Dynamic Capabilities: A Review of Past Research and an Agenda for the Future
Abstract
The dynamic capabilities view, by addressing the question of how firms can cope with changing environments, has gained increasing attention in the management literature in recent years, not only in the concept’s original domain (strategic management) but also in many other areas within business administration. However, such remarkable growth has been associated with a proliferation of definitions of the focal construct as well as the emergence of a complex and disconnected body of research. In addition, the approach has also received some recurring criticisms. In this study, the author reviews the diverse research streams on dynamic capabilities, identifies main limitations and challenges, suggests a new conceptualization of dynamic capability as an aggregate multidimensional construct, and provides guidance about promising avenues for future research.
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The study compares the effects of similar dynamic capabilities in two or more clearly distinct environmental conditions, as called for in prior work.
“This research, thus, heeds calls for empirical studies that 'explicitly compare the effects of similar dynamic capabilities in two or more clearly distinct environmental conditions' (Barreto, 2010: 276).”
From On the contingent value of dynamic capabilities for competitive advantage: The nonlinear moderating effect of environmental dynamism (2014) · cites this paper as Barreto, 2010
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- Authors
- Barreto, I.
- Affiliations
- Universidade Católica Portuguesa (PT)
- Corresponding author
- Barreto, Ilídio
- ORCID
- Barreto, Ilídio
- Venue
- Journal of Management
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2009-12-28
- Volume
- 36
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 256-280
- ISSN
- 0149-2063 (ISSN-L)
- 1557-1211
- OpenAlex
- W2127692094
- Cited by
- 1,948
- References
- 7
- Citations by year
- 2026: 105 · 2025: 136 · 2024: 124 · 2023: 157 · 2022: 176 · 2021: 156 · 2020: 148 · 2019: 117 · 2018: 164 · 2017: 152 · 2016: 100 · 2015: 111 · 2014: 106 · 2013: 83 · 2012: 62
- FWCI
- 107.63
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Management (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Innovation and Knowledge Management
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Management and Organizational Studies
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Business Strategies and Innovation
- Keywords
- dynamic capabilities, multidimensional construct, changing environment, firm adaptation, strategic management, research agenda
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