Knowledge sharing, absorptive capacity, and innovation capability: an empirical study of Taiwan's knowledge-intensive industries

Abstract

This research investigates the relationships between knowledge sharing, absorptive capacity, and innovation capability in Taiwan's knowledge-intensive industries. We propose statistical hypotheses and a LISREL model to study these based on the data sampled from 170 Taiwanese firms, including electronic, financial insurance and medical industries, yielding 355 valid returned research samples. By testing three hypotheses, this study finds that absorptive capacity is the intervening factor between knowledge sharing and innovation capability. It also shows that knowledge sharing has a positive effect on absorptive capacity, and that a completely mediating model exhibits both model generalization and extension characteristics through multiple model comparison in different industry population samples. Finally, managerial implications are discussed and a brief conclusion is presented.