scispace - formally typeset
Search or ask a question
Author

Shaker A. Zahra

Bio: Shaker A. Zahra is an academic researcher from University of Minnesota. The author has contributed to research in topics: Entrepreneurship & New Ventures. The author has an hindex of 104, co-authored 293 publications receiving 63532 citations. Previous affiliations of Shaker A. Zahra include George Mason University & J. Mack Robinson College of Business.


Papers
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify key dimensions of absorptive capacity and offer a reconceptualization of this construct, and distinguish between a firm's potential and realized capacity, and then advance a model outlining the conditions when the firm's realized capacities can differentially influence the creation and sustenance of its competitive advantage.
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.

8,648 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article examined the effects of international expansion, as measured by international diversity and mode of market entry, on a firm's technological learning and the effect of this learning on the firm's financial performance.
Abstract: An increasing number of new venture firms are internationalizing their business operations early in their life cycles. Previous explanations of this trend have focused on the importance of technological knowledge, skills, and resources for new ventures' international expansion. However, little is known about how these firms use the technological learning gained through internationalization. This study examined the effects of international expansion, as measured by international diversity and mode of market entry, on a firm's technological learning and the effects of this learning on the firm's financial performance.

2,732 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, an integrative model of board attributes and roles is presented, and research support on their links is discussed, identifying critical shortcomings of past studies and concludes by offering an agenda for future studies in this promising area of empirical research.

2,548 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a definition of dynamic capabilities, separating them from substantive capabilities as well as from their antecedents and consequences, is proposed, and a set of propositions that outline how substantive capabilities and dynamic capabilities are related to one another, how this relationship is moderated by organizational knowledge and skills, and how organizational age affects the speed of utilization of dynamic capability and the learning mode used in organizational change.
Abstract: The emergent literature on dynamic capabilities and their role in value creation is riddled with inconsistencies, overlapping definitions, and outright contradictions. Yet, the theoretical and practical importance of developing and applying dynamic capabilities to sustain a firm's competitive advantage in complex and volatile external environments has catapulted this issue to the forefront of the research agendas of many scholars. In this paper, we offer a definition of dynamic capabilities, separating them from substantive capabilities as well as from their antecedents and consequences. We also present a set of propositions that outline (1) how substantive capabilities and dynamic capabilities are related to one another, (2) how this relationship is moderated by organizational knowledge and skills, (3) how organizational age affects the speed of utilization of dynamic capabilities and the learning mode used in organizational change, and (4) how organizational knowledge and market dynamism affect the likely value of dynamic capabilities. Our discussion and model help to delineate key differences in the dynamic capabilities that new ventures and established companies have, revealing a key source of strategic heterogeneity between these firms.

2,546 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, a study of corporate entrepreneurship and its impact on company financial performance is presented, which suggests that corporate entrepreneurship is a particularly effective practice among companies operating in hostile environments (as opposed to benign environments).

2,165 citations


Cited by
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify key dimensions of absorptive capacity and offer a reconceptualization of this construct, and distinguish between a firm's potential and realized capacity, and then advance a model outlining the conditions when the firm's realized capacities can differentially influence the creation and sustenance of its competitive advantage.
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.

8,648 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a contingency framework for investigating the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance is proposed. But the authors focus on the business domain and do not consider the economic domain.
Abstract: The primary purpose of this article is to clarify the nature of the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) construct and to propose a contingency framework for investigating the relationship between EO and firm performance. We first explore and refine the dimensions of EO and discuss the usefulness of viewing a firm's EO as a multidimensional construct. Then, drawing on examples from the EO-related contingencies literature, we suggest alternative models (moderating effects, mediating effects, independent effects, interaction effects) for testing the EO-performance relationship.

8,623 citations

Book
01 Jan 1995
TL;DR: In this article, Nonaka and Takeuchi argue that Japanese firms are successful precisely because they are innovative, because they create new knowledge and use it to produce successful products and technologies, and they reveal how Japanese companies translate tacit to explicit knowledge.
Abstract: How has Japan become a major economic power, a world leader in the automotive and electronics industries? What is the secret of their success? The consensus has been that, though the Japanese are not particularly innovative, they are exceptionally skilful at imitation, at improving products that already exist. But now two leading Japanese business experts, Ikujiro Nonaka and Hiro Takeuchi, turn this conventional wisdom on its head: Japanese firms are successful, they contend, precisely because they are innovative, because they create new knowledge and use it to produce successful products and technologies. Examining case studies drawn from such firms as Honda, Canon, Matsushita, NEC, 3M, GE, and the U.S. Marines, this book reveals how Japanese companies translate tacit to explicit knowledge and use it to produce new processes, products, and services.

7,448 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A parsimonious and evidence-based model for considering the diffusion of innovations in health service organizations, clear knowledge gaps where further research should be focused, and a robust and transferable methodology for systematically reviewing health service policy and management are discussed.
Abstract: This article summarizes an extensive literature review addressing the question, How can we spread and sustain innovations in health service delivery and organization? It considers both content (defining and measuring the diffusion of innovation in organizations) and process (reviewing the literature in a systematic and reproducible way). This article discusses (1) a parsimonious and evidence-based model for considering the diffusion of innovations in health service organizations, (2) clear knowledge gaps where further research should be focused, and (3) a robust and transferable methodology for systematically reviewing health service policy and management. Both the model and the method should be tested more widely in a range of contexts.

6,140 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the strategic substance of capabilities involves patterning of activity, and that costly investments are typically required to create and sustain such patterning, for example, in product development, and whether higher-order capabilities are created or not depends on the costs and benefits of the investments relative to ad hoc problem solving.
Abstract: Defining ordinary or ‘zero-level’ capabilities as those that permit a firm to ‘make a living’ in the short term, one can define dynamic capabilities as those that operate to extend, modify or create ordinary capabilities. Logically, one can then proceed to elaborate a hierarchy of higher-order capabilities. However, it is argued here that the strategic substance of capabilities involves patterning of activity, and that costly investments are typically required to create and sustain such patterning—for example, in product development. Firms can accomplish change without reliance on dynamic capability, by means here termed ‘ad hoc problem solving.’ Whether higher-order capabilities are created or not depends on the costs and benefits of the investments relative to ad hoc problem solving, and so does the ‘level of the game’ at which strategic competition effectively occurs. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

4,393 citations