Absorptive capacity in travel agencies: a study in the State of Sergipe, Brazil

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the absorptive capacity of travel agencies, based on the absorptive capacity model of Zahra and George (2002). The research is justified given the representativeness of the tourism sector in the service sector and the need for innovation measures closer to the sector’s specificities and focused on the dynamic capabilities of these companies. The study is quantitative, following an exploratory and descriptive approach. We performed a survey, with the questionnaire as our data collection instrument was. The research was conducted with the travel agencies affiliated to ABAV Sergipe - Brazilian Association of Travel Agencies in the State of Sergipe, initially totaling 50 listed companies, of which 08 were unable to participate, so that we obtained a total of 42 (84%) respondents, including the travel agencies located in the interior of the State. The tabulation and analysis were made with the help of softwares such as IBM SPSS Statistics 19, Minitab 17 and Microsoft Excel 2007. The results showed that creative imitation is a major source of innovation for the agencies of the State of Sergipe and a result of their relationship with clients as well as with other companies, whether competitors or suppliers, which makes these companies open to new knowledge. The agencies surveyed also create informal networks ensuring that the knowledge and information they need are transmitted within the organization in a fast and dynamic fashion. As a contribution, the article advances the literature on innovation and tourism, by studying innovation from a different perspective of the shumpeterian one, proposing an alternative analytical lens.