Effects of Absorptive Capacity on Innovation Performance: Evidence from Small and Medium Enterprises in Vietnam

The article investigates the impact mechanism of absorption capacity (potential absorptive capacity - PAC and realized absorptive capacity - RAC) on the innovation efficiency of enterprises through the intermediate variable of dual innovation (exploratory innovation- INOR and exploitative innovation- INOI), based on the actual situation of Vietnam’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs). A survey of Vietnam’s SMEs was conducted from August 2020 to April 2021. The data was collected through interviews and questionnaires, and 146 valid questionnaires were received. The following results were acquired using SPSS 20.0 software to do correlation and regression analysis of data results.: The results show that the absorptive capacity of enterprises has a positive impact on innovation performance and dual innovation acts as a mediator in how absorptive capacity affects innovation performance. This study deepens the understanding of how absorptive capacity affects innovation performance and provides important new evidence for developing absorptive capacity and dual innovation in both theories and practice in Vietnam’s SMEs. The study also proposes several solutions and recommendations to help Vietnam’s small and medium enterprises improve their innovation capacity, competitiveness, and performance.