Resource Origins and Search

Abstract

The search for new resources is costly and difficult within the resource-based view. Because search is costly, a common prescription is for firms to focus on their endowments—the resources they already possess. However, is there a way for firms to somehow find value amongst the “vast reservoirs” of external resources? We review existing forms of resource search and then suggest an alternative. Exten- ding arguments from biology, we develop the idea of a firm-specific search image and highlight how search images can reveal resources not obvious to others. The search image notion speaks to how firms might uniquely identify dormant resources, even in seemingly efficient factor markets. We conclude with a discussion of how our arguments pertain to the resource-based view and the origins of resources.

Keywords: resource-based view, factor markets, entrepreneurship, beliefs, adjacent possible, strategy

JEL Classification: L23, L14, L22, D20, D21, D22, D51, D52, D92, K1, M2, O33