The Architecture of Dynamic Capability Research: Identifying the Building Blocks of a Configurational Approach

87 Pages Posted: 28 Jan 2016

See all articles by Ralf Wilden

Ralf Wilden

Macquarie University

Timothy M. Devinney

The University of Manchester - Alliance Manchester Business School

Grahame Dowling

Australian Graduate School of Management

Date Written: January 27, 2016

Abstract

The dynamic capability view (DCV) of the firm has become one of the leading frameworks aimed at identifying drivers of long-term firm survival and growth. Yet, despite considerable academic interest, there are many questions about what dynamic capabilities are, how they relate to other organizational operations, and how they relate to firm performance. In this art, we provide a unique and comprehensive examination of the DCV literature that goes beyond past reviews by combining text based analysis with surveys of, and interviews with, researchers in the field. With this approach, we are able to examine the evolution of the DCV in written literature and identify missing research themes. Based on this review, we argue that future research will benefit from integrating the DCV with configuration theory and recent microfoundational thinking. We encapsulate this discussion via an architectural model of the DCV (entitled 'House of Dynamic Capabilities') that combines microfoundations underlying DCs at the varying levels of analysis (individual, business unit, and organizational) while also accounting for important enablers of DCs and firm strategic orientation. We also show how this logic requires a completely different set of methodological approaches to those currently in use.

Keywords: dynamic capability, review, content analysis, Leximancer, Delphi, configuration theory, microfoundations, performance

Suggested Citation

Wilden, Ralf and Devinney, Timothy M. and Dowling, Grahame, The Architecture of Dynamic Capability Research: Identifying the Building Blocks of a Configurational Approach (January 27, 2016). Leeds University Business School Working Paper No. 16-06, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2723201 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2723201

Ralf Wilden

Macquarie University ( email )

New South Wales 2109
Australia

Timothy M. Devinney (Contact Author)

The University of Manchester - Alliance Manchester Business School ( email )

Booth Street West
Manchester, M15 6PB
United Kingdom

Grahame Dowling

Australian Graduate School of Management ( email )

Gate 11, Botany Street, Randwick
Sydney, NSW 2052
Australia

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