The Architecture of Dynamic Capability Research: Identifying the Building Blocks of a Configurational Approach

Abstract

The dynamic capability view (DCV) of the firm has become one of the leading frameworks aimed at identifying drivers of long-term firm survival and growth. Yet, despite considerable academic interest, there are many questions about what dynamic capabilities are, how they relate to other organizational operations, and how they relate to firm performance. In this art, we provide a unique and comprehensive examination of the DCV literature that goes beyond past reviews by combining text based analysis with surveys of, and interviews with, researchers in the field. With this approach, we are able to examine the evolution of the DCV in written literature and identify missing research themes. Based on this review, we argue that future research will benefit from integrating the DCV with configuration theory and recent microfoundational thinking. We encapsulate this discussion via an architectural model of the DCV (entitled 'House of Dynamic Capabilities') that combines microfoundations underlying DCs at the varying levels of analysis (individual, business unit, and organizational) while also accounting for important enablers of DCs and firm strategic orientation. We also show how this logic requires a completely different set of methodological approaches to those currently in use.