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.

/pdf/understanding-dynamic-capabilities-3yl6esxuut.pdf

Understanding dynamic capabilities

Firms develop, possess and utilize multiple capabilities concurrently in pursuit of competitive advantage, but most of the existing literature analyzes the effect of individual capabilities. Based ...

The Reconfiguration and Evolution of Capability Portfolios

Organizational processes as foundations of dynamic capabilities

In this symposium, we will focus on the area of entrepreneurial ecosystems, including entrepreneurship policy, entrepreneurial communities, and enterprise development systems. This panel assembles ...

Creating & Growing Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

New ventures play a significant role in the U.S.economy.However, much debate still surrounds the processes and factorsthat influence new venture growth (NVG).The impact of technologicalresources on NVG has been examined in the past; however, these research studiesare not without flaws and limitations.In this study, the relationshipbetween technological resources and increased sales is examined through acomparison of startupsand adolescent firms.The theories regardingNVG are discussed and utilized to create hypotheses that consider the variablesof venture stage and technology level.A sample of 419 ventures,consisting of both startup and adolescent ventures, is assembled from both hightechnology (i.e., electronic components, chemicals, surgical appliances) andlow technology (i.e., food processing, leather products, furniture)industries.The data are drawn from responses tofaxed and emailedquestionnaires, and the variables assessedinclude sales growth, R&Dspending, and research portfolios.Results of the data analysis arediscussed in terms of both domestic sales growth and international salesgrowth.The implications of the findings and the limitations of themethods, including survivor bias and interrelationships among firms, are alsoexamined.The findings indicate that startup firms and adolescent firmsdiffer in the types of technological resources needed to achieve growth.(AKP)

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

(1985). Quality Circles for School Districts. The Educational Forum: Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 323-330.

Shaker A. Zahra

Papers

The Reconfiguration and Evolution of Capability Portfolios

Organizational processes as foundations of dynamic capabilities

Creating & Growing Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

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

Quality Circles for School Districts.