the U.S. Marines, this book reveals how Japanese companies translate tacit to explicit knowledge and use it to produce new processes, products, and services.

The knowledge-creating company : how Japanese companies create the dynamics of innovation

This article summarizes an extensive literature review addressing the question, How can we spread and sustain innovations in health service delivery and organization? It considers both content (defining and measuring the diffusion of innovation in organizations) and process (reviewing the literature in a systematic and reproducible way). This article discusses (1) a parsimonious and evidence-based model for considering the diffusion of innovations in health service organizations, (2) clear knowledge gaps where further research should be focused, and (3) a robust and transferable methodology for systematically reviewing health service policy and management. Both the model and the method should be tested more widely in a range of contexts.

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Diffusion of Innovations in Service Organizations: Systematic Review and Recommendations

Defining ordinary or ‘zero-level’ capabilities as those that permit a firm to ‘make a living’ in the short term, one can define dynamic capabilities as those that operate to extend, modify or create ordinary capabilities. Logically, one can then proceed to elaborate a hierarchy of higher-order capabilities. However, it is argued here that the strategic substance of capabilities involves patterning of activity, and that costly investments are typically required to create and sustain such patterning—for example, in product development. Firms can accomplish change without reliance on dynamic capability, by means here termed ‘ad hoc problem solving.’ Whether higher-order capabilities are created or not depends on the costs and benefits of the investments relative to ad hoc problem solving, and so does the ‘level of the game’ at which strategic competition effectively occurs. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Understanding dynamic capabilities

Networks and Entrepreneurship in Southeast Asia: The Role of Social Capital and Membership Commitment

A great deal of attention today centers on examining the validity of the Miles-Snow (1978) typology. In this paper, previous research on the is reviewed covering four issues: (a) strategic type ide...

Research On The Miles-Snow (1978) Typology Of Strategic Orientation: Review, Critique And Future Directions.

Research Summary
This article reviews the contributions of Andrew Van de Ven, a pioneer in the study of innovation, entrepreneurship, and corporate venturing It articulates key themes in and findings from his research as well as the methodological and theoretical advances that he has introduced, shaping the development of the field Embracing a broad view of entrepreneurship, his research has also fundamentally altered our understanding of the nature and processes of innovation and its implications for organizational learning, new business creation, and improved competitiveness Van de Ven's fieldwork and engaged scholarship have made his findings powerful, rigorous, and relevant The article also highlights the implications of Van de Ven's body of work for future research

Managerial Summary
Professor Andrew Van de Ven is a true pioneer in the processes involved in the conception, introduction, evaluation, adoption, and institutionalization of innovations in established companies His seminal work highlights key challenges managers encounter in each of these stages, offering rich insights into the causes and consequences of these issues while suggesting important solutions to them Van de Ven's work has also advanced novel ways of studying and tracking innovations over time It has also explored the close link between innovation and corporate venturing activities, which are vital to organizational renewal and growth Van de Ven's findings about the dynamics of organizational change and learning have altered our notions of organizational evolution and transformation Copyright © 2016 Strategic Management Society

Portrait of a Research Pioneer: Andrew Van de Ven

The importance of a firm's formal organisational structure for stimulating corporate entrepreneurship (CE) has been the subject of interest and debate in the literature. A firm's organisational structure usually provides the context, incentives and impetus for its CE activities and determines the success of its innovative ventures. This study empirically examines the association of the dimensions of organisational structure with CE activities in a sample of 130 banks. The results suggest that low formalisation, low centralisation, high professionalism, high participation, and intensive organisational-wide communication are positively associated with CE. Further, CE is positively associated with bank financial performance measures. Finally, the fit between the dimensions of organisational structure and CE is associated with successful organisational performance.

Organisational structure, corporate entrepreneurship and performance

New ventures contribute to the competitiveness of the United States in global markets, creating jobs and wealth. Understandably, public policy makers and researchers alike have shown an interest in understanding the factors that spur these ventures’ growth, which is also an important research issue in the field of entrepreneurship. Researchers have highlighted the role of owners’ needs and aspirations and industry conditions as determinants of new ventures’ growth. This study proposes that new ventures’ resource endowments influence their growth in domestic and international markets. Using the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm, the study examines the effect of select technological resources on the domestic and international sales growth of 419 new ventures. Start-ups (5 years or younger) benefit from using a different set of technological resources in achieving growth than those of adolescent firms (6–8 years old). These differences persist in low vs. high technology industries, reflecting the maturation of these ventures.

Shaker A. Zahra

Papers

Networks and Entrepreneurship in Southeast Asia: The Role of Social Capital and Membership Commitment

Research On The Miles-Snow (1978) Typology Of Strategic Orientation: Review, Critique And Future Directions.

Portrait of a Research Pioneer: Andrew Van de Ven

Organisational structure, corporate entrepreneurship and performance

Technological Resources and New Firm Growth: A Comparison of Start-up and Adolescent Ventures