Absorptive capacity as feedback on the sustainability of organizations

Abstract

Purpose: To describe the characteristics of the phases that make up the evolution of knowledge, such as, innovation, social innovation, innovation oriented to sustainability, organizational sustainability and absorptive capacity, as well as their correlations. Originality/value: It provides a panoramic view of the potential of absorptive capacity relating it to social innovation, innovation oriented towards sustainability and organizational sustainability. It addresses related themes and concepts that incorporate strategies to achieve organizational sustainability and have been gaining more importance and space between these discussions. Three scientific databases were used to select the articles: Scopus, Web of Science and SciELO. Then, to support the main concepts, theoretical references from more recent scientific studies were needed, which could contribute to clarifying the terms and definitions. Design/methodology/approach: This is a narrative bibliographic review. Works characterized by broader discussions were used, ideal for identifying and describing the conceptual state of a specific theme. Findings: Through the researched articles, it was possible to explore the characteristics of innovation, innovation oriented towards sustainability, and social innovation, which guide the values of society and influence the strategies of organizations more and more, thus, observing and understanding the absorptive capacity as a fundamental instrument for the strategies that ensure organizational sustainability.