Knowledge infrastructure capability, absorptive capacity and inbound open innovation: evidence from SMEs in France

Inbound open innovation (IOI) has become a potentially valuable means of gaining competitive advantage and enhancing organizational performance. This article explores how knowledge infrastructure capability (KIC) affects IOI through the moderating role of absorptive capacity. This research conceptualizes and develops three dimensions of KIC (technological, structural and cultural), and tests the relationships between KIC, absorptive capacity and IOI. Data for the study were collected from 125 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) based in France, and the relationships proposed in the framework were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicate that higher levels of KIC can lead to enhanced absorptive capacity and improved IOI. That is, KIC can have a direct, positive impact on absorptive capacity and IOI. Moreover, absorptive capacity partially mediates the linkage between KIC and IOI. The article contributes to the conceptualization of the impact of KIC on IOI, by emphasizing a firm's absorptive capacity. It offers a validated instrument to measure KIC, and provides an empirical evidence of the impact of KIC on absorptive capacity and IOI. This article also extends the extant literature by focusing on KIC and absorptive capacity simultaneously in a model to understand the notion of IOI in the SMEs based in France. This study offers useful guidance for measuring and implementing KIC in a SME context and encourages further research in this area.