Antecedents and outcomes of breadth and depth of absorptive capacity: An empirical study

Abstract

Although previous studies have considered the antecedents and outcomes of absorptive capacity, much remains to be learned on this subject. Firms need to absorb breadth and depth of knowledge and form absorptive capacities that are contingent on various social capitals to improve innovation and performance. The purpose of this study is to explore the antecedents and outcomes of the breadth and depth of absorptive capacity from the perspective of social capital theory. Based on a sample of 218 Chinese firms, empirical results suggest that weak tie sources and knowledge breadth can enhance the breadth of absorptive capacity, and that strong tie sources and knowledge depth can strengthen the depth of absorptive capacity. The results also suggest that the breadth of absorptive capacity positively impacts the depth of absorptive capacity, and that both breadth and depth of absorptive capacity are positively related to innovation performance.

Industry ties, entrepreneurs' employment experience and resource acquisition of new ventures in China

“…Human capital theory posits that investments in individuals' education and training as well as employment experience accumulated through past practical learning may enhance their knowledge, abilities and skills (Becker, 1964), resulting in greater productivity, efficiency and innovation at work (Bayon et al, 2016;Chaudhary, 2019;Zou et al, 2019). Entrepreneurs' employment experience reflects the accumulation of valuable and context-specific entrepreneurial resources for new ventures (Beckman, 2006;Beckman et al, 2007).…”

“…Regarding the benefits, first, deep employment experience provides an entrepreneur with in-depth understanding of an industry and his or her venture, creating a common mental schema and prototype for doing business (Cassar, 2014;Hmieleski et al, 2015). Experience depth helps entrepreneurs construct stronger links between concepts and information, enhancing the ability to identify opportunities and to effectively absorb new knowledge (Shepherd and DeTienne, 2005;Zou et al, 2019). Second, deep experience may keep entrepreneurs focused on key factors that are important for business success in their industries (Unger et al, 2011), such as accurately identifying the most important stakeholders and deploying necessary resources to pursue competitive advantage (Hmieleski et al, 2015;Sirmon et al, 2008).…”

“…Given the broker role that entrepreneurs with broad experience play, new ventures can be exposed to actors from various domains and access multiple information sources, shaping entrepreneurs' cognitive frameworks that are characterized by rich content and complex linkages. Entrepreneurs who enjoy such an advantage are more likely to assimilate information obtained from intraindustry ties into their diverse cognitive structures, which, in turn, decreases the disadvantages of the information homogeneity of intra-industry ties (Zou et al, 2019), facilitating resource acquisition in new ventures.…”

Dynamic capabilities: A retrospective, state-of-the-art, and future research agenda

“…Three of our featured articles look at contextual factors and underlying mechanisms of dynamic capabilities and its antecedents (Lu & Fang, 2013;Frigotto & Zamarian, 2015;Deng, Liu, Gallagher, & Wu, 2018). Another three articles look particularly at the role of networks in the context of dynamically capable organizations (Agarwal & Selen, 2013;Lee & Yang, 2014;Zou, Guo, & Guo, 2017). Noteworthy, most of these studies utilize emerging markets to look at empirical evidence for their arguments.…”

“…Absorptive capacity has been reframed by Zahra and George (2002: 185) 'as a dynamic capability pertaining to knowledge creation and utilization.' Building on this notion, the featured article by Zou et al (2017) looks at the effect of weak and strong ties on knowledge breadth and depth of absorptive capacity. Weak ties facilitate knowledge breadth whereas strong ties facilitate knowledge depth, both enhancing the innovativeness of the firm.…”