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.

Corporate venturing en de concurrentieomgeving: Bestendiging of verstoring van de marktdynamiek?

Abstract: In dit artikel staat de vraag centraal hoe corporate venturing de dynamiek beinvloedt in de concurrentieomgeving. Hiertoe is een raamwerk ontwikkeld waarin de verschillende typen corporate ventures gerelateerd worden aan de product- en factormarktdynamiek van de onderneming. Het raamwerk laat zien dat ondernemingen twee strategieen kunnen volgen wat betreft corporate venturing. Ten eerste, kiezen voor typen corporate ventures waarbij de huidige marktdynamiek in stand blijft (bestendiging). Ten tweede, kiezen voor typen ventures waarbij de bestaande marktdynamiek sterk toeneemt (verstoring). Het raamwerk verschaft managers inzicht in de gevolgen van corporate venturing voor de concurrentieomgeving. Een vergroting van de marktdynamiek vraagt om een ander, meer flexibel type organisatie. Een beknopte casestudie naar venture strategieen van de Rabobank en de ING illustreert de toegevoegde waarde van het ontwikkelde raamwerk.

Required IT-Related Capabilities For The Utilization of New Opportunities in Creating Interorganizational Competitive Advantage

Abstract: Developments in information technology (IT) are perceived to promote interorganizational cooperation within and across industry boundaries. IT-enabled cooperation has challenged the creation of interorganizational competitive advantages, as conceptualized in the Relational View (e.g., Dyer and Singh, 1998). The relationship between IT and the conversion of inter-firm value-creating opportunities into interorganizational competitive advantage is still unclear. In this paper, we have developed a conceptual framework regarding the relationship between IT and interorganizational resource complementarity, which is an important determinant of interorganizational competitive advantage. Our analysis suggests that cooperating organizations need to develop three distinctive but interrelated capabilities in order to effectuate interorganizational resource complementarity with regard to IT. We propose that these capabilities form a pre-condition for achieving interorganizational competitive advantage by means of IT-enabled interorganizational relationships. Preliminary support for our framework and proposition is provided by a case study of an interorganizational relationship between a large European financial services firm and a major European telecommunication firm.

On the Evolution of Trust, Distrust, and Formal Coordination and Control in Interorganizational Relationships: Towards an Integrative Framework

Abstract: In this article, we discuss the evolution of trust, distrust, and formal coordination and control in interorganizational relationships. We suggest that the degrees to which managers trust and distrust their partners during initial stages of cooperation leave strong imprints on the development of these relationships in later stages of collaboration. This derives from the impact of trust and distrust on: (1) formal coordination and control; (2) interorganizational performance; and (3) the interpretations that managers attribute to the behavior of their partners. Collectively, our arguments give rise to a conceptual framework, which indicates that there is a high propensity for interorganizational relationships to develop along vicious or virtuous cycles. By integrating and reconciling previous work on the trust-control nexus, and by emphasizing the dynamics associated with it, the article contributes to a more comprehensive and refined understanding of the evolution of interorganizational cooperation.

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...