ABSORPTIVE CAPACTIY: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate the progress made in the last thirty years regarding the absorptive capacity which represents an important part of the firms’ ability to generate new knowledge.  For this purpose, a literature review was conducted by examining the articles about the absorptive capacity published in journals indexed by Web of Science between 1990-2020.  In studies conducted to present a conceptual framework for the absorptive capacity theory, it is seen that the antecedents of the concept are examined both theoretically and empirically.  When compared with its outcomes, it is seen that these studies on the antecedents of absorption capacity are not at a sufficient level.  In the study, firstly, an overview of how studies on the subject measure the absorptive capacity is presented by explaining how the definition of absorptive capacity has developed, the relevant levels of analysis and how the conceptualization process has been completed.  Afterwards, the outcomes and antecedents are taken into consideration in previous studies were reviewed and some suggestions were developed for the problems identified and for future research.