The role of marketing capabilities, absorptive capacity, and innovation performance Juliana Conceição Noschang da Costa, Shirlei Miranda Camargo, Ana Maria Machado Toaldo and Simone Regina Didonet Departamento de Ciencias Sociais, Universidade Federal do Parana, Curitiba, Brazil Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze effects of absorptive capacity (ACAP) on organizational performance. The model looks at the mediating influence of marketing capabilities (innovative capability and new product development capability (NPDC)) and innovation performance (IP). Design/methodology/approach – This study takes a quantitative approach by using survey data from 333 Brazilian manufacturer managers involved with strategic marketing processes. Structural equation modeling was used to test the theoretical hypotheses. Findings – Results indicate that ACAP does not have a direct impact on organizational performance. The relation is fully mediated by marketing capabilities (innovative capability and NPDC) and IP. Research limitations/implications – According to the research findings, managers should put efforts in the ACAP as well as marketing capabilities that will result in better organizational performance. This research is limited to the context of manufacturer firms in Brazil. However, it is suggested that an application of this research can be conducted in different industries and different countries. Originality/value – This study contributes to theory and management practice. First, no study has explored all these constructs together. Through the relationship between ACAP and performance, the authors found that marketing capabilities and IP can fully mediate the former proposed relation. The authors’ contribution is the understanding of the role of ACAP influence on performance. Managers should be encouraged to invest in companies’ ACAP as well as marketing capabilities to differentiate themselves from competitors and improve performance. Keywords Organizational performance, Absorptive capacity, Structural equation modelling, Mediation, Marketing capabilities, Intermediate results Paper type Research paper 1. Introduction The dynamic nature of the product and services market requires that firms develop new abilities to innovate with better products and services, including new processes and routines (Kostopoulos et al., 2011). Knowledge, an essential resource for innovation (Zahra and George, 2002; Cohen and Levinthal, 1990), is available from internal and external sources. However, the external knowledge available to firms is not absorbed equally among them (Zahra and George, 2002). A firm’s absorptive capacity (ACAP) refers to its ability to recognize the value of external knowledge and then to assimilate, translate, and apply that knowledge for commercial ends (Cohen and Levinthal, 1990; Flatten et al., 2011). ACAP helps companies to create and maintain a competitive advantage in dynamic environments (Teece et al., 1997; Zahra and George, 2002). Some studies have found that marketing capabilities play a mediating role between ACAP and OP. Marketing capabilities are crucial determinants of superior financial performance. For this study, we focused on marketing innovation capability (MIC) and new product development capability (NPDC). Various researchers have linked ACAP and NPDC (Stock et al., 2001; Fosfuri and Tribó, 2008), and we identified studies that related NPDC with innovation performance (IP) as well (Steinberg et al., 2017). Thus, we can infer that NPDC mediates ACAP-performance relationship. Marketing Intelligence & Planning Vol. 36 No. 4, 2018 pp. 410-424 © Emerald Publishing Limited 0263-4503 DOI 10.1108/MIP-11-2017-0312 Received 27 November 2017 Revised 29 January 2018 2 February 2018 Accepted 2 February 2018 The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/0263-4503.htm 410 MIP 36,4