Dynamic capabilities: New ideas, microfoundations, and criticism

Abstract

In this special issue, we have collected 13 articles that offer new vantage points for research on dynamic capabilities. We offer a selection of thought-provoking papers that advance current thinking on dynamic capabilities and provide directions for new inquiries using the dynamic capability framework. The microfoundations of dynamic capabilities have increasingly received interest. This special issue offers a range of conceptual methodological approaches to deepen our understanding of the issues surrounding the microfoundations of dynamic capabilities.

Microfoundations of dynamic capabilities: a systematic review and a multilevel framework

“…Another theoretical contribution is that this paper provides new knowledge for understanding how microfoundations advance DC framework (Arndt et al, 2022). The micro-origin approach anchors the useful starting point and initial condition to the individual (Foss et al, 2012), which is an endogenous premise of historical and empirical models of capabilities.…”

“…, 2022) and macro-foundations (Harvey, 2022; Kriz et al ., 2021). This is especially evident in operations and management research, part of the reason may be that we don't have a consistent understanding of “moving down one level in a hierarchy.” In addition, progress of the review on this particular topic remains relatively limited (Arndt et al ., 2022). The latest reviews have tilted toward the general and limited theme of DC microfoundations: general psychological and behavioral foundations, processes and structures (Arndt et al ., 2022; Duran and Aguado, 2022; Magistretti et al ., 2021), or highlight the microfoundation of human resources (Fallon-Byrne and Harney, 2017; Loon et al.…”

“…of dynamic capabilities (Christofi et al, 2021;Pertusa-Ortega et al, 2021;Tarba et al, 2020), capabilities (Arndt et al, 2022;Fallon-Byrne and Harney, 2017;Loon et al, 2020;Magistretti et al, 2021;Srour et al, 2022), human capital resource emergence (Eckardt et al, 2021), corporate social responsibility (Gond and Moser, 2021), digital transformation (Sousa-Zomer et al, 2020), global strategy (Contractor et al, 2019;Nguyen and Mort, 2021;Sarabi et al, 2020), organization knowledge (Zahra et al, 2020), etc. These works develop the core focus and provide unique insights into the complexity of microfoundations.…”

“…Microfoundations research stream has made significant progress and has recently been widely used in different collective phenomena in the strategic field, such as ambidexterity (Christofi et al ., 2021; Pertusa-Ortega et al ., 2021; Tarba et al ., 2020), capabilities (Arndt et al ., 2022; Fallon-Byrne and Harney, 2017; Loon et al ., 2020; Magistretti et al ., 2021; Srour et al ., 2022), human capital resource emergence (Eckardt et al ., 2021), corporate social responsibility (Gond and Moser, 2021), digital transformation (Sousa-Zomer et al ., 2020), global strategy (Contractor et al ., 2019; Nguyen and Mort, 2021; Sarabi et al ., 2020), organization knowledge (Zahra et al. , 2020), etc.…”

“…The common argument of these studies is that microfoundations are reliable causal mechanisms to explain DCs and their consequences (Salvato and Vassolo, 2018). Microfoundations are encouraged to join the DC framework and its research agenda to advance the understanding of DCV in academia and promote DC literature (Arndt et al ., 2022; Schilke et al ., 2018).…”