The role of knowledge management practices in the absorptive capacity: a research of soybean farms

Abstract

ABSTRACT Empirical evidence and systematic reviews suggest the need for studying how organisational antecedents or mechanisms affect absorptive capacity (ACAP). This study intends to fill this theoretical gap by trying to understand the role of technology-oriented knowledge management practices (KMPs) that serve as managerial antecedents in an organisation’s ACAP. To achieve this goal, qualitative research was conducted among soybean farmers in the state of Goiás (Brazil). The main result was that KMPs were identified as the link between potential and realised ACAP insofar as they have institutionalised the process of creating an organisational memory. The main contribution of this paper was to show that practices of searching, launching, storing, and systematically reviewing information are KMPs related to the organisation’s ACAP. It complements previous papers that associate these constructs. Future research may further explore this relationship in quantitative terms within other contexts.