An integrated conceptual framework for analysing heterogeneous configurations of absorptive capacity in manufacturing firms with the DUI innovation mode

Scholars of different disciplines widely agree that firms follow heterogeneous innovation patterns, meaning that different types of knowledge are relevant for their innovation activities. Given this fact, it is reasonable to assume that firms are also characterised by heterogeneous absorptive capacity patterns that fit their innovation behaviour. However, existing research, which mainly focuses on absorptive capacity in terms of formalised R&D and technology-based innovation, neglects both: other modes of knowledge absorption and the potential heterogeneity of firms' absorptive capacity in the context of different innovation patterns. The main objective of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework that enables the analysis of the heterogeneity in manufacturing firms' absorptive capacity configurations, particularly for innovation patterns based on the Doing, Using and Interacting (DUI) mode of innovation. To reach this goal, we introduce and integrate different constitutive elements on the individual and organisational level and process dimensions of absorptive capacity taken from previous literature. We illustrate and apply the proposed framework using the example of three case studies with companies from the German manufacturing industry, each of which follows a distinct DUI-based innovation pattern. Our empirical findings provide support for the heterogeneity assumption and allow the differences in the configurations of absorptive capacity to be linked to the firm's dominant innovation pattern. Thus, by showing its potential to capture the heterogeneity of absorptive capacity in an empirical analysis, our framework can serve as a comprehensive basis for a more differentiated understanding of absorptive capacity and its improved measurement.