An empirical study on the relationship between properties of knowledge, network topology and corporation innovation performance

Drawing on a network perspective on interorganizational learning, this research argues that a corporation can enjoy better innovation performance if it builds reasonable network topology that provides access to new knowledge developed by other organizations. This effect, however, depends on corporations´ absorptive capacity, or sound management of its available knowledge. Data from 151 corporations show that the interaction between absorptive capacity and network topology has significant, positive or negative effects on corporation innovation performance. This study develops a research model that links the properties of knowledge, network topology and absorptive capacity to predict innovation performance. This model may help decision makers of those types of organizations to effectively turn knowledge into actions by matching their firms´ knowledge network topology and absorptive capacity to the particular properties of the knowledge that is going to be communicated.