Mintzberg Schools of Thought

S.Afr.J.Bus.Manage.2011,42(1)

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Assessing dynamic capabilities: Mintzberg’s schools of thought

F. Arndt*

Udo Staber, University of Canterbury ffarndt@gmail.com Received June 2010 A growing body of research in strategic management has focused on dynamic capabilities as a central source of firms‟ competitive advantage. The theoretical roots of dynamic capabilities can be found in many of the schools of thought identified by Mintzberg, Ahlstrand and Lampel (1998). In this paper, we identify three aspects of dynamic capabilities that, we believe, require more detailed attention: Process, cognitive and decision-based micro-foundations, and human agency. We explore each of these areas from an evolutionary perspective to emphasize the fact that dynamic capability is essentially an evolutionary construct. By highlighting the evolutionary implications of these areas, we add important detail to the way “evolution” has been used in this field of research.

*To whom all correspondence should be addressed.

Introduction

The field of strategic management is concerned with the fundamental question of how firms develop and sustain competitive advantage. Over the years, investigators have increasingly looked to dynamic capabilities “to integrate, build, and reconfigure internal and external competencies” (Teece, Pisano & Shuen, 1997: 516) as an important source of competitive advantage. While there has been much progress in this field of research, there are several aspects of dynamic capabilities that, we believe, would benefit from more detailed analysis. First, the discussion of dynamic capabilities has typically been couched at a highly aggregated level. Not attending to the micro-foundations of capability development makes it difficult to appreciate the cognitive and decision-based aspects of strategy formation in a changing environment. Second, research has focused on the content properties of dynamic capabilities, such as the characteristics of a particular...