Relative absorptive capacity: a research profiling

This paper provides the profiling on the ‘relative absorptive capacity of knowledge’ research to provide insights of the field based on data collected from the ISI Web of science database during the years 2001–2010. The analysis is established in three phases, namely, the general publication, the subject area, and the topic profiling. The study obtains patterns, characteristics, and attributes at country, institutions, journals, author, and core reference levels. It shows the increase of the research activity in the field, based on the publication productivity during the years mentioned. Most of these publications are classified in the subject areas of business and economics, engineering, and operations research and management science. We highlight the nascent interest of the computer science subject area as a way to operationalize the different studies conducted. We found a lack of contribution from African and Latin–American countries despite the importance of the field for them. Our results are useful in terms of science strategy, science and technology policy, research agendas, research alliances, and research networks according to the special interest of specific actors at the individual, institutional, and national levels.