The Virtues and Limitations of Dynamic Capabilities

David J. Collis and Bharat N. Anand

Strategic Management Review, 2021, vol. 2, issue 1, 47-78

Abstract: Dynamic capabilities have been identified as a key determinant of competitive advantage. This paper explores the foundations of dynamic capabilities and the limits to their effectiveness, first theoretically and then through the case of Danaher, the most successful US conglomerate for over three decades. Limitations of dynamic capabilities include that they (a) can be substitutable and (b) embody strategic choices themselves. The case of Danaher, an exemplar of dynamic capabilities, illustrates how dynamic capabilities require long-term commitments in order to be effective, involve a set of choices that are closely tied to others made by the firm, and embody tradeoffs that imply that investments in any particular dynamic capability may be inconsistent with acquiring new ones.

Keywords: Dynamic capabilities; resource based view; conglomerate; theory of the firm; value based strategy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1561/111.00000017 (application/xml)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:now:jnlsmr:111.00000017

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Strategic Management Review from now publishers
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Lucy Wiseman ().