Processes Underlying MNE Subsidiary Absorptive Capacity: Evidence from Emerging Markets

Jing Zeng (), Keith W. Glaister and Tamer Darwish
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Jing Zeng: University of Kent, Kent Business School
Keith W. Glaister: University of Leeds, Leeds University Business School
Tamer Darwish: University of Gloucestershire

Management International Review, 2019, vol. 59, issue 6, No 4, 949-979

Abstract: Abstract We explore the determinants of absorptive capacity by examining how managers of MNE subsidiaries operating in emerging markets recognize, assimilate and apply external knowledge. From analysis of the subsidiaries of 12 MNEs with data from a total of 62 informants from China, India, Brazil and Kenya, six constructs emerged: prior knowledge significance, unlearning, explorative scanning, transformative learning, exploitative application and organization context. Through the iteration of data and theory, we develop a model, which presents a process framework that suggests the dynamic relationships among the emergent concepts underlying absorptive capacity. By identifying and explicating key actions and practices that have previously been largely treated as implicit in the absorptive capacity literature, the study enriches understanding of the micro-processes of absorptive capacity.

Keywords: Absorptive capacity; Emerging economies; Innovation; Learning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11575-019-00392-9

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