Absorptive Capacity

The paper is concerned with spatial clustering of economic activity and its relation to the spatiality of knowledge creation in various sorts of interactive learning processes. It questions the merit of the prevailing explanatory model where the realm of tacit knowledge transfer is confined to local milieus whereas codified knowledge may roam the globe almost frictionless. When doing so the paper highlights the conditions under which both tacit and codified knowledge can be exchanged locally and globally. A distinction is made between, on the one hand, the learning processes taking place among actors embedded in a community by just being there -dubbed buzz -and, on the other, the knowledge attained by investing in building channels of communication -called pipelines -to selected providers located outside the local milieu. It is argued, that the co-existence of high levels of buzz and many pipelines may provide firms located in outward looking and lively clusters with a string of particular advantages not available to outsiders. Finally, some prescriptive elements, stemming from the argument, are identified.

This paper proposes and tests a model of IJV learning and performance that segments absorptive capacity into the three components originally proposed by . First, trust between an IJV's parents and the IJV's relative absorptive capacity with its foreign parent are suggested to influence its ability to understand new knowledge held by foreign parents. Second, an IJV's learning structures and processes are proposed to influence its ability to assimilate new knowledge from those parents. Third, the IJV's strategy and training competence are suggested to shape its ability to apply the assimilated knowledge. Revisiting the Hungarian IJVs studied by 3 years later, we find support for the knowledge understanding and application predictions, and partial support for the knowledge assimilation prediction. Unexpectedly, our results suggest that trust and management support from foreign parents are associated with IJV performance but not learning. Our model and results offer a new perspective on IJV learning and performance as well as initial insights into how those relationships change over time.

This paper advances the understanding of absorptive capacity for assimilating new knowledge as a mediating variable of organization adaptation. Many scholars suggest a firm's absorptive capacity plays a key role in the process of coevolution (Lewin et al., this issue). So far, most publications, in following Cohen and , have considered the level of prior related knowledge as the determinant of absorptive capacity. We suggest, however, that two specific organizational determinants of absorptive capacity should also be considered: organization forms and combinative capabilities. We will show how these organizational determinants influence the level of absorptive capacity, ceteris paribus the level of prior related knowledge. Subsequently, we will develop a framework in which absorptive capacity is related to both micro-and macrocoevolutionary effects. This framework offers an explanation of how knowledge environments coevolve with the emergence of organization forms and combinative capabilities that are suitable for absorbing knowledge. We will illustrate the framework by discussing two longitudinal case studies of traditional publishing firms moving into the turbulent knowledge environment of an emerging multimedia industrial complex.

Do firms balance exploration and exploitation in their alliance formation decisions and, if so, why and how? We argue that absorptive capacity and organizational inertia impose conflicting pressures for exploration and exploitation with respect to the value chain function of alliances, the attributes of partners, and partners' network positions. Although path dependencies reinforce either exploration or exploitation within each of these domains, we find that firms balance their tendencies to explore and exploit over time and across domains.

In this paper we test the relation between cognitive distance and innovation performance of firms engaged in technology-based alliances. The key finding is that the hypothesis of an inverted U-shaped effect of cognitive distance on innovation performance of firms is confirmed. Moreover, as expected, we found that the positive effect for firms is much higher when engaging in more radical, exploratory alliances than in more exploitative alliances. The effect of cumulative R&D turns out to be mixed. It appears to increase absorptive capacity, as expected, but there is clear evidence that it also reduces the effect of cognitive distance on novelty value, making it increasingly difficult to find additional novelty.

How much adevelopng and country can take advantage Investment, and International of technology transfer from Technology Transfer foreign direct investment depends partly on how well educated and well trained its A Survey workforce is, how much it is willing to invest in research and development, and how

Today's information and knowledge society requires new leaders who can confront a reality based on knowledge and foster innovation to achieve improvements in organizational performance. However, organizations sometimes fail to achieve sustainable competitive advantage due to their limited understanding of the relationships between these strategic variables. To date, very little research has analysed the direct and indirect relationships between these variables. Our study seeks to fill this research gap by analysing theoretically and empirically how the leader's perceptions of different intermediate strategic variables related to knowledge (knowledge slack, absorptive capacity, tacitness, organizational learning) and innovation influence the relation between transformational leadership and organizational performance. Based on the literature, we develop a theoretical model that shows the interrelations between these variables. We then test the model using data from 408 Spanish organizations, discuss the findings and provide several implications for business practitioners.

This paper attempts to investigate the extent to which the existing internal capabilities of firms and their interaction with external sources of knowledge affect their level of innovativeness. Part of these capabilities result from a prolonged process of investment and knowledge accumulation within firms and form what has been addressed as the "absorptive capacity" of firms (Cohen & Levinthal, Admin. Sci Q., 35 ). There are however other efforts that enhance the "original" definition of absorptive capacity and these relate to the way firms interact with their environment. Empirical data from an extensive survey that was carried out in seven European countries, the Netherlands, provides evidence for studying the relative effectiveness of specific mechanisms of knowledge creation and knowledge transfer. The results show that both internal capabilities and openness towards knowledge sharing are important for upgrading innovative performance. 

Abstract. This article analyses problems and solutions in the governance of knowledge exchange and joint knowledge production. The analysis is based on a theory which combines elements of transaction cost economics, social exchange theory and theory of knowledge. The ...

1] We present an overview of the theoretical and algorithmic aspects of the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aerosol and surface UV algorithms. Aerosol properties are derived from two independent algorithms. The nearUV algorithm makes use of OMI observations in the 350-390 nm spectral region to retrieve information on the absorption capacity of tropospheric aerosols. OMI-derived information on aerosol absorption includes the UV Aerosol Index and absorption optical depth at 388 nm. The other algorithm makes use of the full UV-to-visible OMI spectral coverage to derive spectral aerosol extinction optical depth. OMI surface UV products include erythemally weighted daily dose as well as erythemal dose rate and spectral UV irradiances calculated for local solar noon conditions. The advantages and limitations of the current algorithms are discussed, and a brief summary of several validation and evaluation analysis carried out to assess the current level of uncertainty of these products is presented.

Based on a sample of 169 subsidiaries of multinational corporations (MNCs) operating in the USA, Russia, and Finland, this paper investigates the relationship between MNC subsidiary human resource management (HRM) practices, absorptive capacity, and knowledge transfer. First, we examine the relationship between the application of specific HRM practices and the level of the absorptive capacity. Second, we suggest that absorptive capacity should be conceptualized as being comprised of both employees' ability and motivation. Further, results indicate that both ability and motivation (absorptive capacity) are needed to facilitate the transfer of knowledge from other parts of the MNC.

Countries emerging from civil war attract both aid and policy advice. This paper provides the first systematic empirical analysis of aid and policy reform in the post-conflict growth process. It is based on comprehensive data set of large civil wars, and covers 27 countries that were in their first decade of post-conflict economic recovery during the 1990s. We first investigate whether the absorptive capacity for aid is systematically different in post-conflict countries. We find that during the first three post-conflict years absorptive capacity is no greater than normal, but that in the rest of the first decade it is approximately double its normal level. Thus, ideally, aid should phase in during the decade. Historically, aid has not, on average, been higher in post-conflict societies, and indeed it has tended to taper out over the course of the decade. We then investigate whether the contribution of policy to growth is systematically different in post-conflict countries, and in particular, whether particular components of policy are differentially important. For this we use the World Bank policy rating data base. We find that growth is more sensitive to policy in post-conflict societies. Comparing the efficacy of different policies, we find that social policies are differentially important relative to macroeconomic policies. However, historically, this does not appear to have been how policy reform has been prioritized in post-conflict societies.

The traditional district literature tends to assume that: (1) the competitiveness of firms depends on external sources of knowledge; (2) all firms in a district benefit from knowledge externalities; (3) relying on external knowledge relationships necessarily means these are confined to the district area. Our case study of the Barletta footwear district in the South of Italy suggests otherwise. Based on social network analysis, we demonstrate that the local knowledge network is quite weak and unevenly distributed among the local firms. A strong local network position of a firm tended to increase their innovative performance, and so did their connectivity to extra-local firms. So, it mattered being connected either locally or non-locally: being co-located was surely not enough. Having a high absorptive capacity seemed to raise only indirectly, through non-local relationships, the innovative performance of firms.

This paper builds upon the theoretical framework developed by Zahra and George [Absorptive capacity: a review, reconceptualization, and extension. Academy of Management Review 2002;27:185-203] to empirically explore the antecedents of potential absorptive capacity (PAC), i.e. the ability to identify and assimilate external knowledge flows. Based on a sample of 2464 innovative Spanish firms, we find evidence that R&D cooperation, external knowledge acquisition and experience with knowledge search are key antecedents of a firm's PAC. Also, during periods of important internal reshaping, when there are significant changes in strategy, design of the organization and marketing, firms exert more effort to accumulate PAC. Finally, we find that PAC is a source of competitive advantage in innovation, especially in the presence of efficient internal knowledge flows that help reduce the distance between potential and realized capacity. ᭧ es (A. Fosfuri), joatribo@emp.uc3m.es (J.A. Tribó). 0305-0483/$ -see front matter ᭧

A brief abstract This study examines how business units manage the ratio of realized to potential absorptive capacity and reveals how absorptive capacity drives performance differences. Results from 462 business units within 150 branches show that cross-functional interfaces, participation and job-rotation especially enhance a unit's potential absorptive capacity. Formalization and socialization tactics particularly develop a unit's realized absorptive capacity. Regarding consequences of absorptive capacity, our findings show that superior financial performance originates from a unit's ability to nurture and harvest potential absorptive capacity. Moreover, our study suggests that potential and realized absorptive capacity have different roles in enabling explorative and exploitative adaptations. Lower ratios of realized to potential absorptive capacity are associated with explorative adaptations, whereas higher ratios are related to exploitative adaptations. In this regard, our study shows how managing potential and realized absorptive capacity provides sources of sustainable competitive advantage.

T he 20 years following the introduction of the seminal construct of absorptive capacity (AC) by . Innovation and learning: The two faces of R&D. Econom. J. 99(397) 569-596; Cohen, W. M., D. A. . Absorptive capacity: A new perspective on learning and innovation. Admin. Sci. Quart. 35(1) 128-152) have seen the proliferation of a vast literature citing the AC construct in over 10,000 published papers, chapters, and books, and interpreting it or applying it in many areas of organization science research, including organization theory, strategic management, and economics. However, with very few exceptions, the specific organizational routines and processes that constitute AC capabilities remain a black box. In this paper, we propose a routine-based model of AC as a first step toward the operationalization of the AC construct. Our intent is to direct attention to the importance of balancing internal knowledge creating processes with the identification, acquisition, and assimilation of new knowledge originating in the external environment. We decompose the construct of AC into two components, internal and external AC capabilities, and identify the configuration of metaroutines underlying these two components. These higher-level routines are expressed within organizations by configurations of empirically observable practiced routines that are idiosyncratic and firm specific. Therefore, we conceptualize metaroutines as the foundations of practiced routines. The ability of organizations to discover and implement complementarities between AC routines may explain why some firms are successful early adopters and most firms are imitators. Success as an early adopter of a new management practice or an innovation is expected to depend on the extent to which an organization evolves, adapts, and implements the configuration of its internal and external absorptive capacity routines.

We build a quality ladders product cycle model that explores how the quality of Ž . technology transferred through foreign direct investment FDI is linked to innovation and imitation when the absorptive capacity of LDCs is limited. Successful imitation of low quality levels makes FDI involving high quality levels possible through reduction of the technology gap. A subsidy to imitation or a tax on low quality FDI production encourages imitation relative to innovation, thus releasing the constraint faced by foreign firms seeking to produce in the South. These forces that stimulate high-quality FDI raise Southern welfare through lower prices, faster innovation and higher wages. q 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.

Theories of absorptive capacity propose that knowledge gained from prior experience facilitates the identification, selection, and implementation of related profitable practices. Researchers have investigated how managers may develop absorptive capacity by building internal knowledge stocks, but few have focused on the distribution of this knowledge within the firm and the role managers play in administering information to organizational subunits. In this paper, we explore the degree to which managers can develop absorptive capacity by directly providing information to agents in the organization that might potentially adopt a new practice. We find that the effectiveness of managerial information provision depends on the degree to which potential adopters have information from other sources. We find that information from previous adopters and past events reduces the effect of information provision, while experience with related practices amplifies it. Our research helps clarify when absorptive capacity may provide a sustained competitive advantage.

In this paper, we focus on the potential innovative benefits to corporate venture capital (CVC), i.e. equity investments in entrepreneurial ventures by incumbent firms. We propose that corporate venture capital programs may be instrumental in harvesting innovations from entrepreneurial ventures and thus an important part of a firm's overall innovation strategy. We hypothesize that these programs are especially effective in weak intellectual property (IP) regimes and when the firm has sufficient absorptive capacity. We analyze a large panel of public firms over a 20-year period and find that increases in corporate venture capital investments are associated with subsequent increases in firm patenting.

This paper explores the use of specialist knowledge providers as sources of information in the innovation activities of manufacturing and service firms. Specialist knowledge providers are consultancies, private research organisations and the public science-base (i.e., universities and the government research laboratories). These may be engaged by firms in co-operative arrangement for innovation or as informal sources of information. We find, as anticipated, that amongst other factors specialist knowledge providers are more likely to be engaged by firms with more open approaches to innovation, those with high levels of absorptive capacity, those with greater social capital and networking capabilities, as well as by those with deeper commitments to innovation. Overall, the use of specialist knowledge providers tends to complement firms' own internal innovation activities and to complement other external sources of knowledge. Moreover, the individual types of specialist knowledge providers tend to complement rather than substitute for one another. Beyond this we find significant differences in the types of specialist knowledge providers used by manufacturing and service firms. Although service firms are more likely than manufacturers to use specialist knowledge providers, they are more likely to engage consultants, whilst their links with research-based organisations, including the public science-base, are weaker. We ask whether there is a case for increasing the extent to which the public science-base undertakes activities that are relevant to innovation in the services.

This study examines the relationship between firm absorptive capacity and organizational responsiveness in the context of growth-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). By testing the different dimensions of absorptive capacity, external knowledge acquisition and intrafirm knowledge dissemination were found to be positively related to organizational responsiveness. In addition, the relationships between absorptive capacity and organizational responsiveness were moderated by environmental dynamism and the SMEs' strategic orientation. Results demonstrate that the responsiveness of growth-oriented SMEs is expected to increase if (1) they have well-developed capabilities in external knowledge acquisition and intrafirm knowledge dissemination; (2) they have a well-developed external knowledge acquisition capability and adopt a more proactive strategy, such as being a prospector; (3) they face a turbulent environment and have a well developed internal knowledge dissemination capability. Implications and future research directions are provided.

We propose a representation of a firm's 'effective' R&D effort level that reflects how both its R&D approach and R&D budget influences its ability to realize spillovers from other firms' R&D activity, i.e. its 'absorptive capacity', and generalizes the commonly employed representation. The ability to choose an R&D approach is accommodated by positing a three-stage game in which the choice of an R&D approach is made in its first stage. The firms' R&D budgets and output levels are chosen in the game's second and third stages, respectively. It is found that when firms cooperate in the setting of their R&D budgets, i.e. form a research joint venture, they choose identical broad R&D approaches. On the other hand, if they do not form a research joint venture, then they choose firm-specific R&D approaches unless there is no danger of exogenous spillovers. The analysis suggests that the commonly employed representation of firms' effective R&D investment levels implicitly presupposes that the firms have chosen to cooperate in setting their R&D budgets.

This paper presents an integrative model of the impact of cultural differences on capability transfer in cross-border acquisitions. We propose that cultural differences affect the post-acquisition capability transfer through their impact on social integration, potential absorptive capacity, and capability complementarity. Two dynamic variablesthe use of social integration mechanisms, and the degree of operational integration of the acquired unitare proposed to moderate the effects of cultural differences on social integration and potential absorptive capacity. The implications for acquisition research and practice are discussed. Journal of International Business Studies (2007) 38, 658-672.

In many high technology industries, strategic alliances have become important for improving a firm's financial performance by providing knowledge that can be used to develop the capabilities needed to introduce new products. Therefore, researchers have examined those characteristics of alliances that can contribute to the performance of high technology companies. There is agreement that the structure and knowledge flows within alliances can affect a firm's innovativeness. However, to date, researchers have studied alliances as individual events or transactions, failing to recognize their synergistic effects as a coherent portfolio. Viewing alliances as a portfolio of strategic agreements, we suggest that portfolio characteristics will be associated with a high technology firm's innovative and financial performance. Also, we suggest that portfolio characteristics will influence absorptive capacity. We test these propositions using a sample of 2456 alliances formed by 143 biopharmaceutical firms. The results indicate that alliance portfolio characteristics and absorptive capacity jointly influence performance. The implications of these findings for high technology firms are discussed. D

New product development, specifically the ability of a company to develop products that outperform their competitors in the marketplace has been shown to benefit from the acquisition and use of external information. In this paper, we examine the relationship between absorptive capacity and new product development performance. Absorptive capacity is defined as the ability to acquire external information, assimilate it, and exploit it for commercial ends . We would expect that greater absorptive capacity, which provides a greater capability to acquire and exploit external information, would lead to more effective new product development. In this paper, we test this proposition using data from the computer modem industry over a 24-year period. Absorptive capacity is operationalized by R&D intensity, and new product development performance is measured by the technical performance of new products. Our results indicate that the relationship between absorptive capacity and new product development performance is nonlinear. An``inverted-U'' shape suggests diminishing returns for absorptive capacity. Implications and possible directions for future research are discussed. D 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Absorptive capacity; New product development 1047-8310/01/$ ± see front matter D 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved. PII: S 1 0 4 7 -8 3 1 0 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 0 4 0 -7

Technology incubators are university-based technology initiatives that should facilitate knowledge flows from the university to the incubator firms. We thus investigate the research question of how knowledge actually flows from universities to incubator firms. Moreover, we assess the effect of these knowledge flows on incubator firm-level differential performance. Based on the resource-based view of the firm and the absorptive capacity construct, we advance the overarching hypothesis that knowledge flows should enhance incubator firm performance. Drawing on longitudinal and fine-grained firm-level data of 79 technology ventures incubated between 1998 and 2003 at the Advanced Technology Development Center, a technology incubator sponsored by the Georgia Institute of Technology, we find some support for knowledge flows from universities to incubator firms. Our evidence suggests that incubator firms' absorptive capacity is an important factor when transforming university knowledge into firm-level competitive advantage.

In this article we analyse the effect of factors external and internal to the firm, on product innovation novelty, and how this
effect varies by industry. We estimate three econometric models to determine the individual effects of these factors, their joint
explanatory power and the effects of interactions among them. The analysis is based on a sample of 6094 manufacturing firms,
taken from the Spanish Survey of Technological Innovation 2000. The results indicate that the firm’s technological competences,
derived from in-house R&D, are the main determinant of product innovation. They also suggest that in the presence of high levels
of such competences, the technological opportunities deriving from non-industry agents become less important as determinants of innovation. We show that the determinants of innovation vary depending on the industrial sector and the degree of novelty of the product developed.

A firm's ability to acquire and exploit external knowledge is often critical to achieving and sustaining a competitive advantage. In this study, we adopt a multi-dimensional view of absorptive capacity and focus specifically on the application of external knowledge that has been obtained via university-firm collaborations. We examine various organizational conditions that we propose influence a firm's ability to apply external knowledge for explorative and exploitative innovations. We collected data by a survey of firms in industries that frequently work with university research centres (URCs) and from publicly available sources. Results show that predictors of exploration and exploitation of the application of external knowledge differ. Surprisingly, technological relatedness, a common measure of absorptive capacity, is negatively associated with the application of external knowledge to explorative innovations, indicating that knowledge from more distant sources is applied more to exploration. Results also indicate that the effects of two external learning capabilities (prior experience with URCs and technological capability) on knowledge application are moderated in such a way by the tacitness of the knowledge transferred that experience is a stronger predictor when the knowledge is more explicit and technological capability is a stronger predictor when the knowledge is more tacit. We discuss the implications of these findings for research on the application of external knowledge.

The success of symbiotic reef-building corals is largely determined by the efficiency with which they collect solar energy. Using thin coral laminae from the Caribbean scleractinian Porites branneri, we characterize the absorption spectra of intact coral surfaces. Comparisons of absorption spectra from corals with a broad range of photosynthetic pigment densities, collected during a natural bleaching event, indicate that they are capable of collecting more than 85% of solar radiation with one order of magnitude less pigment density than terrestrial leaves. Measurements of the light-absorption efficiency as a function of pigment density reveal that symbiotic algae in intact P. branneri absorb between two and five times more light than freshly isolated symbionts. A theoretical model shows that multiple scattering by the skeleton can enhance the local light field, thus increasing absorption. As a result of this phenomenon, corals inhabiting high light environments can maximize their absorption capacity with low pigment investment while reducing self-shading in low-light environments. Local light field enhancements may have negative effects when corals are exposed to stressful conditions. During coral bleaching, increases in local irradiance associated with reductions in pigment density could exacerbate the negative effect of elevated temperatures. Symbiotic scleractinian corals are one of the most efficient solar energy collectors in nature, and the modulation of the internal light field by the coral skeleton may be an important driving force in the evolution of this group. 2 Corresponding author (iglesias@mar.icmyl.unam.mx).

Wind energy represents one of the most important renewable resources. Wind energy is a clean, renewable and its benefits are considered greater than the disadvantages. However, even though wind farms represent environmentally friendly projects, they frequently generate public resistance.

Increasingly, manufacturers are making radical changes in management practices and investing heavily in advanced technologies as they attempt to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. Organizations seeking to implement these changes should have an internal environment that emphasizes knowledge assimilation and sharing and creates continuous learning capability, i.e., absorptive capacity. This study reviews the construct of absorptive capacity, develops a valid and reliable instrument to measure it, and examines its impact on the organization's ability to assimilate innovative manufacturing technology and management practice. To illustrate the links, this study tests the relationships among absorptive capacity, time-based manufacturing practices, and value to customer. Structural equation modeling, applied to a relatively large sample (n = 303), indicates strong, positive, and direct relationships between absorptive capacity and time-based manufacturing practices, and between time-based manufacturing practices and value to customer. The managerial implications of these empirical findings are also discussed. #

This paper analyses the importance of cooperation partners for the development of innovation activities. We contribute to the literature on cooperation in innovation activities that seeks to identify the characteristics differentiating cooperative from non-cooperative firms by proposing a different approach to this problem. We distinguish firms according to their evaluation of cooperation partners in the development of innovation activities. We apply a probit selection model to account for the firm's decision to cooperate (or not). The data we use come from the Portuguese Third Community Innovation Survey. Our estimation results show that firms from high-technological industries, with higher levels of absorptive capacity and of innovation investment, who give importance to incoming spillovers management, and who cooperate with firms from the same group or with suppliers, place greater value on cooperation partners in the innovation process. Additionally, we also find that the factors influencing the importance attributed to cooperation activities are different from the ones behind the decision to cooperate.

The empirical literature finds mixed evidence on the existence of positive productivity externalities in the host country generated by foreign multinational companies. We propose a mechanism that emphasizes the role of local financial markets in enabling foreign direct investment (FDI) to promote growth through backward linkages, shedding light on this empirical ambiguity. In a small open economy, final goods production is carried out by foreign and domestic firms, which compete for skilled labor, unskilled labor, and intermediate products. To operate a firm in the intermediate goods sector, entrepreneurs must develop a new variety of intermediate good, a task that requires upfront capital investments. The more developed the local financial markets, the easier it is for credit constrained entrepreneurs to start their own firms. The increase in the number of varieties of intermediate goods leads to positive spillovers to the final goods sector. As a result financial markets allow the backward linkages between foreign and domestic firms to turn into FDI spillovers. Our calibration exercises indicate that a) holding the extent of foreign presence constant, financially well-developed economies experience growth rates that are almost twice those of economies with poor financial markets, b) increases in the share of FDI or the relative productivity of the foreign firm leads to higher additional growth in financially developed economies compared to those observed in financially under-developed ones, and c) other local conditions such as market structure and human capital are also important for the effect of FDI on economic growth. JEL Classification: F23, F36, F43, O40

Innovation has widely been regarded as one of the main drivers of economic growth in the knowledge economy. This paper investigates the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the development of regional innovation capabilities using a panel data set from China. It finds that FDI has a significant positive impact on the overall regional innovation capacity. FDI intensity is also positively associated with innovation efficiency in the host region. The strength of this positive effect depends, however, on the availability of the absorptive capacity and the presence of innovation-complementary assets in the host region. The increased regional innovation and technological capabilities have contributed further to regional economic growth in China's coastal regions but not in the inland regions. It concludes that the type and quality of FDI inflows and the strength of local absorptive capacity and complementary assets in the host regions are crucial for FDI to serve as a driver of knowledge-based development. Policy implications are discussed.

We acknowledge with appreciation the supportive comments of the guest editors and three anonymous reviewers. We also thank Art Shulman, Andrew Griffiths, Damian Hine, Peter Liesch and Rick Tamaschke for their invaluable assistance on earlier drafts.

In internal curing, pre-wetted lightweight aggregates (LWA) serve as internal reservoirs to supply the extra water needed by the cementitious and pozzolanic components of the concrete during their hydration processes. Due to their porous nature and reasonably high absorption capacity, the LWA can also be filled with other materials, such as phase change materials (PCMs). In this paper, three potential applications of PCM-filled LWA in concrete technology are presented. In addition to the previously explored application of increasing the energy storage capacity of concrete in residential and commercial construction by using a PCM with a transition temperature near room temperature, applications for higher and lower temperature PCMs also exist. In the former case, a PCM can be used to reduce the temperature rise (and subsequent rate of temperature decrease) of a large concrete section during (semi)adiabatic curing, to minimize thermal cracking, etc. In the latter case, a PCM can perhaps reduce the number or intensity of freeze/thaw cycles experienced by a bridge deck or other concrete exposed to a winter environment. In this paper, these latter two applications are preliminarily explored from both experimental and modeling viewpoints.

It is widely recognized that technological change has the potential to reduce GHG emissions without compromising economic growth; hence, any better understanding of the process of technological innovation is likely to increase our knowledge of mitigation possibilities and costs. This paper explores how international knowledge flows affect the dynamics of the domestic R&D sector and the main economic and environmental variables. The analysis is performed using WITCH, a dynamic regional model of the world economy, in which energy technical change is endogenous. The focus is on disembodied energy R&D international spillovers. The knowledge pool from which regions draw foreign ideas differs between High Income and Low Income countries. Absorption capacity is also endogenous in the model. The basic questions are as follows. Do knowledge spillovers enhance energy technological innovation in different regions of the world? Does the speed of innovation increase? Or do free-riding incentives prevail and international spillovers crowd out domestic R&D efforts? What is the role of domestic absorption capacity and of policies designed to enhance it? Do greenhouse gas stabilization costs drop in the presence of international technological spillovers? The new specification of the WITCH model presented in this paper enables us to answer these questions. Our analysis shows that international knowledge spillovers tend to increase free-riding incentives and decrease the investments in energy R&D. The strongest cuts in energy R&D investments are recorded among High Income countries, where international knowledge flows crowd out domestic R&D efforts. The overall domestic pool of knowledge, and thus total net GHG stabilization costs, remain largely unaffected. International spillovers, however, are also an important policy channel. We therefore analyze the implication of a policy mix in which climate policy is combined with a technology policy designed to enhance absorption capacity in developing countries. Significant positive impacts on the costs of stabilising GHG concentrations are singled out. Finally, a sensitivity analysis shows that High Income countries are more responsive than Low Income countries to changes in the parameters and thus suggests to focus additional empirical research efforts on the former. JEL Code: H4, O3, Q4.

The removal of methylene blue (MB) in water with the superabsorbent hydrogel (SH) formed by modified gum arabic, polyacrylate, and polyacrylamide was investigated. The SH exhibited excellent performance in MB absorption. The maximum absorption capacity was 48 mg of the dye per g of SH, representing 98% of the MB removed. Experimental parameters were used as follows: pH 8, hydrogel mass 50 mg, and initial concentration of MB 50 mg L−1. In a procedure with an individual solution of orange II, an opposite effect related to the MB was observed: the hydrogel only absorbed water, resulting in an orange II-richer solution. The orange II concentration in solution increased about 50 times (relative to the initial concentration). In another experiment using an aqueous mixture of orange II and MB, the SH absorbed the MB exclusively. Compared to the MB, the orange II is separated from water by SH selectivity-absorption through an inverse process. This effect was attributed to the formation of a ionic complex between the imine groups of MB and the ionized carboxylic groups of SH.The hydrogel has an excellent performance of methylene blue absorption (ca. 98%). This effect has assigned to the formation of an ionic complex between the imines groups of methylene blue and the ionized carboxylic groups of hydrogel.

This review encompasses definitions, classification, main properties, and application of polymer hydrogels. Raw materials and preparation techniques of polymer hydrogels were described. The factors that affect absorption capacity and swelling properties of polymer hydrogels were reviewed. PHG materials are defined as a viscoelastic network structure, swellable and not soluble in water with high absorbent capacity, which may reach 1000 g/g of their dried weight to be termed “superabsorbent polymer hydrogels”. PHGs have the ability to release absorbed fluids under certain circumstances.

We acknowledge financial support of the European Commission under the grant CIT5-CT-028519 (UKnow-Understanding the relationship between knowledge and competitiveness in the enlarging EU) and the grant CIT5-028812 (Dyn-reg -Dynamic regions in a knowledge driven global economy). The usual disclaimer applies.

Roasted and non roasted full fat or partially defatted flaxseed flours (Linum Usitatissimum) were evaluated for their proximate composition, mineral profile and functional properties. Significant increase in the crude protein, crude fiber, ash and mineral contents in the partially defatted flaxseed flours (both roasted and non-roasted) was observed. Partial defattening improved the foam capacity, foam stability and water absorption capacities while roasting decreased the foam stability and capacity of the flours. Mineral profile and proximate composition of the roasted partially defatted flaxseed flours showed that this can be added in the many types of food applications as defattening solves the problem of stability while roasting effectively reduces the antinutritional factors like cyanogenic glycosides contents of the flaxseed. The replacement of roasted partially defatted flaxseed flours upto a level of 16% supplementation in whole wheat flour was found acceptable regarding the sensory attributes of chapattis. Citation: Hussain, S., F.M. Anjum, M.S. Butt, and M.A. Sheikh. 2008. Chemical composition and functional properties of flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum) flour. Sarhad J. Agric. 24(4): 649-653.

Absorptive capacity plays a key role in determining firms' capability to access and make use of external knowledge. However, little evidence has been provided about this important determinant of knowledge acquisition in the SMEs context. This paper investigates the importance of absorptive capacity created and accumulated in R&D efforts and in qualified human resources, on SMEs' capabilities to collaborate with other firms, with universities and with technology transfer centres. The empirical evidence is based on a survey of interviews with 276 manufacturing SMEs located in the Lombardy region (Italy). The estimation of several probit models demonstrates that even in SMEs absorptive capacity has a relevant impact on the ability of firms to establish collaborations with external organisations.

Since its inception, the concept of absorptive capacity has been closely linked with notions of organizational learning. Yet the precise nature of the relationship between these two concepts has never been established. This relationship is examined in a variety of ways, and it is suggested that the literature on these two concepts shares a conceptual affinity which needs to be delineated. It is suggested that absorptive capacity (a dynamic capability) is a concrete example of organizational learning that concerns an organization's relationship with new external knowledge. Using the 4I Model for organizational learning (Crossan, M.M., Lane, H.W. and White, R.E. (1999). An organizational learning framework: from intuition to institution. Academy of Management Review, 24, 522-537) and Zahra and George's conceptualization of absorptive capacity (Zahra, S.A. and George, G. (2002). Absorptive capacity: a review, reconceptualization, and extension. Academy of Management Review, 27, 185-203), this paper proposes an integration of the two concepts.