Firm Resources’ Entanglement Determines ITS Absorptive Capacity: A Review Towards A New Reconceptualization

The capability of a company to absorb external information is crucial for companies, since knowledge is largely considered as a highly valuable source of competitive advantage. Accordingly, an increasing number of publications dealing with this issue have been performed. A plethora of academic works about absorptive capacity (hereinafter ACAP) indicates a need for reviewing it since there is no common agreement about a unique definition and measurement of the same. This paper, aims at shedding a new light on the state of art of absorptive capacity, offering at the same time a certain reconceptualization which may give a new insight towards a new re-dimensionalization of the ACAP construct. Such approaching is rooted in firm’s resources and capabilities, emphasizing the financial aspect, which has almost been neglected in prior researches about this issue.