| Date: | Wednesday 28 Apr, 11am - 12pm |
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| Location: | AUT City Campus WG Building, WG609 Auckland New Zealand |
| Cost: | Free |
| Contact: | jonathan.baker@aut.ac.nz |
While recent studies in open innovation emphasise the synergies between in-bound and out-bound knowledge flow, empirical results are inconsistent. In this study, we argue that in order to engage simultaneously in both “buying” and “selling” activities, firms need to develop specific capabilities to manage knowledge inflows and outflows, eg, absorptive and desorptive capacities. We build on key aspects of open innovation and knowledge management literature, arguing that absorptive and desorptive capacity are complementary rather than substitutes, and engaging simultaneously in both activities should allow firms to develop their financial performance. We test our model using a sample of 541 New Zealand firms that are deeply involved in external collaborations and find empirical evidence that absorptive and desorptive capacity are not independent, and the balanced development of these capabilities has higher impacts on firm performance. Further, our findings indicate that technology licensing capability is not a stand-alone task, and its interplay with absorptive capacity plays a key role in the development of firm’s performance.
Dr Omid Aliasghar is a lecturer at AUT. His research focuses on how firms generate and exploit novel ideas in order to gain and sustain their competitive positions in international markets.