Citation:
Veronique Ambrosini and Cliff Bowman, What are dynamic capabilities and are they a useful construct in strategic management?, International Journal of Management Reviews, Volume 11, Issue 1, March 2009, Pages 29–49
Abstract:
The dynamic capability perspective extends the resource-based view argument by
addressing how valuable, rare, difficult to imitate and imperfectly
substitutable resources can be created and how the current stock of valuable
resources can be refreshed in changing environments. The concept of dynamic
capabilities emerged in the 1990s, and the field has advanced considerably
since. This paper presents a review as well as a synthesis of the extant
literature. This synthesis first highlights, that dynamic capabilities are
shaped by enabling and inhibiting variables within and outside the firm,
including the perceptions and motivations of managers; secondly, it identifies
processes that create dynamic capabilities; and thirdly, it explains that
dynamic capabilities do not automatically lead to performance improvements.
Finally, the paper addresses some areas of confusion and contradiction that
hamper the development of the literature.