Exploring the elements of absorptive capacity: large-scale interview study of 61 companies in Estonia

Author(s):  
Valeria Kiisk ◽  
Mait Rungi
2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 62-71
Author(s):  
Ramaisa Aqdas ◽  
Nik Ab Halim Nik Abdullah

Purpose - Knowledge absorptive capacity plays a significant role in export performance. It is a dynamic capability that firms apply to gain competitiveness in today’s knowledge-based economies. The aim of the present research is to identify relationship among dimensions of KAC and export performance. Design/Methodology - Nature of study was descriptive and quantitative. Data was collected through questionnaires from 291 large scale textile firms of Pakistan. Smart PLS was used in analyzing data by incorporating CFA and SEM techniques to test the hypotheses. Findings - The results reveal that knowledge acquisition, transformation, and exploitation have significant positive relationship with export performance.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 3344
Author(s):  
De Liu ◽  
Shiying Wang ◽  
Tao Wu ◽  
Yujiang Li

The influence of different coupling agents and coupling times on the wettability of a polyurethane (PU) sponge surface were optimized. Octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) was selected as the optimal coupling agent to prepare the superhydrophobic sponge. The superhydrophobic sponge was prepared in one step, which has the advantages of simple operation and enhanced durability. The superhydrophobic sponge was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Teclis Tracker tensiometry, and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrophotometry. The water contact angle increased from 64.1° to 151.3°, exhibiting ideal superhydrophobicity. Oils and organic solvents with different viscosities and densities can be rapidly and selectively absorbed by superhydrophobic sponges, with an absorption capacity of 14.99 to 86.53 times the weight of the sponge itself, without absorbing any water. Since temperature affects the viscosity and ionic strength of oil, and influences the surface wettability of the sponges, the effect of temperature and ionic strength on the oil absorption capacity of the superhydrophobic sponges was measured, and its mechanism was elucidated. The results showed that the absorptive capacity retained more than 90% of the initial absorptive capacity after repeated use for 10 times. Low-cost, durable superhydrophobic sponges show great potential for large-scale oil-water separation.


2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 164-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Reza Saeedi ◽  
Hossein Dadfar ◽  
Staffan Brege

Purpose – This study aims to examine the impacts of inward international licensing (IIL) on the absorptive capacity (ACAP) of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in a developing economy. Design/methodology/approach – The study is explorative, qualitative and elaborative in nature. Therefore, a multiple case study was selected and performed as the research strategy. The data were collected from four pharmaceutical SMEs licensed from European pharmaceutical large-scale enterprises. Findings – The results confirm that IIL has a strong effect on acquisition, assimilation, transformation and exploitation as absorptive factors. Furthermore, the results have been enhanced by several contextual factors of ACAP human resources, inter-and intra-firm relationships, internal knowledge and managerial and strategic aspects. These contextual factors have also been influenced by IIL. Originality/value – From the licensee perspective in a developing context, examining the extant literature on non-equity strategic alliances shows that very few studies have empirically examined the impact of this kind of alliance, such as IIL, on SMEs’ ACAP. On this basis, the study provides evidence that non-equity strategic alliances, particularly IIL, enhance SMEs’ capabilities such as ACAP. In other words, to overcome SMEs’ resource limitations and inadequate capabilities, IIL provides opportunities for them to obtain capabilities and critical resources.


AERA Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 233285842110584
Author(s):  
Kate Henley Averett

While the COVID-19 pandemic affected the education of nearly all schoolchildren worldwide, pandemic-related school closures did not affect all children in equal ways. Between March and August, 2020, I interviewed 31 parents of children with disabilities as part of a larger interview study of U.S. parents of children in grades K–12. In this article, I analyze these parents’ narratives about their families’ experiences of pandemic-related remote learning to identify the particular challenges children with disabilities and their families faced with remote learning. I find that most, but not all, families struggled with remote learning, both when children’s specific needs while learning at home differed from their needs at school, and when schools failed to provide adequate accommodations and services remotely. These narratives demonstrate how children with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to the type of large-scale systemic shock to U.S. public education that the pandemic has presented.


Author(s):  
Berry Billingsley ◽  
Mehdi Nassaji

AbstractScientific advances, particularly in evolutionary biology, genetics, neuroscience and artificial intelligence, present many challenges to religious and popular notions of personhood. This paper reports the first large-scale study on students’ beliefs about the interactions between science and widely held beliefs about personhood. The paper presents findings from a questionnaire survey (n = 530) administered to English secondary school students (age 15–16) in which their beliefs and concepts regarding personhood and the position of science were investigated. The survey was motivated in part by an interview study and a previous, smaller survey which revealed that many students struggle to reconcile their beliefs with what they suppose science to say and also that some have reluctantly dismissed the soul as a ‘nice story’ which is incompatible with scientific facts. The results from this larger-scale survey indicate that a majority of the students believe in some form of soul. Even so, and regardless of whether or not they identified themselves as religious, most students expressed a belief that human persons cannot be fully explained scientifically, a position that some students perceived as a partial rejection of what it means to hold a scientific worldview.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document