Interplay of Knowledge Creation Capability and Organizational Forgetting on Absorptive Capacity and Innovation Performance among SMEs: A Symmetrical Approaches

Abstract

Organizations needs knowledge creation capability and organizational forgetting to enrich their innovative performance in ever-changing business setting.The purpose of this article is to explore the influence of knowledge creation capability, organizational forgetting and absorptive capacity on Firm’s innovative performance. We test the model using Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze empirical data collected from 194SMEs listed in Sri Lanka inventors’ commission.The findings of the study show that in addition to their individually positive impact of knowledge creation capability and organizational forgetting on firm’s innovative performance, the absorptive capacity mediates the relationship between knowledge creation capability, organizational forgetting and innovation performance. As one of the first studies to integrate the  capabilities of creating internal new knowledge and unlearning outdated knowledge for advancing firm innovativenessthrough the mediating effect of absorptive capacity. A major implication of this finding is that absorptive capacity enhances the effect of knowledge creation capability and organizational forgetting on firm's innovativeness and affects the types of innovation strategies adopted by firms.