Absorptive capacity and organizational performance in an emerging market context: Evidence from the banking industry in Turkey

Abstract

Adopting the knowledge-based view (KBV), this study investigates how and when firms in emerging economies are able to generate greater performance from the absorptive capacity (AC). We distinguish between two core components of AC - potential absorptive capacity (PAC) and realized absorptive capacity (RAC) - and examine their independent as well as the joint effect on organizational performance. Then, we examine the moderating effects of environmental dynamism and branch network- as key boundary conditions. With data from 205 bank managers in Turkey, we show that the complementary effect of PAC and RAC on organizational performance is greater than the separate effect of each component. Moreover, the findings indicate that the combined effect becomes stronger when firms are part of an extensive branch network and function in a low level of environmental dynamism. We extend the KBV by demonstrating that innovation and knowledge resource development in emerging markets requires a collective effort and complementary learning processes to yield high results. Finally, we scrutinize the conditions under which firms in emerging markets can complement their learning processes efficiently to achieve greater performance.