The Research On The Impact Of Absorptive Capacity On Firms' Technological Capacities

Given the situation of the globalization and the knowledge-based economy, technology changes play a key role in acquiring competitive advantages of the firm. Firms with high technological competence and basing on this competence to bring new products and services to the market can acquire competitive advantages. It is very important for firms in developing countries to accumulate and promote technological capabilities which are the base for theri survival and development. Although China is developing rapidly, it is falling behind the developed countries in the aspect of technological capabilities. Technological capability is becoming a significant factor that restricts business competitiveness. How to accumulate and promote technological capabilities by means of technological innovation activities and finally form competitiveness is an important research topic.R&D activity is the main approach for firms to promote their technological capabilities. Theoretical and empirical research on how R&D improves firms' technological capabilities has social values. Firms need not only to carry out innovative activities continually to create knowledge, but also to learn and absorb knowledge acquired from external environment which finally turns into actual capacities.The dissertation takes the output of R&D as a breakthrough point and analyzes the theoretical relationship between technological capabilities and knowledge absorptive capacity based on the exsisting literature on technological capabilities and knowledge absorptive capacity combined with related theory. Then we construct a coordinated development model of technological capabilities and knowledge absorptive capacity in the long time development of a firm.This model is used to analyze interaction of firms'internal innovative efforts, absorptive capacity for external knowledge and technological capabilities.After observing the dimensions of absorptive capacity and technological capabilities, a model of the interaction of innovative efforts in specific time,the dimensions of knowledge absorptive capacity and the dimensions of technological capabilities and the way how they interact with each other is put forward by analyzing the connotation and structure of absorptive capacity and technological capabilities. Data was collected by means of sending questionnaire. The questionnaire was sent to firms in China and replied, and 221 valid questionnaires are obtained. The empirical study is carried out on the hypotheses inclued in the model by the methodology of factor analysis, multiple regression analysis and structural equation modelling. The following conclusions reached by theoretical analysis and quantitative empirical analysis:Firstly, innovative efforts of a firm has positive influence on technological capabilities, and the influence on technological development capabilities is greater than on technological exploitation capabilities by innovative efforts. R&D innovative activities are more beneficial to generate new knowledge and new technical resources, and are more significant to speed the innovation.In the second place, innovative efforts can strengthen the capacity of absorbing the external knowledge to some extent. The innovative efforts have great positive impact on the capacity of acquisiton; it has some positive relationship with the capacity of assimilation, but it has no significant relaitonship with the capacity of transformation and exploitation.Thirdly, technological capabilities are affected by knowledge absorptive capacity in specific way. The capacity absorbing external knowledge of an organization will only affect the technological capabilities on the condition of the interaction with each other between the dimensions of absorptive capacity.The representation of that specific way is:the firm's capacity of external acquisition influences both the capacity of assimilation and transformantion positively; both the capacity of assimilation and transformantion influence the capacity of exploitation; at last, the capacity of exploitating external knowledge influences a firm's technological exploration capabilities and technological exploitation capabilities positively. The capacity of exploitation plays a very important intermediary role in the relationship between the related dimensions of absorptive capacity and technological capabilities. Plus a firm's absorptive capacity of external knowledge has greater impact on the technological exploitation capabilities than technological exploration capabilities, and the effect of improving exsisting technological qulity is more significant.In addition, the micro structral relationship shows that there are two ways in which a firm's innovative efforts influence technological capabilities in specific period of time:one is that technological knowledge generated by innovative efforts influences technological capabilities directly; and the other is that the absorptive capacity of external knowledge is improved and technological capabilities is affected utimately by means of a firm's innovative efforts.That is absorptive capacity plays an intermediary role between innovative efforts and technological capabilities,which determine that innovative has an indirect effect on technological capabilities. The indirect effect of innovative efforts on technological exploitation capabilities is stronger than that on technological exploration capabilities.That implies fourthermore that absorptive capacity has powerful influence on improving the quality of a firm's exsisting technology. Besides innovative efforts has stronger indirect effect on technological capabilities through absorptive capacity capacity which plays an an important intermediary role.The study led to a conclusion that firms should harmonize the degree of innovative efforts and the development of absorptive capacities.Their technological capacities would be improved effectively by improving and enhancing absorptive capacity,which would increase the efficiency of firm's innovative efforts.