Mnemonic Capabilities: Collective Memory as a Dynamic Capability

Abstract

Dynamic capabilities (DCs) are the processes that organizations develop to remain competitive over time. However, in spite of the importance of temporality in the development of DCs, the roles of time, history, and memory remain largely implicit. In fact, most studies focus on the past as a source of constraints and limits for managerial action. Alternatively, we advocate for a social constructionist view of the past. Our core argument is that the capacity to manage the past is a critical competence of modern organizations. We argue that organizations can manage their collective memory as resources that aid the objective reproduction and exploitation of existing routines, the interpretive reconstruction and recombination of past capabilities for adaptation to environmental change, and the imaginative extension and exploration of collective memory for anticipated scenarios and outcomes. This renewed view of time, history, and memory is better suited for a dynamic theory of competitive advantage.

The dynamic capabilities of AccorHotels in Brazil

“…This testimony is consistent with the findings of Coraiola et al (2017) regarding the role of business memory in the DCs construct. The authors emphasize the importance of acquiring, storing and retrieving information from the past, since organizational learning depends on the ability of the organization to remember.…”

“…Companies need to keep up with this dynamism by conducting research to explore, analyze and identify changing customer needs, new market segments and various other factors. Scholars generally agree that knowledge is important to DCs (Carmona and Parisotto, 2017; Coraiola et al , 2017; Guerra et al , 2016; Meirelles and Camargo, 2014; Nieves et al , 2016; Nieves and Haller, 2013). In this sense and with respect to the hotel industry in particular, Silveira-Martins et al (2016) show how knowledge is a valuable resource to achieve competitive advantage in the sector.…”

Reputação Corporativa: Uma Análise das Produções Científicas no Brasil

“…Neste cenário, a criatividade organizacional é reconhecida como um fator de vantagem competitiva, que proporciona soluções mais eficaz de problemas e maior desempenho organizacional (Byttebie;Vullings, 2015). Coraiola et al (2017) refere capacidades dinâmicas como processos que as organizações desenvolvem para se manterem competitivas. Assim, para uma empresa manter vantagem competitiva sustentável, é necessário possuir recursos valiosos, raros, difíceis de imitar e, para os quais existem poucos substitutos.…”