Entrepreneurial orientation and opportunity recognition: The mediating role of absorptive capacity.

This study examines the mediating role of absorptive capacity in the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and opportunity recognition. Using Partial Least Squares we found among 95 academic spin-offs at three universities in the Netherlands that the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and opportunity recognition was fully mediated by potential and realized absorptive capacity. This shows that entrepreneurs of academic spin-offs can benefit significantly from developing an absorptive capacity capability to take advantage of their entrepreneurial orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]