Knowledge Absorptive Capacity as a Factor for Brazilian Companies to Advance to the International Market

The knowledge is considered a strategic resource required to enhance the competitiveness of companies in emerging countries seeking to enter the international market. Thus, the objective of this research is to understand how absorptive capacity (ACAP) contributes to the internationalization process of Brazilian technology-based companies. The research, which used a subjectivist and interpretive paradigm and a qualitative approach, was guided by the Grounded Theory principles. Data were collected through 16 in-depth interviews with different actors in Brazilian technology-based companies within innovation ecosystems involved in the internationalization process. The findings highlight unique characteristics of the analyzed companies, such as network relationships with various actors, prior managerial experience, and the reinforcement of a knowledge-sharing culture, factors that stimulate the acquisition, assimilation, transformation, and application of knowledge. The absorptive capacity practices revealed in the study demonstrate a constant learning and reinvention capability to drive commercialization and reach new international markets, ultimately achieving leadership positions. It was also evident that absorptive capacity enhances access to international markets; however, as companies progress in these markets, this process also contributes to new practices of knowledge acquisition, assimilation, transformation, and application for innovation in the investigated companies. Thus, it is a cyclical process, demonstrating recursivity both in the dimensions of ACAP and in the process ACAP - > Internationalization - > ACAP.