On micro-foundations of dynamic capabilities: A multi-level perspective based on CEO personality and knowledge-based capital

In recent years, researchers have asked why some firms are better than others at developing dynamic capabilities. The existing literature assesses micro-foundations separately, either on the managerial or on the organizational level. This study aims to provide a more holistic picture on the antecedents of dynamic capabilities by integrating managerial and organizational micro-foundations. Specifically, we posit that the personality of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), manifested through their core self-evaluation (CSE), represents an individual-level micro-foundation which influences three types of a firm's knowledge-based capital—human, social, and organizational capital. We also argue that these three, in turn, are organization-level micro-foundations that ultimately enable the development of a firm's dynamic capabilities. We test our multi-level framework using data from 307 German CEOs, and confirm that CEO CSE is positively related with all three forms of knowledge-based capital. We further find that human capital and organizational capital mediate the relationship between a CEO's CSE and a firm's dynamic capabilities. Our research contributes by extending a central framework of the micro-foundations project (the bathtub model) that integrates the upper echelons perspective into a multi-level analysis. We empirically validate this model and advance the understanding of how firm leaders indirectly influence firm dynamic capabilities by shaping individual learning conditions.     

Reconsidering ordinary and dynamic capabilities in strategic change

Dynamic capabilities research explains the ability of firms to respond to dynamic environments by reconfiguring inert and insufficiently flexible ordinary capabilities. However, more recent research ascribes the routines that constitute ordinary capabilities the ability to evolve endogenously. This study aims to develop dynamic capability research by increasing our understanding of the relations between and the roles played by ordinary and dynamic capabilities in producing purposeful responses to environmental dynamism. Drawing on longitudinal, qualitative data, we show how ordinary capabilities make important contributions to organizational responses to dynamic environments. Our findings pose challenges to key assumptions of extant dynamic capabilities research and allow us to explicate new roles for ordinary and dynamic capabilities, thus advancing the understanding of the relation between dynamic and ordinary capabilities and advancing understanding of one of the central issues in dynamic capabilities research: firms’ capacity to respond to changing environments.     

More (new) products,more problems? A systems perspective on increased capability deployment and organizational errors

The capabilities-based view postulates that organizational capabilities are a key driver of competitive advantage. However, while increasing the pace of deploying organizational capabilities, such as new product development (NPD), may enable alignment with changing environments, it may also have unintended consequences. In this study, we advance theory on these unintended consequences by investigating how the increased deployment of NPD capability leads to organizational errors. Borrowing from organizational research employing systems theory, we argue that an increase in NPD deployment may increase the likelihood of routine discoordination and, thus, the incidence of intra-firm and interfirm errors. However, we also proffer that firms can mitigate errors from increases in NPD capability deployment by engaging in distinct internal and external activities that enable the accumulation of knowledge on how to coordinate systemic change. We distinguish between internal and external errors, demonstrating that in the context of increased NPD deployments, internal voluntary investigations ameliorate internal manufacturing errors, while supplier alliances mitigate outsourced component errors. We find support for our predictions using data from new product introductions and recalls in the U.S. automotive industry. This study sheds light on the tension inherent to accelerating the deployment of patterned organizational activities and suggests that the outcomes of deploying an organizational capability are best viewed holistically within the milieu of organizational systems the capability spans.     

Productive organizational energy mediates the impact of organizational structure on absorptive capacity

The ability of an organization to cope with radical technological change is regarded to be heavily dependent on its ability to absorb and apply knowledge from its environment. This study investigates the role of organizational structure in driving absorptive capacity and uncovers the role of the emergent phenomenon of organizational energy as the enabler of this relationship. A field study was conducted among firms that are challenged by the disruptive nature of Cloud computing. Our results show that organizational design affects the degree of mobilization of an organization's affective, cognitive and behavioral resources, which in turn influence the effectiveness of learning processes related to the absorption and exchange of knowledge within the organization. Furthermore, they reveal the positive relationship between the enactment of absorptive capacity and the successful adoption of Cloud technology for incumbent firms. The findings contribute to our understanding of the micro-foundations of absorptive capacity and how positive organizational phenomena facilitate effective adoption and implementation of emerging technologies.     

Capability,Quality, and Performance of Offshore IS Vendors: A Theoretical Framework and Empirical Investigation

Information systems (IS) offshoring has become a widespread practice and a strategic sourcing choice for many firms. While much has been written by researchers about the factors that lead to successful offshoring arrangements from the client's viewpoint, the vendor's perspective has been largely scarce. The vendor perspective is equally important as offshore IS vendors need to make important decisions in terms of delivering operational and strategic performance and aligning their resources and processes in order to meet or exceed targeted outcomes. In this article, we propose and test a three‐level capability–quality–performance (CQP) theoretical framework to understand vendor outcomes and their antecedents. The first level of the framework represents three vendor capabilities: relationship management, contract management, and information technology management. The second level has three mediating variables representing process quality: partnership, service, and deliverable quality. The third level has three dependent variables representing vendor outcomes: operational performance, strategic performance, and satisfaction. The model was tested with 188 vendor firms from India and China, the two most popular destinations for IS offshoring. Results support the CQP framework; vendor capabilities are significant predictors of intermediate quality measures, which in turn affect vendor outcomes. Implications of the study findings to both theory development and IS offshore vendor strategic decision making are discussed.     

旅游企业员工服务导向意识的前置因素与后果研究

作者在27个宾馆、餐馆、旅行社进行了一次实证研究,探讨服务导向概念的组成成分与员工服务导向的影响因素和作用。数据分析结果表明,营销导向、情感密集和负责精神是服务导向概念的组成成分,企业的支持、员工的心理受权和工作满意感都是影响员工的服务导向的重要因素,员工的服务导向意识对员工工作行为和旅游企业的外部效率有直接或间接的影响。     

The Role of Interorganizational and Organizational Factors on the Decision Mode for Adoption of Interorganizational Systems*

The dramatic growth of interorganizational systems (IOS) has changed the way organizations conduct their business, and has resulted in significant tangible and intangible benefits being realized by participating firms. However, the implementation of these IOS requires the cooperation and commitment of all the participating members. These members may have complex economic and business relationships among themselves that can result in a number of social, political, and economic factors influencing the adoption and implementation of IOS. This study examines the role of interorganizational and organizational factors on the decision mode for adoption of IOS, in the specific context of electronic data interchange (EDI). Four interorganizational factors, based on the socio-political framework derived from research in marketing, and five organizational factors based on research in IS were used in the study. The data for the study were collected through a large scale field survey. Two respondents, the sales/purchase manager and the IS manager, from 201 firms responded to the survey. The results of discriminant analysis of the data reveal that two interorganizational variables, competitive pressure and exercised power, and two organizational variables, internal need and top management support, are important variables to differentiate firms with proactive decision mode from firms with reactive decision mode. The study also evaluates the differences between proactive and reactive firms on three implementation outcomes. Proactive firms are found to have greater extent of adaptation, more external connectivity with trading partners, and better integration of EDI information in their internal IS applications.     

A new framework of firm-level innovation capability: A propensity–ability perspective

One of the critical topics in contemporary innovation management literature concerns what constitutes innovation capability (IC) at the firm level. There have been many attempts to conceptualize and operationalize this capability. Still, they either fail to discriminate the elements that characterize IC or to present consistent, comparable elements across distinct models or frameworks. This paper reports the results of a systematic approach to formulate a firm-level IC framework. To do so, the authors conducted an extensive systematic literature review, screened 19,589 papers, and analyzed in detail 186 documents that directly address empirical or theoretical elements of IC. The researchers cross-analyzed these papers for direct and indirect references to ICs (and related concepts, such as innovation orientation, innovation competence, and innovativeness) and generated thematic categories. We drew on a hybrid approach moving between inductive and deductive coding and theme development. We adopted an ex-ante theoretical perspective of the propensity/ability axis built upon the willingness–ability approach and the dynamic capability lens. The proposed synthetizing framework is coherent with Teece’s (2014) ordinary and dynamic capabilities. It comprises two sets of elements: on one hand, structural and contextual antecedents that characterize an organization's propensity toward innovation and, on the other hand, actions and resource-related capacities that act as causal mechanisms that, articulated within functions—sensing, seizing, and transforming—constitute the ability to generate innovation.     

Understanding the Antecedents of Effective Knowledge Management: The Importance of a Knowledge‐Centered Culture*

Within the context of knowledge management, little research has been conducted that identifies the antecedents of a knowledge‐centered culture—those organizational qualities that encourage knowledge creation and dissemination. In this study, the existing literature on organizational climate, job characteristics, and organizational learning (in the form of cooperative learning theory) are linked with the current thinking and research findings related to knowledge management to develop a theoretical model explaining the relationships among organizational climate, the level of cooperative learning that takes place between knowledge workers, and the resulting level of knowledge created and disseminated as measured by team performance and individual satisfaction levels. The study goes on to empirically test the proposed research model by investigating the climate of organizations, and seeks to understand the linkage between a set of organizational and individual characteristics and knowledge‐related activities found in cooperative learning groups and the resulting work outcomes. The hypothesized research model is tested using LISREL with data collected from 203 information systems (IS) professionals engaged in systems development activities. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications the results have for future research and managerial practice.     

From social capital to entrepreneurial orientation: The mediating role of dynamic capabilities

This paper analyzes how social capital and its three dimensions—structural, relational, and cognitive—affect entrepreneurial orientation through dynamic capabilities. We specifically analyzed the effect of each dimension of social capital on firms' entrepreneurial orientation and the mediating effect of dynamic capabilities to explain these relationships. This study was conducted on a sample of firms in the Spanish agri-food industry. The results of the empirical analysis show that dynamic capabilities are generated by firms' social capital. Dynamic capabilities lead relational and cognitive social capital to develop a higher entrepreneurial orientation. The negative effect of structural social capital can only be countered if firms build and develop dynamic capabilities.     

政治关系与组织绩效的关系研究

以组织学习和动态能力、政治关系对绩效的影响为中介变量,构建了一个政治关系、组织学习、动态能力与绩效关系的理论模型;然后以广东珠三角地区166家企业为调查对象,采用SEM方法进行实证检验。研究结果发现,政治关系是否影响以及如何影响组织绩效,在很大程度上取决于企业所在行业的特征与企业本身的特点:对于非知识密集型企业而言,政治关系可以通过组织学习与动态能力间接地提高绩效水平;对于知识密集型企业而言,政治关系对于组织绩效、动态能力以及组织学习均没有显著的影响。     

基于组织忘记的企业动态能力成因机理研究

为了探索企业动态能力的成因和机理,对相关文献进行了梳理,提出了动态能力成因机制;运用复杂理论,从知识活动层面构建了NK模型,指出了组织忘记分别通过改变组织记忆系统和增强再学习能力而形成动态能力;最后进行了案例分析讨论.     

基于和谐管理理论的企业动态能力研究

基于和谐管理理论的组织运行模式,从组织学习的角度,以横向基于认知的构建和纵向基于适应性的演化两个维度展开,界定了动态能力的内涵.首先,认为动态能力包括组织对环境变化的认知能力以及在新主题导引下对原有资源配置方式做出调整以适应变化的能力,是组织在日常运行过程中应对外界变化时全体组织成员的学习能力;其次,认为动态能力是在构建与演化两个维度的耦合中演化的;第三,从组织运行的主题形成、主题实现和反馈学习三个阶段归纳了影响动态能力形成和演化的因素,这些因素主要分布在组织和领导两个层次上,最后针对已有动态能力研究中存在的一些问题进行了讨论.     

A model of the adoption of radio frequency identification technology: The case of logistics service firms

Globalization and advances in information technology represent both realities and opportunities for enterprises in the 21st century. This paper aims to broaden understanding of service innovation as a critical organizational capability through which the adoption of information technology influences firm performance. This study examines how the adoption of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology influences the operational performance of logistics service firms. We develop the RFID adoption model based on the interorganizational information systems (IOS) view of the firm that integrates the various strands of research into the framework. The study draws from the related information technology and interorganizational information systems literatures to explore organizational factors associated with the adoption of RFID. A model of the associations between information technology and interorganizational information systems use, social support, power structure, organizational readiness, procedural flexibility, and top management support is developed, and hypotheses are advanced about the relationships among these constructs. An empirical survey was conducted among 500 logistics service firms in Taiwan. A total of 131 valid observations were analyzed using the partial least squares technique. Results showed that RFID adoption has positive effects on business practices, which in turn improves operational performance. We address the value of certain interactive firm behaviors in RFID adoption and identify related constructs of RFID adoption in terms of their efficiency and value for logistics service firms. These results have implications for both education and practice.     

组织学习模式转变与后发企业技术能力提升研究——以永光集团为例

通过对永光集团的案例研究,回答了在不断变化的技术和市场环境下,后发企业如何根据不同发展阶段的战略目标和技术基础选择组织学习的主导模式,以促进技术能力提升这一问题。分析表明,组织学习是一个不断深化的动态过程。组织学习模式的选择与技术基础有着很强的内在联系,后发企业技术能力发展水平、技术基础和发展战略目标影响组织学习主导模式的选择,而组织学习的主导模式又从知识积累和知识应用2个方面影响后发企业技术能力的形成。     

How organizational cognitive frames affect organizational capabilities: The context of corporate sustainability

We draw on the emerging literature on the micro-foundation of capability development to investigate the effects of the relative importance of corporate sustainability in a firm's organizational cognitive frame on the development of distinct organizational capabilities. Based on survey data from 124 Danish manufacturing firms and seven interviews, we find that the relative importance of corporate sustainability in a firm's organizational cognitive frame positively encourages the development of three organizational capabilities, namely, stakeholder integration, market sensing, and organizational learning. However, contrary to our expectation and reasoning, we find that the development of the strategic planning capability is negatively affected. Our findings provide novel empirical evidence and contribute to an improved understanding of the effect of a firm's organizational cognitive frame on the development of organizational capabilities.     

From Customer‐Oriented Strategy to Organizational Financial Performance: The Role of Human Resource Management and Customer‐Linking Capability

Drawing on the organizational capabilities literature, the authors developed and tested a model of how supportive human resource management (HRM) improved firms’ financial performance perceived by marketing managers through fostering the implementation of a customer‐oriented strategy. Customer‐linking capability, which is the capability in managing close customer relationships, indicated the implementation of the customer‐oriented strategy. Data collected from two emerging economies – China and Hungary – established that supportive HRM partially mediated the relationship between customer‐oriented strategy and customer‐linking capability. Customer‐linking capability further explained how supportive HRM contributed to perceived financial performance. This study explicates the implication of customer‐oriented strategy for HRM and reveals the importance of HRM in strategy implementation. It also sheds some light on the ‘black box’ between HRM and performance. While making important contributions to the field of strategy, HRM and marketing, this study also offers useful practical implications.     

Performance effects of IT capability, service process innovation, and the mediating role of customer service

Few academic studies have investigated how information technology (IT) capability and service process innovation can create performance gains for firms through customer service. We propose that customer service is a significant mediator through which IT capability and service process innovation influence the performance of a firm, and that IT capability is also a critical factor that facilitates service process innovation. Empirical support for our argument was derived from data collected from 174 firms in the Taiwan IT industry. The results suggest that managerial initiatives should be directed at developing IT capability and service process innovation and leveraging them to facilitate customer service to attain superior firm performance. Furthermore, greater IT capability would lead to a higher degree of service process innovation.     

组织能力：资源基础理论的静态观与动态观辨析

基于资源基础理论的演化过程,将组织能力区别为静态能力和动态能力;企业的静态能力集中表现为企业实力,企业的动态能力集中表现为企业活力.静态能力和动态能力是企业能力的不同解释.据文献回顾,基于静态观而形成VRIN模型,基于动态观而形成动态能力模型.阐明了组织能力、静态能力和动态能力的概念.并且对静态能力与动态能力的关系进行辨析,认为动态能力是对静态能力的一种扬弃.进而,提出了企业组织能力研究模型并探讨动态能力进一步的研究方向.     

Ambidexterity as a dynamic capability: Resolving the innovator's dilemma

How do organizations survive in the face of change? Underlying this question is a rich debate about whether organizations can adapt—and if so how. One perspective, organizational ecology, presents evidence suggesting that most organizations are largely inert and ultimately fail. A second perspective argues that some firms do learn and adapt to shifting environmental contexts. Recently, this latter view has coalesced around two themes. The first, based on research in strategy suggests that dynamic capabilities, the ability of a firm to reconfigure assets and existing capabilities, explains long-term competitive advantage. The second, based on organizational design, argues that ambidexterity, the ability of a firm to simultaneously explore and exploit, enables a firm to adapt over time. In this paper, we review and integrate these comparatively new research streams and identify a set of propositions that suggest how ambidexterity acts as a dynamic capability. We suggest that efficiency and innovation need not be strategic tradeoffs and highlight the substantive role of senior teams in building dynamic capabilities.