The role of relative absorptive capacity in improving suppliers' operational performance

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the link between relative absorptive capacity and suppliers' operational performance. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses structural equation modelling of survey data from 218 Canadian manufacturers referring to a particular relationship with one of their customers. Findings Results suggest that only the first dimension of the relative absorptive capacity – knowledge sharing routines – influences the knowledge transferred from the customer to the supplier. Knowledge transfer acts as a mediator between knowledge sharing routines and the supplier's operational performance improvement. Research limitations/implications The absence of a significant association between the second dimension of relative absorptive capacity – overlapped knowledge bases – and knowledge transfer is a surprising result that should be further investigated. Originality/value This appears to be the first study to operationalise and empirically test relative absorptive capacity and its consequences in the particular context of customer‐supplier relationships.