Impacts of network relationships on absorptive capacity in the context of innovation

ABSTRACT

Knowledge acquired through external network relationships is widely accepted as one of the most important resources for a firm to be innovative. This is especially true for the networked tourism industry, where capabilities associated with the acquisition, assimilation and exploitation of external knowledge (‘absorptive capacity’) are paramount. While several studies highlight the importance of network relationships to acquire new knowledge, most of them remain vague in explaining their impact on the assimilation and exploitation of the knowledge. This paper investigates the impacts of network relationships on absorptive capacity dimensions. A quantitative survey among 378 hotel businesses was carried out to measure network participation and relationship quality as well as the absorptive capacity. Regression models reveal that the quality of external relationships and the overall network size implicate access and availability of valuable knowledge and positively affect the organization’s capacity to assimilate and exploit the knowledge in pursuit of innovation.

摘要

通过外部网络关系获取的知识是公司创新的重要资源之一。对于旅游业网络尤其如此，其中与获取、吸收和利用外部知识（“吸收能力”）相关的能力是至关重要的。虽然一些研究强调了网络关系对获取新知识的重要性，但是大多数研究仍然含糊不清地解释了网络关系对知识吸收和利用的影响。本文研究了网络关系对吸收能力维度的影响。对378家酒店企业进行了定量调查，以衡量网络参与度、关系质量以及吸收能力。回归模型表明，外部关系的质量和总体网络规模意味着有价值的知识的获取和可用性，并且正向影响组织在追求创新时吸收和利用知识的能力。

KEYWORDS:

• Absorptive capacity
• networks
• hotel industry
• innovation

关键词:

• 吸收能力
• 网络
• 酒店业
• 创新

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.