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Early efforts to develop absorptive capacity and their performance implications: differences among corporate and independent ventures

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Abstract

This paper examines the performance implications of efforts in absorptive capacity development for new ventures, companies in their eight first years of existence. We distinguish between corporate ventures (CVs) and ventures created by independent entrepreneurs (IVs) and explore the extent to which they vary in: (1) the emphasis on building different absorptive capacity dimensions and (2) their performance gains from absorptive capacity dimensions. Using data from 140 new ventures, our results show that CVs emphasize potential absorptive capacity (combining external knowledge acquisition and assimilation) more than IVs. Conversely, IVs focus more on exploiting external knowledge. We also find that efforts in activating realized absorptive capacity (combining external knowledge transformation and exploitation) have a negative effect on the performance of new ventures that is stronger for CVs than IVs. Yet, this negative effect of realized absorptive capacity on new venture performance is mitigated when combined with efforts in potential absorptive capacity in the case of CVs. The implications of our study for research into the multidimensional nature of absorptive capacity and the dynamic capabilities approach are discussed.

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Notes

  1. Note that our discussion focuses on new venture efforts to build absorptive capacity rather than on actual levels of absorptive capacity development, as studies centered on established firms have done (e.g., Lane et al. 2001; Tsai 2001).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management and Marketing, Universidad Pablo de Olavide, 41013, Seville, Spain

    Bárbara Larrañeta & Rocio Aguilar

  2. Department of Business Administration and Marketing, School of Management, University of Sevilla, Av. Ramón y Cajal, 1, 41018, Seville, Spain

    José Luis Galán González

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  1. Bárbara Larrañeta
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  2. José Luis Galán González
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  3. Rocio Aguilar
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Correspondence to Bárbara Larrañeta.

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Larrañeta, B., Galán González, J.L. & Aguilar, R. Early efforts to develop absorptive capacity and their performance implications: differences among corporate and independent ventures. J Technol Transf 42, 485–509 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10961-016-9488-1

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