KNOWLEDGE ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY: CONTEMPORARY TRENDS AND NEW CONCEPTUALIZATION IN THE CONTEXT OF FUNDAMENTAL TRANSITION PROJECTS

What is it about?

Dimensions, antecedents, and outcomes of absorptive capacity

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Why is it important?

Through its qualitative depth and the introduction of DACAP, this manuscript offers a thoughtful examination of how organizations may intentionally or unintentionally filter, transform, and integrate external knowledge when confronted with high-stakes transition projects. In emphasizing the interplay between potential capacity, realized capacity, and the desired forms of knowledge absorption, the work underscores the complexities that overshadow standard “linear” conceptions of ACAP. These insights will interest scholars of organizational learning, dynamic capabilities, change management, and higher education accreditation. Moreover, the use of new conceptual criteria (e.g., depth, exhaustiveness, pervasion, sustainability, and relevance) to assess organizational learning goes beyond many existing studies, which tend to favor narrower performance metrics. This framework could prompt future empirical endeavors to reassess or expand how ACAP outcomes are conceived and evaluated, both in higher education and across other sectors navigating fundamental transformations.