Technological knowledge absorption as a factor of innovation development

The concept of absorptive capacity as a framework for analysis allows solving some challenges of knowledge transfer. However, the assumption about the homogeneity of production factors does not enable to understand the sources of firms' competitive advantage, various models of their innovation behavior, and the constraints of innovation policy. The study aims to clarify the typology-of absorptive capacity, to analyze the structure of the absorption of foreign techno-logical knowledge, to formulate some measures on growing of absorptive capacity of the Russian enterprises. In the paper, the three types of absorptive capacity are associated with the acquisition of embodied technologies; patents, licenses, and know-how; and adoption of R&D results.