Strategy Practices and the Micro-Foundations of Advantage

Strategic Management Society Special Conference: Micro-Foundations for Strategic Management Research: Embracing Individuals. Copenhagen, Denmark, June 2014

6 Pages Posted: 27 Jul 2014

See all articles by Cliff Bowman

Cliff Bowman

Cranfield University - School of Management

Andrey Pavlov

Cranfield University

Date Written: June 12, 2014

Abstract

Resource-based advantages are ‘built’, not bought, and have typically emerged from complex development processes that are, to a significant degree, ‘unmanaged’. Set against this reality are strategy process prescriptions that encourage managers to adopt deliberate, formal, analytical approaches to deriving strategies. Thus, our understanding of what gives a firm unique advantage seems to be at odds with generic strategy practice prescriptions. To address this paradox, we examine the micro-foundations of advantage, showing that it is processual in nature and that it resists disaggregation that would make it amenable to design-led managerial interventions. We then suggest strategy practices that may be more congruent with the fundamental nature of resource-based advantages. Such practices should enable the firm to continually adapt to the unfolding environment.

Keywords: Resource-Based View, RBV, Competitive Advantage, Strategy Practice, Complex Adaptive Systems

JEL Classification: L1, L2, M1

Suggested Citation

Bowman, Cliff and Pavlov, Andrey, Strategy Practices and the Micro-Foundations of Advantage (June 12, 2014). Strategic Management Society Special Conference: Micro-Foundations for Strategic Management Research: Embracing Individuals. Copenhagen, Denmark, June 2014, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2472144 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2472144

Cliff Bowman

Cranfield University - School of Management ( email )

Bedfordshire, MK43 0AL
United Kingdom

Andrey Pavlov (Contact Author)

Cranfield University ( email )

Cranfield
Bedfordshire MK43 OAL, MK43 0AL
United Kingdom

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