Handbook of Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management, Second Edition

Moderators and Absorptive Capacity as a Moderator

In recent years, studies have emerged examining moderators of how absorptive capacity relates to its outcomes, as well as the moderating effect of absorptive capacity on how organizational characteristics impact innovation and performance. In particular, studies have shown that the effect of absorptive capacity on innovation and performance is dependent on the environment in which firms operate (Lane et al., 2006; Lim, 2009). Van den Bosch et al. (1999) found that in a stable environment firms draw more exploitative innovations from their absorptive capacity since they are more likely to build on existing knowledge and increase the efficiency of knowledge absorption. In turbulent environments scope and flexibility of absorptive capacity are more important as they allow a firm to combine diverse knowledge and pursue exploratory innovations. Moreover, firms are more likely to decentralize their interface with the external environment to units, which increases the diversity of knowledge a firm can tap into and renders cross-functional relations more important (Cohen and Levinthal, 1990; Jones and Craven, 2001). Lichtenthaler (2009) distinguishes between technological and market turbulence has not found a moderating effect on the relation between the distinct dimensions of absorptive capacity and innovation. In contrast, his findings suggest that the effect of absorptive capacity on performance increases as market turbulence and, to ...