What are the sources of capability dynamism? Reconceptualizing dynamic capabilities from the perspective of organizational change

Abstract

Purpose – The concept of dynamic capabilities emerged from strategic management theory, the aim being to determine how organizations can achieve and sustain competitive advantage in a continuously changing environment. It is widely accepted in the literature that this concept, although extremely popular and potentially powerful, still needs clarification and elaboration. The main criticisms are centered on the lack of understanding of where these capabilities originate and how their dynamism can be sustained in the long run. The purpose of this paper is to bring some novel insights into these issues in bridging the theories of strategic management and change management. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on extensive literature review and bridges dynamic capabilities and change management literatures. Findings – The paper proposes a distinction between domain-specific and generic dynamic capabilities and puts forward the concept of “organizational change capability” as representing a generic dynamic capability. The nature of such capability is discussed using the insights from organizational change theory. Originality/value – This paper provides a novel way to examine the sources of capability dynamism both conceptually and empirically by integrating insights from organizational change and dynamic capabilities literatures.