Diversification Experiences and Firm Performance in Knowledge-Intensive Industries: The Moderating Role of Absorptive Capacity

ABSTRACT In this study, we examine the moderation effect of absorptive capacity on the performance consequences of diversification experiences. We suggest that absorptive capacity positively moderates the performance effects of product and international diversification experiences and those of unrelatedness in product and international diversification experiences. An empirical analysis conducted using a longitudinal dataset of Indian firms, from knowledge-intensive manufacturing sectors, for the period 2008–2018, broadly supports our arguments. Findings imply that firms with superior absorptive capacity can acquire and leverage knowledge from their diversification experiences effectively and mitigate the risks of negative transfer associated with unrelatedness in diversification experiences. Findings contribute to the organizational learning literature by examining the role of absorptive capacity in enabling performance outcomes of diversification experiences. 摘要： 本研究检验组织的吸收能力如何影响企业多元化经验对绩效的的后果。我们认为，吸收能力越强，企业的产品多元化和国际多元化经验，以及那些与产品和国际化无关的多元化经验，都对其绩效产生越正面的影响。我们对知识密集型制造业的印度公司在2008-2018年期间的面板数据进行了分析，结果基本支持了我们的预测。具体而言，具有卓越吸收能力的公司能够从自己的多元化经验中有效地获得并利用这些知识来抵御来自不相关多元化经验可能造成的负面知识迁移的风险。本研究丰富了组织学习的文献。