Is absorptive capacity the "panacea" for organizational development? A META analysis of absorptive capacity and firm performance from the perspective of constructivism

by Kun Pu, Wei Liu

There is a long-standing academic consensus that the higher the absorptive capacity of an organization is, the better its performance. Recently, however, the assumption that absorptive capacity can unconditionally contribute to firm performance has begun to be challenged, and empirical results differentiating absorptive capacity and firm performance have also begun to emerge. Therefore, to effectively integrate the variability of different empirical results and reveal the mechanism by which absorptive capacity acts on firm performance, this paper explores the relationship between absorptive capacity and firm performance from the perspectives of both theoretical exploration and META analysis. Through the process of theoretical combing, this paper finds that the existing core concept of absorptive capacity is based on cognitivism, and the existing process behind absorptive capacity is based on a linear cognitive information processing process that focuses on the internal cognitive structure and process of the subject. However, due to the dynamic and complex nature of social phenomena, the process model cannot effectively reflect the influence of contextual factors on their relationships. Next, based on the results of theoretical sorting, the results of existing empirical studies are synthesized by means of META analysis and different contexts are examined, finding that the role of absorptive capacity on firm performance has significant contextual characteristics, among which the research context, economic context and sample context all have significant but distinct moderating effects on absorptive capacity and firm performance. Overall, by including contextual factors, this paper further deepens the understanding of the relationship between absorptive capacity and firm performance. It also provides a preliminary basis for the role of contextual factors in absorptive capacity.