Developing Absorptive Capacity in Mature Organizations
Summary. This paper examines how mature organizations absorb new knowledge and skills by studying a Welsh manufacturing firm that lost its major defense contract. The owner hired a middle manager with mass production experience who acted as a change agent, improving communications and workplace efficiency. The research extends existing absorptive capacity theory by identifying key roles—gatekeepers, boundary spanners, and change agents—that facilitate knowledge transfer during organizational change.
Cite this article
Jones, O.. (2006). Developing Absorptive Capacity in Mature Organizations. Management Learning. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350507606067172
Jones, Oswald. “Developing Absorptive Capacity in Mature Organizations.” Management Learning, 2006. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350507606067172.
Jones, Oswald. 2006. “Developing Absorptive Capacity in Mature Organizations.” Management Learning. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350507606067172.
@article{jones-2006-developing-absorptive-capacity-mature-organizations,
title = {Developing Absorptive Capacity in Mature Organizations},
author = {Oswald Jones},
journal = {Management Learning},
year = {2006},
doi = {10.1177/1350507606067172},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1177/1350507606067172}
}
TY - JOUR TI - Developing Absorptive Capacity in Mature Organizations AU - Oswald Jones JO - Management Learning PY - 2006 DO - 10.1177/1350507606067172 UR - https://doi.org/10.1177/1350507606067172 ER -
Details
- DOI
- 10.1177/1350507606067172
- Countries
- United Kingdom
- Regions
- Europe
- Categories
- innovation-theory, innovation-networks, general-innovation
- Added
- 2026-04-28