Henk W. Volberda

Bio: Henk W. Volberda is an academic researcher from University of Amsterdam. The author has contributed to research in topics: Competitive advantage & Absorptive capacity. The author has an hindex of 71, co-authored 274 publications receiving 29582 citations. Previous affiliations of Henk W. Volberda include VU University Amsterdam & Tilburg University.

Het veranderende landschap in de Europese financiële sector: vooruitblik op de financiële sector in de 21ste eeuw

Abstract: textDe Europese financiele sector wordt geconfronteerd met ingrijpende veranderingen in de omgeving die van grote invloed zijn op de concurrentieverhoudingen en de manier waarop financiele dienstverlenende bedrijven hun routines, producten en diensten voortbrengen. Dit blijkt uit onderzoek naar de snelheid waarmee EU-regelgeving en technologische innovaties zich over Groot-Brittannie, Frankrijk, Italie, Nederland en Zweden hebben verspreid gedurende de periode 1990-1999. Groot-Brittannie en Nederland komen daarin naar voren als voorlopers met betrekking tot het implementeren van nieuwe regelgeving en technologieen, terwijl Italie en Frankrijk relatief laat zijn. Uit de bevindingen blijkt verder dat reguleringen en technologieen steeds sneller algemeen verspreid worden, in tegenstelling tot het vroegere proces van verspreiding van land tot land. Het veranderende landschap stelt gevestigde ondernemingen in de financiele dienstverlening daarmee voor belangrijke uitdagingen in de nabije toekomst en maakt strategische vernieuwing een noodzaak voor de gevestigde spelers in de financiele sector.

Organizing The Innovation System For Reusability: The Case Of Made-To-Order Markets

Abstract: textThis paper examines the transfer of designs between projects within firm in the context of made-to-order producing companies. This practice is also known as knowledge reuse. Past studies has provided a detailed account of the strategies and processes involved in the reuse of technologies. Nonetheless, a large portion of this research was based on evidence collected in mass-producing companies. This paper attempts to develop a complementary framework to identify the strategies involved in reusing technologies in the made-to-order context. Data were drawn from three aerospace companies based in Israel. Two strategies emerged from the empirical evidence: exploit product success and design for reuse.

How Knowledge Accumulation Has Changed Strategy Consulting: Strategic Options for Established Strategy Consulting Firms

Abstract: There is considerable research evidence to confirm that the accumulation of knowledge contributes to the competitive advantage of firms. However, in strategy consulting, one of the most knowledge-intensive professional services, established firms that exploited their knowledge accumulation by adding exploitative consulting practices have found their performance has deteriorated. The increasing share of exploitative practices in the strategy consulting industry has attracted both established ICT-related consulting firms and new entrants. Moreover, it has enabled clients to expand their problem-solving abilities. These developments in terms of competitiveness and client competencies have reduced the attractiveness of exploitative practices for established strategy consulting firms. To analyse this development and to provide strategic options for the established strategy consulting firms, a conceptual framework is proposed. Based on this framework three strategic option are identified: 'follow the herd', 'become ambidextrous' and 'back to the original focus.' In summarizing our argument, we highlight the pros and cons of these options and the implications for top management.

Absorptive Capacity: A Review, Reconceptualization, and Extension

Abstract: Researchers have used the absorptive capacity construct to explain various organizational phenomena. In this article we review the literature to identify key dimensions of absorptive capacity and offer a reconceptualization of this construct. Building upon the dynamic capabilities view of the firm, we distinguish between a firm's potential and realized capacity. We then advance a model outlining the conditions when the firm's potential and realized capacities can differentially influence the creation and sustenance of its competitive advantage.

Prospering in Dynamically-Competitive Environments: Organizational Capability as Knowledge Integration

Abstract: Unstable market conditions caused by innovation and increasing intensity and diversity of competition have resulted in organizational capabilities rather than served markets becoming the primary basis upon which firms establish their long-term strategies. If the strategically most important resource of the firm is knowledge, and if knowledge resides in specialized form among individual organizational members, then the essence of organizational capability is the integration of individuals' specialized knowledge. This paper develops a knowledge-based theory of organizational capability and draws upon research into competitive dynamics, the resource-based view of the firm, organizational capabilities, and organizational learning. Central to the theory is analysis of the mechanisms through which knowledge is integrated within firms in order to create capability. The theory is used to explore firms' potential for establishing competitive advantage in dynamic market settings, including the role of firm networks...

Role congruity theory of prejudice toward female leaders.

Abstract: A role congruity theory of prejudice toward female leaders proposes that perceived incongruity between the female gender role and leadership roles leads to 2 forms of prejudice: (a) perceiving women less favorably than men as potential occupants of leadership roles and (b) evaluating behavior that fulfills the prescriptions of a leader role less favorably when it is enacted by a woman. One consequence is that attitudes are less positive toward female than male leaders and potential leaders. Other consequences are that it is more difficult for women to become leaders and to achieve success in leadership roles. Evidence from varied research paradigms substantiates that these consequences occur, especially in situations that heighten perceptions of incongruity between the female gender role and leadership roles.

Clusters and knowledge: local buzz, global pipelines and the process of knowledge creation

Abstract: The paper is concerned with spatial clustering of economic activity and its relation to the spatiality of knowledge creation in interactive learning processes. It questions the view that tacit knowledge transfer is confined to local milieus whereas codified knowledge may roam the globe almost frictionlessly. The paper highlights the conditions under which both tacit and codified knowledge can be exchanged locally and globally. A distinction is made between, on the one hand, the learning processes taking place among actors embedded in a community by just being there dubbed buzz and, on the other, the knowledge attained by investing in building channels of communication called pipelines to selected providers located outside the local milieu. It is argued that the co-existence of high levels of buzz and many pipelines may provide firms located in outward-looking and lively clusters with a string of particular advantages not available to outsiders. Finally, some policy implications, stemming from this argumen...