Absorptive capacity and organizational determinants: Evidence of associations

Abstract

Technological capabilities are a key component for competitiveness at firm levels. Organizations strive to learn and generate knowledge faster than their competitors to gain the sustainable competitive advantage essential for their survival. By the necessary absorptive capacity of its team, the firm can identify, assimilate and develop useful knowledge for the evolutionary and accumulative process of innovation. The issue of absorptive capacity has gained a considerable interest as a key organizational resource for technological change. This concept remains a vital area for research, as the knowledge about impacts of relevant organizational elements is being evolutionary and subject to reconsideration every so often. In this paper, a set of organizational determinants, which may influence the absorptive capacity, investigated statistically using regression analysis with specific models for each of the independent variables. The relevant hypotheses tested using some empirical data related to the technological competency of research community in Libyan oil sector - as being the case study of interest. The research findings reveal that the learning climate and team's conceptualization capability are significantly essential for increasing the absorptive capacity of firm.