The resource philosophy: ‘changing opportunities’

Aaron C.T. Smith, James Skinner and Daniel Read

Chapter 7 in Philosophies of Organizational Change, 2026, pp 153-174 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Chapter 7 discusses the resource philosophy, which maintains that an organization's ability to acquire and leverage valuable resources will determine its ongoing competitive success and survival. Change from a resource perspective depends not only upon how an organization's resources coalesce and evolve, but also on the way in which they are reconfigured and redeployed over time. The chapter begins by defining and exploring what constitutes resources and a resource-based perspective. It considers how the resource perspective evolved and its place in the fields of strategic and change management. Whilst a firm must acquire and build strategically valuable resources and capabilities, value creation and competitive advantage ultimately rely on how these resources are used. The way in which an organization structures, bundles and leverages its resources will impact profoundly upon its effectiveness. The chapter observes that successful organizations perform best at acquiring and deploying scarce resources, including money and skills, where the most valuable resources can be combined with other assets or cannot be easily reproduced. It also explores how dynamic capabilities, resource dependence and contingency theory intersect to shape adaptive strategies in volatile environments. The chapter highlights the growing importance of intangible assets, digital tools and ecosystem partnerships in sustaining competitive advantage.

Keywords: Resource; Resource-Based; Capabilities; Value; Scarce; Dynamic Capabilities; Contingency; Intangible Assets (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035372164
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