Study of the Conceptual-Theoretical Evolution of Absorptive Capacity in the Hospitality Field
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29149/mtr.v6i1.6530Keywords:
Absorptive Capacity, Hospitality, Innovation, Systematic Literature ReviewAbstract
When examining the literature on absorptive capacity (ACAP) in the context of the hotel industry, we found only one study classified as a systematic review prepared by Shawa & Williams (2009), however with a focus on investigating how knowledge management can influence the performance of hotel companies . The review did not aim to investigate the absorptive capacity, composed of the processes of acquisition, assimilation, transformation and application of external knowledge for commercial purposes by hotels. Therefore, it can be concluded that there is a lack of broader studies on the conceptual-theoretical evolution of absorptive capacity and its respective dimensions in the hotel industry, reinforcing the need for further studies of this type. In order to fill this gap, we have adopted a broader perspective in the systematization of types of studies, we seek to identify theoretical perspectives, methodological perspectives, main emerging themes and present an agenda for future studies on absorptive capacity in the hotel industry. The present study is defined in methodological terms as a systematic literature review, surveys of articles on absorptive capacity and hotels were carried out in the Web of Science, Scopus and EBSCOhost databases. 47 studies were selected after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, which were classified according to their theoretical, methodological and thematic perspectives. The results make it possible to state that the studies were developed based on a diversity of theories, in addition to the absorptive capacity approach, theories of knowledge and competitiveness were also used to analyze the processes that form the absorptive capacity in isolation. It was found that approximately 80% of the studies in the sample used quantitative methods, this suggests that further qualitative studies are carried out. The main theoretical contribution of the study is the presentation of the conceptual-theoretical evolution of the absorptive capacity in the field of hospitality. In managerial terms, the study portrays to managers how the processes of absorption capacity can influence organizational performance.
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