Absorptive capacity, socially enabling mechanisms, and the role of learning from trial and error experiments: A tribute
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COMMENTARY
Absorptive capacity, socially enabling mechanisms, and the role of learning from trial and error experiments: A tribute to Dan Levinthal’s contribution to international business research Arie Y Lewin1, Silvia Massini2 and Carine Peeters3 1
The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, 100 Fuqua Drive, Box 90120, Durham, NC 27708, USA; 2 Alliance Manchester Business School, The University of Manchester, Booth Street West, Manchester M15 6PB, UK; 3 Vlerick Business School, Reep 1, 9000 Ghent, Belgium Correspondence: AY Lewin, The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, 100 Fuqua Drive, Box 90120, Durham, NC 27708, USA e-mail: [email protected]
Abstract The concept of absorptive capacity (AC) of firms (Cohen and Levinthal 1989 and 1990) is a foundational feature of organizational learning and adaptation that has had enormous influence in international business (IB), and innovation studies and management research in general. In this tribute to Dan Levinthal, we discuss the close connection between AC and learning – two areas central to Dan Levinthal’s research – in relation to different contexts where AC comes into play in extant IB research. We discuss four specific aspects of the nexus of AC and learning in the context of IB: (1) bridging between intra- and inter-firm learning; (2) a routine-based framing of AC that emphasizes processes and capabilities underlying seeking, assimilating, and innovation in a global setting; (3) the role of socially enabling mechanisms, and (4) the logic of learning through trial and error experiments within firms and countries. Journal of International Business Studies (2020). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-020-00354-6 Keywords: absorptive capacity; socially enabling mechanisms; trial and error experiments
Received: 24 February 2020 Revised: 23 June 2020 Accepted: 24 June 2020
INTRODUCTION The significance of Dan Levinthal’s research for international business (IB) scholarship stems from the direct role of organizational learning and adaptation in IB research. The Uppsala stage model (Johanson & Vahlne, 1977) presents internationalization fundamentally as a learning process whereby organizations gradually build presence in foreign markets. This model has been highly influential in IB research and revised over time to reflect changes in IB strategies, practices and institutional factors (e.g., Johanson & Vahlne, 2009). One of the areas where organizational learning and absorptive capacity (AC) (Cohen & Levinthal, 1989, 1990) play a particularly significant role involves knowledge management capabilities such as transfer between headquarters (HQ), foreign
A tribute to Dan Levinthal’s contribution to IB research
subsidiaries, and international joint venture partners of a multinational (MNE) (see, for instance, Koza & Lewin, 1999, and the 2006 JIBS decade award paper by Lyles & Salk, 1996). But learning also takes a central role in research on international entrepreneurship and born g
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