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

Studies show that high-growth firms, often referred to as scale-ups, play a vital role in fostering job-creation, improving productivity and diffusing new product and technological innovations (Coutu, 2014; Du and Temouri, 2015). However, research has also suggested that only a small proportion of startups scale-up and maintain rapid growth over time (Jansen and Roelofsen, 2018; Josefy et al., 2015). Accordingly, interest in the factors explaining the emergence and prevalence of high-growth firms has increased, among academic researchers and policymakers alike. Scale-ups are defined as those firms that achieve average annual growth in employees or sales turnover greater than 20 percent per annum over a three-year period, and with more than 10 employees at the beginning of the period (OECD, 2007).

Scaling‐up: Building, leading and sustaining rapid growth over time

This study explores the effects of founders' industry specific prior international experience on the international expansion of international new ventures (INVs). Our analysis shows that early in I...

Founder Industry Specific International Experience - An Asset or a Liability?

Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research 2005 : Proceedings of the Twenty-Fifth Annual Entrepreneurship Research Conference

Building on career literature, we predict that an entrepreneur’s age at the time of re-entry has a unique and complex non-linear effect on the choice to become self-employed versus employed after a 

Self-employment or employment after exit: the effect of an entrepreneur’s age and gender

This vital book focuses on powerful innovation and technology forces that influence firms'competitive positions in global markets. The new realities of world business and politics indicate that to survive and grow, firms must effectively manage technological innovation and technological processes. The Impact of Innovation and Technology in the Global Marketplace provides practical guidance for improving the strategic capabilities of a firm's domestic and global markets. The book specifies cultural contradictions that impede high-tech firms from competing effectively in global markets, clarifies strategic patterns and performance in global markets, and outlines issues related to competition in high-technology industries.Managing into the 21st century demands flexibility and sensitivity to global events, technological changes, and innovation. Everyone involved in strategic planning and implementation needs to understand issues related to the role of technology and innovation in sustaining the competitive position of a firm in the marketplace, the speed of technological changes, and the role of national environment in fostering technological advancement. This book will increase your understanding of the ingredients essential for maintaining a competitive position in a dynamic world business environment and will help you better utilize technological advancement to foster and build strategic alliances on a global basis. The book answers many questions related to managing technology and provides comprehensive analyses of high-tech industries in general as well more specific analyses of the software and pharmaceutical industries. The Impact of Innovation and Technology in the Global Marketplace explores: how both firms and nations sustain competitive positions in global markets how national culture may impede technological progress how to provide an integrated framework to link innovation to national and global environments how to identify strategic patterns and performance of corporate entrepreneurship innovation and national competitive advantages corporate entrepreneurship in high- and low-technology industriesProfessors, policymakers, and consultants involved in global business, as well as managers of multinational corporations, will find this book a helpful reference as they study ways for businesses to gain a competitive edge in an increasingly high-tech and global marketplace.

Shaker A. Zahra

Papers

Scaling‐up: Building, leading and sustaining rapid growth over time

Founder Industry Specific International Experience - An Asset or a Liability?

Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research 2005 : Proceedings of the Twenty-Fifth Annual Entrepreneurship Research Conference

Self-employment or employment after exit: the effect of an entrepreneur’s age and gender

The Impact of Innovation and Technology in the Global Marketplace