The interplay of firms' absorptive capacity, export orientation and innovation strategies: Evidence from Russia

Abstract

Exporters' advantages have been discussed in the literature for many decades. Scholars report positive influence of export on firm'’ productivity, efficiency, innovativeness etc. However different contexts suggest different outcomes of the exporting activity. The aim of this study is to analyze the interplay between firms' absorptive capacity, export orientation and innovation strategy of Russian firms. We argue that for Russian firms developed absorptive capacity is an essential antecedent of exporting capacity. Moreover absorptive capacity not only affects firms’ export strategies but is affected itself by export and innovation strategy of the firm. We test our hypotheses using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The data was collected by survey of Russian exporters. Total sample accounts 107 observations.