Seyyed Mahmoud Hosseini; Bahman Hajipour
Volume 12, Issue 4 , January 2009, , Pages 155-176
Abstract
Firms in many industries rely on knowledge generated outside of the firm as an input to their own research and development. The ability to exploit knowledge that exists outside the boundary of the firm is calld Absorptive Capacity. Cohen and Levinthal defined AC as ‘‘the ability of a firm to recognize ...
Read More
Firms in many industries rely on knowledge generated outside of the firm as an input to their own research and development. The ability to exploit knowledge that exists outside the boundary of the firm is calld Absorptive Capacity. Cohen and Levinthal defined AC as ‘‘the ability of a firm to recognize the value of new and external knowledge, assimilate it, and apply it to commercial ends’’. They argued that AC is an organizational learning concept and the cumulative effect of continuous learning. However, this definition deals primarily with external knowledge. Implicit in the definition is the notion that firms are aware of internal information and have access to it. In some cases, organizations may not be aware or have access to their existing knowledge, especially tacit knowledge that can only be communicated by direct social interaction.Thus, a network of formal and informal communication linkages are necessary for the internal diffusion of new knowledge and technology. We employed a social theory of absorptive capacity and investigated its affect on innovaton and fliexibility in firm. On the other hand, we investigated the effect of intersubjectivity on absorptive capacity . To illustrate the links, the present study tested the hypothesis by structural equation, applied to a large sample (n=619). The results indicated a strong, positive and direct relation among intersubjectivity, absorptive capacity innovation and flexibility.
