Purpose

The purpose of this study is to provide a holistic view of how the different dimensions of absorptive capacity (AC) impact reverse knowledge transfer (RKT). Although the importance of AC has been realized in knowledge and RKT literature, scholars have hardly explored the differentiated importance of each component of AC. When knowledge leads to competitive advantage, understanding the differentiated contribution will help enhance the impact of AC on RKT. This becomes even more important for emerging economy multinationals (EMNCs), which struggle in the global market and suffer from various liabilities. Therefore, this study focuses on the multidimensional impact of AC on RKT from Indian multinational subsidiaries based in developed nations to their parent firm.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is a quantitative study. The authors tested the research model using a structural equation modeling design based on survey data collected from subsidiaries (in developed economies) of Indian multinationals.

Findings

The results show that acquisition, assimilation and transformation components of AC have positive impact on RKT. However, the authors found that the exploitation dimension has no impact on RKT.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the research design is original and this is the first study on the impact of all components of AC on RKT. AC is one of the most widely researched variables in knowledge literature, including different versions of Zahra and George’s concept of AC. However, its impact has not been explored much in RKT literature. This study addresses this gap and extends the literature on AC and RKT. The advantages of this study can be seen at the team and organization level.

中文翻译：

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吸收能力维度对跨国公司逆向知识转移的影响：来自印度的背景

 目的

本研究的目的是提供吸收能力（AC）的不同维度如何影响逆向知识转移（RKT）的整体视图。尽管AC的重要性已经在知识和逆向知识转移文献中得到认识，但学者们几乎没有探讨AC每个组成部分的不同重要性。当知识带来竞争优势时，了解差异化贡献将有助于增强AC对逆向知识转移的影响。对于在全球市场中苦苦挣扎并承受各种负债的新兴经济跨国公司（EMNC）来说，这一点变得更加重要。因此，本研究重点关注AC对从发达国家的印度跨国子公司到其母公司的逆向知识转移的多维影响。

设计/方法论/途径

本研究是一项定量研究。作者根据从印度跨国公司（发达经济体）子公司收集的调查数据，使用结构方程模型设计测试了研究模型。

 发现

结果表明AC的习得、同化和转化成分对逆向知识转移有积极的影响。然而，作者发现利用维度对逆向知识转移没有影响。

 原创性/价值

据作者所知，该研究设计是原创的，这是首次研究 AC 所有成分对 RKT 的影响。 AC 是知识文献中研究最广泛的变量之一，包括 Zahra 和 George 的 AC 概念的不同版本。然而，逆向知识转移文献中尚未对其影响进行过多探讨。本研究解决了这一差距并扩展了 AC 和 RKT 的文献。这项研究的优势可以在团队和组织层面上看到。