Distance to Customers, Absorptive Capacity, and Innovation in High‐Tech Firms: The Dark Face of Geographical Proximity
研究了地理邻近性和关系邻近性对高科技企业创新绩效的影响，发现吸收能力会调节关系邻近性的作用，而地理邻近性的作用被弱化。
This paper investigates the impact of both geographical and relational proximity on the innovative performance of the firm. We address the role of one firm characteristic—its absorptive capacity—as a specific contingency affecting the relationship between different proximities and innovation. Using data from 158 high‐tech firms located in the Tiburtina Valley in Italy, we studied the relationship between these firms and their key customers. Our findings support the need to downplay the role of geographical proximity in promoting innovation. Our results also show that relational proximity to key customers has a complementary relationship with absorptive capacity, which positively moderates its influence on innovative performance.