The concept of absorptive capacity has already been considerably studied from a theoretical perspective, but few, if any, attempts at operationalizing the concept have been studied in ways that would allow its full assessment. The more specific focus provided by the four dimensions identified in some recent literature -acquisition, assimilation, transformation and exploitation -opens up some promising avenues for operationalizing the concept. This exploratory research studies and describes case studies of ten innovative companies using a cross-sectional research design. In the first part of the article, we re-examine the concept of absorptive capacity in terms of dynamic capabilities and provide a review of the relevant literature. The second part describes the work accomplished to operationalize the concept of dynamic capability and analyses the possible relationship between the business strategies adopted by the companies studied and their particular strategic capacity.

This questionnaire study of both partners from 162 romantic and marital relationships sought to examine perceived partner maintenance strategies as correlates of participant satisfaction for relationships at varying dialectical moments of the autonomy-connection, predictability-novelty and openness-closedness contradictions. The perceived partner maintenance strategies of contact, romance and avoidance varied in efficacy depending on the particular dialectical conditions of the relationship, especially among male participants.

Abstract-In this paper, the problem of joint Carrier Frequency Offset (CFO) and channel estimation for OFDM systems over the fast time-varying frequency-selective channel is explored within the framework of the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm and parametric channel model. Assuming that the path delays are known, a novel iterative pilot-aided algorithm for joint estimation of the multi-path Rayleigh channel Complex Gains (CG) and the Carrier Frequency Offset (CFO) is introduced. Each CG time-variation, within one OFDM symbol, is approximated by a Basis Expansion Model (BEM) representation. An auto-regressive (AR) model is built to statistically characterize the variations of the BEM coefficients across the OFDM blocks.In addition to the algorithm, the derivation of the Hybrid Cramér-Rao Bound (HCRB) for CFO and CGs estimation in our context of very high mobility is provided. We show that the proposed EM has a lower computational complexity than the optimum maximum a posteriori estimator and yet incurs only an insignificant loss in performance.

International audienceThis article argues that entrepreneurial learning is genuinely connected to entrepreneurial networking activities, within a co-evolving dynamics. We take a longitudinal network approach to study the combined development of network dynamics and learning in a French formal entrepreneurial network over a period of four years (2005-2009). Our aim is to extend our knowledge of entrepreneurial learning emphasised both as a process and an outcome of social interaction, by focussing on the interplay between network evolution and the changing learning needs of participants over time. Building on a situated social perspective of entrepreneurial learning, we demonstrate that network learning processes and outcomes are contingent on the progressive network transformation from a social network to a community of practice