An empirical case study of the role of learning through customer relationships as an element in the absorptive capacity of two rapidly expanding SME suppliers

• The purpose of this paper is to provide an understanding of the dynamics in SMEgrowth, where growth is conceptualized as a process of knowledge accumulation within anetwork context and emphasizing evolving strategies of exploration and exploitation indeveloping customer relationships. In this context, the paper elaborates the concept of 'absorptivecapacity', based on an empirical case study of two rapidly expanding SME suppliers. The studyemphasizes the relationship between the explorative contextual expansion of networks and theexploitation of new knowledge as a way of developing and refining the content of specificcustomer relationships. It is concluded that the characteristics of absorptive capacity differsbetween focused SMEs in the way of developing few significant customer relationships ascompared to more broad and multi-contextual companies that strives to develop many exchangerelationships and new final-applications.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv -- Företagsekonomi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business -- Business Administration (hsv//eng)

Keyword

SOCIAL SCIENCES

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP

Business studies

Företagsekonomi

Business Studies

Företagsekonomi

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

kon (subject category)