Scholars of the theory of the firm have begun to emphasize the sources and conditions of what has been described as “the organizational advantage,” rather than focus on the causes and consequences of market failure. Typically, researchers see such organizational advantage as accruing from the particular capabilities organizations have for creating and sharing knowledge. In this article we seek to contribute to this body of work by developing the following arguments: (1) social capital facilitates the creation of new intellectual capital; (2) organizations, as institutional settings, are conducive to the development of high levels of social capital; and (3) it is because of their more dense social capital that firms, within certain limits, have an advantage over markets in creating and sharing intellectual capital. We present a model that incorporates this overall argument in the form of a series of hypothesized relationships between different dimensions of social capital and the main mechanisms and proces...

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/259373.pdf

Social Capital, Intellectual Capital, and the Organizational Advantage

Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques

This paper focuses on dynamic capabilities and, more generally, the resource-based view of the firm. We argue that dynamic capabilities are a set of specific and identifiable processes such as product development, strategic decision making, and alliancing. They are neither vague nor tautological. Although dynamic capabilities are idiosyncratic in their details and path dependent in their emergence, they have significant commonalities across firms (popularly termed ‘best practice’). This suggests that they are more homogeneous, fungible, equifinal, and substitutable than is usually assumed. In moderately dynamic markets, dynamic capabilities resemble the traditional conception of routines. They are detailed, analytic, stable processes with predictable outcomes. In contrast, in high-velocity markets, they are simple, highly experiential and fragile processes with unpredictable outcomes. Finally, well-known learning mechanisms guide the evolution of dynamic capabilities. In moderately dynamic markets, the evolutionary emphasis is on variation. In high-velocity markets, it is on selection. At the level of RBV, we conclude that traditional RBV misidentifies the locus of long-term competitive advantage in dynamic markets, overemphasizes the strategic logic of leverage, and reaches a boundary condition in high-velocity markets. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Dynamic capabilities, what are they?

Given assumptions about the characteristics of knowledge and the knowledge requirements of production, the firm is conceptualized as an institution for integrating knowledge. The primary contribution of the paper is in exploring the coordination mechanisms through which firms integrate the specialist knowledge of their members. In contrast to earlier literature, knowledge is viewed as residing within the individual, and the primary role of the organization is knowledge application rather than knowledge creation. The resulting theory has implications for the basis of organizational capability, the principles of organization design (in particular, the analysis of hierarchy and the distribution of decision-making authority), and the determinants of the horizontal and vertical boundaries of the firm. More generally, the knowledge-based approach sheds new light upon current organizational innovations and trends and has far-reaching implications for management practice.

Toward a Knowledge-Based Theory of the Firm,” Strategic Management Journal (17), pp.

https://memberfiles.freewebs.com/84/90/65819084/documents/TOWARD%20A%20KNOWLEDGE-BASED%20THEORY%20OF%20THE.pdf

Toward a Knowledge-Based Theory of the Firm

Recent contributions to strategic management and the theory of the firm collectively known as the "resource-based view of the firm" provide illuminating insights into the sources of profitability and the nature of competitive strategy. This article argues that internal resources rather than the market environment should provide the foundation for a firm's strategy. On the basis of an analysis of the relationships among resources, capabilities, conpetitive advantage, and profitability, this article advances a framework for a resource-based approach to strategy formulation.

/pdf/the-resource-based-theory-of-competitive-advantage-3xnaa5krf1.pdf

The Resource-Based Theory of Competitive Advantage: Implications for Strategy Formulation

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...

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/2635098.pdf

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

Preface. PART I INTRODUCTION. 1 The Concept of Strategy. Introduction and Objectives. The Role of Strategy in Success. The Basic Framework for Strategy Analysis. A Brief History of Business Strategy. Strategic Management Today. The Role of Analysis in Strategy Formulation. Summary. Self-Study Questions. Notes. PART II THE TOOLS OF STRATEGY ANALYSIS. 2 Goals, Values and Performance. Introduction and Objectives. Strategy as a Quest for Value. Strategy and Real Options. Putting Performance Analysis into Practice. Beyond Profit: Values and Social Responsibility. Summary. Self-Study Questions. Notes. 3 Industry Analysis: The Fundamentals. Introduction and Objectives. From Environmental Analysis to Industry Analysis. The Determinants of Industry Profit: Demand and Competition. Analyzing Industry Attractiveness. Applying Industry Analysis. Defining Industries: Where to Draw the Boundaries. From Industry Attractiveness to Competitive Advantage: Identifying Key Success Factors. Summary. Self-Study Questions. Notes. 4 Further Topics in Industry and Competitive Analysis. Introduction and Objectives. Extending the Five Forces Framework. The Contribution of Game Theory. Competitor Analysis. Segmentation Analysis. Strategic Groups. Summary. Self-Study Questions. Notes. 5 Analyzing Resources and Capabilities. Introduction and Objectives. The Role of Resources and Capabilities in Strategy Formulation. The Resources of the Firm. Organizational Capabilities. Appraising Resources and Capabilities. Putting Resource and Capability Analysis to Work: A Practical Guide. Summary. Self-Study Questions. Notes. 6 Developing Resources and Capabilities. Introduction and Objectives. Developing Resources. The Challenge of Capability Development. Approaches to Capability Development. Knowledge Management and the Knowledge-based View. Designing Knowledge Management Systems. Summary. Self-Study Questions. Notes. 7 Organization Structure and Management Systems: The Fundamentals of Strategy Implementation. Introduction and Objectives. The Evolution of the Corporation. The Organizational Problem: Reconciling Specialization with Coordination and Cooperation. Hierarchy in Organizational Design. Applying the Principles of Organizational Design. Organizing on the Basis of Coordination Intensity. Alternative Structural Forms. Management Systems for Coordination and Control. Summary. Self-Study Questions. Notes. PART III THE ANALYSIS OF COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE. 8 The Nature and Sources of Competitive Advantage. Introduction and Objectives. The Emergence of Competitive Advantage. Sustaining Competitive Advantage. Competitive Advantage in Different Market Settings. Types of Competitive Advantage: Cost and Differentiation. Summary. Self-Study Questions. Notes. 9 Cost Advantage. Introduction and Objectives. Strategy and Cost Advantage. The Sources of Cost Advantage. Using the Value Chain to Analyze Costs. Summary. Self-Study Questions. Notes. 10 Differentiation Advantage. Introduction and Objectives. The Nature of Differentiation and Differentiation Advantage. Analyzing Differentiation: The Demand Side. Analyzing Differentiation: The Supply Side. Bringing It All Together: The Value Chain in Differentiation Analysis. Summary. Self-Study Questions. Notes. PART IV BUSINESS STRATEGIES IN DIFFERENT INDUSTRY CONTEXTS. 11 Industry Evolution and Strategic Change. Introduction and Objectives. The Industry Life Cycle. Structure, Competition and Success Factors over the Life Cycle. Organizational Adaptation and Change. Summary. Self-Study Questions. Notes. 12 Technology-based Industries and the Management of Innovation. Introduction and Objectives. Competitive Advantage in Technology-intensive Industries. Strategies to Exploit Innovation: How and When to Enter. Competing for Standards. Implementing Technology Strategies: Creating the Conditions for Innovation. Summary. Self-Study Questions. Notes. 13 Competitive Advantage in Mature Industries. Introduction and Objectives. Competitive Advantage in Mature Industries. Strategy Implementation in Mature Industries: Structure, Systems and Style. Strategies for Declining Industries. Summary. Self-Study Questions. Notes. PART V CORPORATE STRATEGY. 14 Vertical Integration and the Scope of the Firm. Introduction and Objectives. Transaction Costs and the Scope of the Firm. The Costs and Benefits of Vertical Integration. Designing Vertical Relationships. Summary. Self-Study Questions. Notes. 15 Global Strategies and the Multinational Corporation. Introduction and Objectives. Implications of International Competition for Industry Analysis. Analyzing Competitive Advantage in an International Context. Applying the Framework: International Location of Production. Applying the Framework: Foreign Entry Strategies. Multinational Strategies: Global Integration versus National Differentiation. Strategy and Organization within the Multinational Corporation. Summary. Self-Study Questions. Notes. 16 Diversification Strategy. Introduction and Objectives. Trends in Diversification over Time. Motives for Diversification. Competitive Advantage from Diversification. Diversification and Performance. Summary. Self-Study Questions. Appendix: Does Diversification Confer Market Power? Notes. 17 Implementing Corporate Strategy: Management of the Multibusiness Firm. Introduction and Objectives. Governance and the Structure of the Multibusiness Corporation. The Role of Corporate Management. Managing the Corporate Portfolio. Managing Individual Businesses. Managing Linkages between Businesses. Managing Change in the Multibusiness Corporation. External Strategy: Mergers and Acquisitions. Summary. Self-Study Questions. Notes. 18 Current Trends in Strategic Management. Introduction. The New External Environment of Business. Managing in an Economic Crisis. New Directions in Strategic Thinking. Redesigning the Organization. New Modes of Leadership. Summary. Notes. Index.

Contemporary Strategy Analysis

The emerging knowledge-based view of the firm offers new insight into the causes and management of interfirm alliances. However, the development of an effective knowledge-based theory of alliance formation has been inhibited by a simplistic view of alliances as vehicles for organizational learning in which strategic alliances have presumed to be motivated by firms' desire to acquire knowledge from one another. We argue that the primary advantage of alliances over both firms and markets is in rather than knowledge. Building upon the distinction between the knowledge generation ('exploration') and knowledge application ('exploitation'), we show that alliances contribute to the efficiency in the application of knowledge; first, by improving the efficiency with which knowledge is integrated into the production of complex goods and services, and second, by increasing the efficiency with which knowledge is utilized. These static efficiency advantages of alliances are enhanced where there is uncertainty over future knowledge requirements and where new products offer early-mover advantages. Compared with alternative learning-based approaches to alliance formation, our proposed knowledge-accessing theory of alliances offers the advantages of greater theoretical rigour and consistency with general trends in alliance activity and corporate strategy.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/joms_421.pdf?abstractid=513203&mirid=1&type=2

Robert M. Grant

Papers

Toward a Knowledge-Based Theory of the Firm

The Resource-Based Theory of Competitive Advantage: Implications for Strategy Formulation

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

Contemporary Strategy Analysis

A Knowledge Accessing Theory of Strategic Alliances