The Elephant in the Room of Dynamic Capabilities: Bringing Two Diverging Conversations Together

Strategic Management Journal, Forthcoming

HEC Paris Research Paper No. SPE-2013-1001

41 Pages Posted: 5 Dec 2012 Last revised: 23 Sep 2013

See all articles by Margaret A. Peteraf

Margaret A. Peteraf

Dartmouth College - Tuck School of Business

Giada Di Stefano

Bocconi University - Department of Management and Technology

Gianmario Verona

Bocconi University - Department of Management and Technology; SDA Bocconi

Date Written: December 1, 2012

Abstract

A critical issue has been absent from the conversation on dynamic capabilities: the two seminal papers represent not only different but contradictory understandings of the construct’s core elements. Here, we explore the reasons for this, using author co-citation analysis to inform our analysis. Our findings suggest that the field is being socially constructed on the basis of two separate domains of knowledge and that underlying structural impediments have impeded dialog across the domains. In light of this evidence, then, we take up the challenge to find a solution to this dilemma. By employing a contingency-based approach, we show that there are ways to unify the field that rely, paradoxically, on integrating the two contradictory views, while still preserving the assumptions that led to their differences.

Keywords: dynamic capabilities, co-citation analysis, development path, resource-based, dynamic bundles

Suggested Citation

Peteraf, Margaret A. and Di Stefano, Giada and Verona, Gianmario, The Elephant in the Room of Dynamic Capabilities: Bringing Two Diverging Conversations Together (December 1, 2012). Strategic Management Journal, Forthcoming, HEC Paris Research Paper No. SPE-2013-1001, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2185504

Margaret A. Peteraf

Dartmouth College - Tuck School of Business ( email )

100 Tuck Hall
Hanover, NH 03755
United States
603-646-1944 (Phone)
603-646-0995 (Fax)

Giada Di Stefano (Contact Author)

Bocconi University - Department of Management and Technology ( email )

Via Roentgen 1
Milan, MI 20136
Italy

HOME PAGE: http://faculty.unibocconi.eu/giadadistefano/

Gianmario Verona

Bocconi University - Department of Management and Technology ( email )

Via Roentgen 1
Milan, MI 20136
Italy

SDA Bocconi ( email )

Via Bocconi 8
Milan, Milan 20136
Italy

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