Connecting Absorptive Capacity and Open Innovation

22 Pages Posted: 8 Feb 2008

See all articles by Wim Vanhaverbeke

Wim Vanhaverbeke

Hasselt University; ESADE Business School

Vareska Van de Vrande

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Department of Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship

Myriam Cloodt

Eindhoven University of Technology (TUE)

Date Written: February 7, 2008

Abstract

Open innovation provides a general view how firms can benefit from external sources of knowledge. Absorptive capacity is crucial in explaining why some companies are much better than others in creating and capturing value from in-sourcing externally developed technology and from collaboration with innovation partners. Absorptive capacity and the outside - in dimension of open innovation are inevitably linked to each other. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how absorptive capacity and the outside-in dimension of open innovation can be linked to each other. We claim that recent insights from open innovation practices in companies entail several clues to enrich the concept of absorptive capacity and to improve our understanding how management decisions can strengthen a firm's ability to learn from its external environment.

Keywords: absorptive capacity, open innovation, external technology sourcing

JEL Classification: M13, O32, L22, L14

Suggested Citation

Vanhaverbeke, Wim and Vanhaverbeke, Wim and Van de Vrande, Vareska and Cloodt, Myriam, Connecting Absorptive Capacity and Open Innovation (February 7, 2008). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1091265 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1091265

Wim Vanhaverbeke (Contact Author)

Hasselt University ( email )

Agoralaan - building D
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Diepenbeek, 3590
Belgium
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+3216623663 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://wimvanhaverbeke.be

ESADE Business School

Av. de Pedralbes, 60-62
Barcelona, 08034
Spain

Vareska Van de Vrande

Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) - Department of Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship ( email )

RSM Erasmus University
Rotterdam, 3000 DR
Netherlands

Myriam Cloodt

Eindhoven University of Technology (TUE) ( email )

PO Box 513
Eindhoven, 5600 MB
Netherlands

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