Dynamic capabilities: what are they?

Abstract

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.

Theoretical Foundations of Empirical Research on Interorganizational Systems: Assessing Past Contributions and Guiding Future Directions

“…It is more important for firms to mobilize resources than to control them because resources create the most value when they are reconfigured in response to competitive conditions (Eisenhardt & Martin, 2000;Newbert, 2007). Because critical resources may be embedded in interorganizational processes (Dyer and Singh, 1998), IOS can be considered to be boundary-spanning capabilities that can be dynamically recombined with other resources to generate greater competitive value.…”

Pesquisa em Marketing e Estratégia nos Principais Periódicos Internacionais: Um Estudo Bibliométrico sobre Publicações no Século XXI

“…Os autores, no artigo considerado como introdutório deste novo paradigma (Eisenhardt & Martin, 2000;Helfat & Peteraf, 2009), definem capacidades dinâmicas como as habilidades da empresa em integrar, construir e reconfigurar recursos internos e externos para a obtenção de um novo posicionamento requerido pelas mudanças que ocorrem num ambiente dinâmico e competitivo. Teece (2007) afirma que capacidades dinâmicas permitem às empresas criar, implantar e proteger os ativos intangíveis que suportam o desempenho superior do negócio em longo prazo e que em ambientes de negócio dinâmicos e abertos à concorrência global, a vantagem competitiva sustentável requer capacidades dinâmicas raras e de difícil imitação.…”

Negotiating for the Market

“…Relying on the notion of experienced-based dynamic capabilities (as in Eisenhardt and Martin, 2000), there are two sources of experience that are assumed to matter -experience in innovation and in production. The latter includes all of those activities associated with bringing a product to market (that is, complementary commercialization activities).…”

“…Experiencebased capabilities are identified by Eisenhardt and Martin (2000) as being most salient and relevant in industries where technological change is rapid. Eisenhardt and Martin (2000) emphasize that advantages from such learning by doing are not long-lived and must be sustained by continual experiential activities.…”