Objective: This study investigates the mediating role of absorptive capacity between external sources of knowledge and product innovation performance within the context of an electricity cooperative.
Design/Methodology/Approach: Conducted with a quantitative methodology, the study involved administering a questionnaire to 82 supplier companies of an electricity cooperative, using the Partial Least Squares (PLS) method to test the structural model.
Results: The findings indicate that external sources of knowledge, mediated by absorptive capacity, have a significant and positive association with the performance of product innovation. Organizations need to utilize both scientific and industrial external sources of knowledge to develop both potential and realized absorptive capacities, in order to perceive financial, market, technical, customer, and strategic benefits from innovation.
Originality/Value: This highlights the strategic importance of knowledge management in maintaining competitive and innovative organizations in the current business environment. In this sense, the study addresses the need for organizations to develop practices related to knowledge absorption, emphasizing that these practices not only allow for the acquisition of relevant business information but also facilitate the propagation and transformation of routines, leading to improvements in products and services.
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Revista Alcance is a Brazilian free access journal, published every four months, linked to the Graduate Program in Administration and the Professional Master’s degree in Administration, Internationalization and Logistics Program of the University of Vale do Itajaí – Univali. We seek to publish theoretical-empirical and technological articles in the areas of Business Administration. Different theoretical and methodological perspectives are welcome, as long as they are consistent with and relevant to the development of the area.
