Relationship between Individual Absorptive Capacity, Creativity and Job Performance: A Study with Leaders of the Largest Companies in the Southern Region of Brazil

Abstract

According to the literature, individuals with high levels of individual absorptive capacity tend to be proactive in seeking knowledge from outside the organization and developing new ideas that can be applied to the workplace, which contributes to increased individual performance. By influencing employee behavior, leaders play a key role in fostering this type of behavior. Therefore, the objective of this research is to analyze the relationship between individual absorptive capacity, creativity, and job performance among leaders of the 500 largest companies in the Southern region of Brazil. A survey was designed to collect data from a sample of 311 leaders. Hypothesis testing was performed for data analysis using structural equation modeling (SEM), estimated using the partial least squares (PLS) method. The results demonstrate that individual absorptive capacity encourages leaders to engage in a continuous learning process, which consists of acquiring, assimilating, transforming, and exploring external knowledge, applying it within the organizational context. This knowledge is essential for adapting to dynamic environments and improving performance. It has been found that the continuous pursuit of knowledge favors the development of inventive ideas for practical and creative application in the organizational environment. The ability to transform knowledge has been shown to have a positive impact on results, while creativity, as a mediating variable, transforms this knowledge into individual performance. Therefore, this research highlights the importance of leaders cultivating habits of continuous improvement and the application of new ideas in the organizational environment, which results in better individual and organizational performance. Furthermore, it highlights the need for leaders to develop these behaviors to impact the individual performance of their teams and contribute to the success of the organization as a whole.