Developing Absorptive Capacity through e‐Business: The Case of International SMEs

This research uses the absorptive capacity concept as a theoretical lens to study the effect of e‐business upon the internationalization performance of small and medium‐sized enterprises (), addressing the following research issue: To what extent are manufacturing successful in developing their potential and realized absorptive capacity in response to the environmental uncertainty brought about by their internationalization? Results of a survey study of 588 manufacturing indicate that e‐business capabilities have a significant impact on internationalization performance to the extent that these capabilities are developed as a response to increased environmental uncertainty. Moreover, these capabilities are realized through the development of networking, advanced manufacturing, and marketing capabilities that also respond to environmental uncertainty.

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