Research On Effects Of Knowledge Absorptive Capacity And Its Influence Factors On Farmer Cooperative’s Performance

In order to improve the degree of docking as well as new knowledge application between small farmers and big market, farmers’ cooperative are formed as an economic organization. Meanwhile it resolves some key issues such as introduction of new technology and new knowledge, agricultural processing, storage and marketing. Under the background of economic globalization and the rapid development of the knowledge enconomy, it is increasing value of knowledge absorptive capacity and organizational learning behavior for cooperatives’ growth and sustainable development. Many successful experiences of cooperatives abroad are bound up with their ability to absorb new knowledge, and such knowledge management activities. However at present, weak knowledge base, low resource utilization and feeble innovation in science and technology weaken the cooperatives’ sustainable development at large, which definitely hinders China’s agricultural modernization. Therefore, to encourage inclusion of new knowledge, to strengthen absorptive capacity of cooperatives and to gain competitive advantage in market and then improve performance is a major and urgent practical issue of farmers’ cooperative.This dissertation systematically explored the influences of knowledge absorptive capacity and its impact on cooperative performance with Qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis. First of all, this dissertation refined three levels of absorptive capacity influences by grounded theory through indepth interviews and semi-structured interviews that made in entire Jiangsu province. Secondly, based on the definition of cooperative performance, this dissertation proposed a frame of cooperative’s performance from three dimensions, which are market performance, social performance and innovation performance. And then it built a theoretical model to the relation between influences of knowledge absorptive capacity, knowledge absorptive capacity and cooperative performance in a particular situation, according to the basic paradigm of “antecedents-process-outcome”. After that, this dissertation aimed at cooperatives and developed a relevant scale of knowledge absorptive capacity and its influences, as well as cooperative performance. The author investigated 700 members of cooperatives aournd Jiangsu province, and colleceted 414 valid questionnaires for empirical studies. By using structural equation model, it verified the validity of the theoretical model built before. Last but not least, this dissertation demonstrated promotion strategies regarding knowledge absorptive capacity and cooperative performance, so as to guide cooperatives to gain sustainable development.The main conclusions of this research are as follows:Firstly, it is found that influences of cooperatives’ knowledge absorptive capacity contained three levels, which were individual level, organizational level and exterior level. Specifically, individual knowledge stock has a significant positive effect on cooperative development. The heterogeneity experience of famers is able to accelerate the ability of knowledge acquisition and assimilation. Meanwhile, the stronger leadership director performs, the better knowledge absorptive capacity cooperative owns. Speaking of organizational level, rich in prior knowledge, efficient trainint system and internal social trust serve as the determinants of cooperative knowledge absorptive capacity, and however, willing to absorb knowledge has no significant affect on the cooperative absorptive capcacity. With the bigger scale of external social network and more stable parternership, there are more knowledge acquisition channels and more opportunities to transfer and utilize new knowledge and new technology. Besides, in order to guide cooperatives to improve knowledge absorptive capacity, it is necessary to acquire support from government and local agricultural sectors.Secondly, both potential absorptive capacity and realized absorptive capacity can enhance cooperative performance. Potential absorptive capacity emphasizes knowledge acquisition and assimilation. By using potential absorptive capacity, cooperatives can adequately understand external environment and their own ability, and then increase strategic flexibility when confronting fluctuating marketing environment, as well as configurate knowledge resources effectively to meet the development of cooperatives. Realized knowledge absorptive capacity consist in exploring and applying new knowledge, which devote to integrate their resources, that endow knowledge with derivative so that to strengthen market competitveness and cooperative development. In order to drive sustainable growth of cooperative performance and balance the development of these two capacities, it is important to cultivate potential and realized knowledge absorptive capacity simultaneously.Thirdly, certain influences can positively impact cooperative performance through the mediating effect of knowledge aboptive capacity. According to the empirical study, cooperatives development are influenced by different kinds of exogenous factors, including individual knowledge stock, leadership, prior knowledge, social trust, social capital and government support. Potential and realized knowledge absorptive capacities have a positive moderating effect between influences and cooperative performance. With the support of government, cooperatives should commit themselves to increase the individual knowledge based, educate great leaders, cultivate learning organization, strengthen internal social trust and accumulate social capital, thus gaining sustainable development.Based on the analysis above, the promotion strategies of potential and realized knowledge absorptive capacity as well as performance of famers’ cooperative are put forward. On the one side, in order to improve knowledge absorptive capacity, it is vital to strengthen the individual intellectual capital and internal knowledge management of cooperatives, and also to establish social supporting system in all directions. On the other side, the promotion strategies regarding cooperatives’ performance consist of intensifying human capital, developing cooperatives into learning organizations and optimizing its development environment, so as to achieve sustainable development.