An investigation of bureaucratic influences on absorptive capacity-market responsiveness relationships

Building on absorptive capacity and bureaucracy research, we investigate in this paper howbureaucracy within organisations moderates the relationship between absorptive capacityand market responsiveness. Using data collected from 254 firms in China, we show that theeffects of absorptive capacity on market responsiveness are contingent upon the degree ofbureaucracy within organisations. In particular, the results indicate that the positive effectsof absorptive capacity on market response speed become less positive under higher degreesof bureaucracy