Dynamic capabilities: A morphological analysis framework and agenda for future research
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors synthesize the diverse scholarly literature about dynamic capabilities (DCs) and develop a more integrated understanding to minimize the reported apparent vagueness, and apply morphological analysis (MA) to develop a multi-dimensional conceptual framework comprising five dimensions and 26 variants that enable a structured representation of the conceptual foundations of DCs.
Abstract: The growth, diversity and applications of research into dynamic capabilities (DCs) have resulted in the whole literature on DCs becoming a complex and disconnected body of knowledge. This has led to criticisms of the subject of DCs as being vague, tautological and without practical value. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to synthesize the diverse scholarly literature about DCs and develop a more integrated understanding to minimize the reported apparent vagueness.,In this paper, the authors review various relevant themes on DCs using a selection of 133 articles published in 22 recognized, top-tier management journals during the period between 1990 and 2016, with an aim to build a structured and integrated theory. For this, morphological analysis (MA), a systems-thinking technique, is applied.,MA is applied to develop a multi-dimensional conceptual framework comprising five dimensions and 26 variants that enable a structured representation of the conceptual foundations of DCs. Further, the authors identify 81 individual DCs noted by various scholars; elucidate assumptions and antecedents relevant to the DCs approach; structure the key characteristics; and expound the input factors, impacting factors, desired outcomes and assessment yardsticks.,This would be a useful resource for researchers working in the area of DCs to explore opportunities for future research.,The MA framework helps managers to look at DCs more holistically, and hence would help them in developing, managing and retaining DCs in organizations.,This study is the original work contributed by the authors and has no specific organizational reference. This research implies new directions to look beyond individual DCs in firms toward a more integrated theory building.
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01 Jan 2009
TL;DR: In this article, the authors empirically measure four dynamic capabilities and find that the nature and effect of resources employed in the development of these capabilities vary greatly, with positive effects stemming from access to particular resources and unexpected negative effects also appearing.
Abstract: Despite the numerous observations that dynamic capabilities lie at the source of competitive advantage, we still have limited knowledge as to how access to firm-based resources and changes to these affect the development of dynamic capabilities. In this paper, we examine founder human capital, access to employee human capital, access to technological expertise, access to other specific expertise, and access to two types of tangible resources in a sample of new firms in Sweden. We empirically measure four dynamic capabilities and find that the nature and effect of resources employed in the development of these capabilities vary greatly. For the most part, there are positive effects stemming from access to particular resources. However, for some resources, such as access to employee human capital and access to financial capital, unexpected negative effects also appear. This study therefore provides statistical evidence as to the varying role of resources in capability development. Importantly, we also find that changes in resource bases have more influential roles in the development of dynamic capabilities than the resource stock variables that were measured at an earlier stage of firm development. This provides empirical support for the notion of treating the firm as a dynamic flow of resources as opposed to a static stock. This finding also highlights the importance of longitudinal designs in studies of dynamic capability development. Further recommendations for future empirical studies of dynamic capabilities are presented.
303 citations
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TL;DR: It is argued that experience codification gives rise to inertial forces that hamper the customization of routines to any given acquisition, and that successful acquirers develop higher-order routines that prevent the generalization of inapplicable ('zero-order') codified routines.
Abstract: Building on the codification and dynamic capabilities literatures, we pursue deeper insight into the underlying mechanisms of deliberate learning in the context of postacquisition integration. We argue that experience codification gives rise to inertial forces that hamper the customization of routines to any given acquisition. We theorize, therefore, that successful acquirers develop higher-order routines-as manifested in two complementary sets of concrete organizational practices-that prevent the generalization of inapplicable ('zero-order') codified routines. After drawing on in-depth qualitative data to help build our theoretical argument, we test it formally with unique survey data on 85 active acquirers.
160 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors extend the dynamic capability view and research on organizational path dependence by arguing that path dependence can be a property of capabilities when a contingently-triggered capability path is subject to self-reinforcement (i.e., a set of positive and negative mechanisms that increases the attractiveness of a path relative to others).
Abstract: This paper extends the dynamic capability view and research on organizational path dependence by arguing that path dependence can be a property of capabilities when a contingently-triggered capability path is subject to self-reinforcement (i.e. a set of positive and negative mechanisms that increases the attractiveness of a path relative to others). The paper introduces an evolutionary perspective, which specifies the underlying selection mechanisms of the property of path dependence in internal and external firm environments. This theorization sheds new light on three paradoxes that currently blur the theoretical contribution of path dependence to research at the managerial, organizational, and industry levels: (1) the problematic coexistence of path irreversibility and managerial intentionality; (2) the ambivalent strategic value of lock-in with regard to competitive advantage; and (3) the relative homogeneity in observed dynamic capabilities, despite their (possible) path dependence that should lead to a wider variety of outcomes owing to the presence of contingency. We highlight the contributions of this perspective to strategic management research and evolutionary theories.
138 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors of the two seminal papers represent not only different but contradictory understandings of the construct's core elements, and they explore the reasons for this, using author cocitation analysis to inform their analysis.
Abstract: A critical issue has been absent from the conversation on dynamic capabilities: the two seminal papers represent not only different but contradictory understandings of the construct's core elements Here, we explore the reasons for this, using author cocitation analysis to inform our analysis Our findings suggest that the field is being socially constructed on the basis of two separate domains of knowledge and that underlying structural impediments have impeded dialog across the domains In light of this evidence, then, we take up the challenge to find a solution to this dilemma By employing a contingency-based approach, we show that there are ways to unify the field that rely, paradoxically, on integrating the two contradictory views, while still preserving the assumptions that led to their differences
94 citations
TL;DR: Wang et al. as mentioned in this paper examined the effects of green human resource practices and green innovation culture on firm green performance and found that green innovation which includes green product innovation culture and green process innovation culture enhances the firm's green performance.
67 citations
References
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the effects of the dynamics, management, and governance of R&D and marketing resource deployments on firm-level economic performance and find that a history of increased investments in marketing is an enduring source of competitive advantage.
Abstract: To help understand how firms develop and maintain dynamic capabilities, we examine the effects of the dynamics, management, and governance of R & D and marketing resource deployments on firm-level economic performance. In a sample of technology-based entrepreneurial firms, we find that a history of increased investments in marketing is an enduring source of competitive advantage. We also find that managers' firm-specific experience positively moderates the relationship between R & D deployment intensity and economic returns. In addition, institutional ownership boosts economic returns from marketing deployments by subjecting these deployments to increased scrutiny and by sending positive signals to the market about the firm. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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TL;DR: This article examined two large longitudinal samples of firms to discover which industries exhibit performance that is consonant with Schumpeterian theory and the assertions of hypercompetition and found evidence that sustained competitive advantage is increasingly a matter not of a single advantage maintained over time but more a matter of concatenating over time a sequence of advantages.
Abstract: At the center of Schumpeter's theory of competitive behavior is the assertion that competitive advantage will become increasingly more difficult to sustain in a wide range of industries. More recently, this assertion has resurfaced in the notion of hypercompetition. This research examines two large longitudinal samples of firms to discover which industries, if any, exhibit performance that is consonant with Schumpeterian theory and the assertions of hypercompetition. We find support for the argument that over time competitive advantage has become significantly harder to sustain and, further, that the phenomenon is limited neither to high-technology industries nor to manufacturing industries but is seen across a broad range of industries. We also find evidence that sustained competitive advantage is increasingly a matter not of a single advantage maintained over time but more a matter of concatenating over time a sequence of advantages. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
444 citations
TL;DR: Theoretical literature on the economics of technology has emphasized the effects on technological trajectories of positive feedbacks as mentioned in this paper, and the presence of increasing returns to adoptions can force all but one technology from the market.
Abstract: Theoretical literature on the economics of technology has emphasized the effects on technological trajectories of positive feedbacks. In a competition among technologies that all perform a similar function, the presence of increasing returns to adoptions can force all but one technology from the market. Furthermore, the victor need not be the superior technology. This paper provides an empirical study of one technological competition which illuminates this theoretical work. It uses theoretical results to explain why chemical control of agricultural pests remains the dominant technology in spite of many claims that it is inferior to its main competitor, integrated pest management. Copyright 1996 by Royal Economic Society.
440 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors show that the generic strategies are not mutually exclusive and that each strategy may be linked to a variety of strategic means, and the implications that these results have for structuring organizations are discussed.
Abstract: According to Porter, cost leadership and product differentiation can be pursued simultaneously only under rare conditions: It is also unclear how these strategies can be implemented. In this article Porter's generic strategies are linked to external preconditions. This approach shows that the generic strategies are not mutually exclusive and that each strategy may be linked to a variety of strategic means. The implications that these results have for structuring organizations are discussed.
438 citations
TL;DR: A framework of infrastructure based on the idea that continuous improvement can serve as a dynamic capability when it includes a comprehensive organizational context is presented, which adds to the conceptual understanding of continuous improvement.
438 citations