ABSORBING INTEGRATION: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE ON THE MEDIATING ROLE OF ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY BETWEEN FUNCTIONAL-/CROSS-FUNCTIONAL INTEGRATION AND INNOVATION PERFORMANCE Forthcoming in the International Journal of Innovation Management (IJIM) https://doi.org/10.1142/S1363919619500567 Published online 16 November 2018 J. Piet Hausberg (Corresponding author) Osnabrück University, School of Business Administration and Economics Rolandstr. 8, 49078 Osnabrück, Germany piet.hausberg@uni-osnabrueck.de Phone: +49-541-969-2750 — Fax: +49- 541-969-12750 Peter S. H. Leeflang Emeritus Frank M. Bass Distinguished Professor of Marketing University of Groningen, Faculty of Economics and Business Nettelbosje 2 9747 AE Groningen, The Netherlands Aston Business School Aston Triangle, Birmingham, B4 7ET, UK p.s.h.leeflang@rug.nl Phone: +31 50 363 3696 — Fax: +31 50 363 3720 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank Francesco Rullani, Sebastian Spaeth, Diego Stea, Kinsuk Mani Sinha, Felice Simonelli, Luca Sabini and Alfredo Valentino for their helpful comments and discussions. We are furthermore very grateful for excellent proofreading by Alexandra Christiansen, Sara Turner, and Sarah McCarthy. This article is based on a part of Piet Hausberg’s dissertation.