Unpacking Absorptive Capacity: A Study of Knowledge Utilization from Alliance Portfolios
研究了面临技术中断的企业如何利用联盟组合中的知识，将吸收能力分为横向和纵向两个维度，发现中等组合多样性最有利于知识利用，而同时增加纵向吸收能力需求会削弱这种关系。
To understand how firms facing technological discontinuities utilize knowledge from alliance portfolios, we unpack absorptive capacity into “latitudinal” and “longitudinal” components, corresponding to use of diverse and distant knowledge, respectively. We find that a moderate burden on firms' latitudinal absorptive capacity, corresponding to medium diversity in their portfolios, contributes to optimal knowledge utilization. Simultaneously increasing the demand on firms' longitudinal absorptive capacity affects this relationship negatively. Highlighting important trade-offs between latitudinal and longitudinal absorptive capacities, our findings reveal two portfolio strategies, “telescopic” and “panoptic” searches, that optimize knowledge utilization. We address important dialectics concerning absorptive capacity constraints and knowledge utilization.