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An Examination of the Relationship Between Absorptive Capacity and Organizational Learning, and a Proposed Integration
Author(s) -
Sun Peter Y.T.,
Anderson Marc H.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
international journal of management reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.475
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1468-2370
pISSN - 1460-8545
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-2370.2008.00256.x
Subject(s) - absorptive capacity , conceptualization , intuition , organizational learning , knowledge management , institution , sociology , epistemology , management , psychology , computer science , cognitive science , philosophy , artificial intelligence , economics , social science
Since its inception, the concept of absorptive capacity has been closely linked with notions of organizational learning. Yet the precise nature of the relationship between these two concepts has never been established. This relationship is examined in a variety of ways, and it is suggested that the literature on these two concepts shares a conceptual affinity which needs to be delineated. It is suggested that absorptive capacity (a dynamic capability) is a concrete example of organizational learning that concerns an organization's relationship with new external knowledge. Using the 4I Model for organizational learning (Crossan, M.M., Lane, H.W. and White, R.E. (1999). An organizational learning framework: from intuition to institution. Academy of Management Review , 24, 522–537) and Zahra and George's conceptualization of absorptive capacity (Zahra, S.A. and George, G. (2002). Absorptive capacity: a review, reconceptualization, and extension. Academy of Management Review , 27, 185–203), this paper proposes an integration of the two concepts.