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The role of absorptive capacity and innovation strategy in the design of industry 4.0 business Models - A comparison between SMEs and large enterprises

Julian M. Müller, Oana Buliga, Kai‐Ingo Voigt · 2020 · European Management Journal

Summary. This study examines how German industrial companies redesign their business models in response to Industry 4.0 by analyzing absorptive capacity and innovation strategy. Using data from 221 enterprises, the research shows that companies' ability to acquire, assimilate, transform, and exploit external knowledge enables both exploratory and exploitative innovation strategies, which then drive either efficiency-centered or novelty-centered business model changes. SMEs and large enterprises exhibit distinct patterns in this process.

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Müller, J. M., Buliga, O., & Voigt, K.. (2020). The role of absorptive capacity and innovation strategy in the design of industry 4.0 business Models - A comparison between SMEs and large enterprises. European Management Journal. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2020.01.002

Details

DOI
10.1016/j.emj.2020.01.002
Countries
Germany
Regions
Europe
Categories
innovation-theory, regional-innovation-systems, general-innovation
Added
2026-04-28