Resource-based view

Alison Mackey and Tyson B. Mackey

Chapter 2 in A Guide to Key Theories for Strategic Management, 2026, pp 22-43 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The field of strategic management is deeply comparative. Theories of competitive advantage, such as the resource-based view (RBV), excel at offering causal mechanisms to explain persistent interfirm differences—why they emerge, why they persist, and how they matter. This chapter traces the intellectual roots of the RBV, demonstrating that it did not emerge in isolation but rather built upon (while simultaneously diverging from) earlier economic and strategic management theories. Specifically, this chapter compares the RBV to these earlier frameworks to illuminate its unique assumptions, explanatory mechanisms, and significant contributions to strategic management scholarship. The chapter also explores how the RBV has inspired several related theoretical perspectives and offshoots, such as dynamic capabilities, the relational view, and the knowledge-based view. Lastly, the chapter explores the RBV's enduring importance to the field for understanding the most critical questions of competitive advantage and firm heterogeneity.

Keywords: Strategic Management History; Resource-based View; Strategic Factor Markets; Competitive Advantage; Firm Performance; Endogeneity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035342846
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