THE MEASUREMENT OF ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY FROM AN ECONOMICS PERSPECTIVE: DEFINITION, MEASUREMENT AND IMPORTANCE
比较了吸收能力的不同测量方法，利用英国CIS数据衡量企业吸收能力，发现其对出口、创新和研发有显著影响，进而提升生产率，并讨论了政府扶持的必要性。
Abstract This paper starts by recognizing that despite the importance of absorptive capacity, economists in particular have made only limited use of the concept. Most theoretical and empirical studies derive from other fields of research. Thus, the first task is to compare and contrast the different approaches taken in measuring absorptive capacity. The rest of the paper then sets out an example of how typically economists have proceeded, using nationally representative CIS data to measure absorptive capacity across a 10‐year period and investigating if it remains stable in the long term. This is followed by considering how firms’ characteristics vary across lower to higher levels of absorptive capacity and whether such capacity determines firms’ productivity performance across both goods and service industries. Our results show that relative to other influences, absorptive capacity as measured here — net of the impact of foreign‐ownership and human capital — has a substantial influence on exporting, innovation and undertaking R&D and thus consequently firm‐level productivity. Finally, there is a discussion of why governments should consider helping firms to boost their levels of absorptive capacity.