Purpose Organizations need to find ways to survive in unpredictable, dynamic and rapidly changing environments. The development of organizational capabilities, such as relational, is a dynamic process of adaptation, which seeks to adjust to an unstable environment. Within this context, the purpose of this paper is to analyze, through a systematic review (SR), 36 articles, which discuss the influence of strategic alliances on the dynamic capabilities (DCs) process. Design/methodology/approach Through this systematic literature review, articles published in international journals were categorized in terms of their objectives, thematic axes and the research methodologies applied and evidences, to explore their methodological, theoretical and organizational practice contributions. Findings The results clarified the antecedents, implications and relevance of the relationship between strategic alliances in different countries and their DCs. The findings make it possible to determine directions for new studies that may support the advancement of this field of research. Research limitations/implications Studies from this SR point out that alliance is: a flexible vehicle of learning; a way to transfer effective knowledge in partner firms and to generate combinations of resources; and a superior means of access to technological capabilities and other complex capabilities. Those aspects would be difficult to be developed in the firms without the help of partnerships. This can encourage the reconfiguration of existing resources and capabilities. These reconfigurations can lead to deliberate evolutionary adaptations in these firms, which will build relational DCs. Practical implications As managerial implications, an alliance allows for the development of capabilities to detect new opportunities, and for the development of the reconfiguration or expansion of the existing resource base in the firm. Thus, alliances, once properly managed and with well-defined structure and purpose, can help firms achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. Alliances can serve as a type of strategic choice or an alternative that can enable companies to cope with unstable, global and competitive environments permeated by (new) threats and opportunities. Originality/value This SR paper highlighted, in a specific and consistent topic, the suggestions for future research related to the process of DCs and its relationship with strategic alliances, motivating new research works.

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This study aimed to analyze how improvisation activities take place within the management of a higher education organization, by examining practices and related constructs, such as innovation, intuition, bricolage and learning. This is a case study on a large private university, located in Sa ˜o Paulo, Brazil. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, non-participant observation and document analysis. The results showed that improvisation in academic management is characterized by constant pressures that challenge their managers toward adaptations, reorganization in crisis situations, the sense of urgency and coping with the unexpected. Minimal structures, flexibility and competence have proved to be essential elements for improvisation. Decisions and actions, practiced by academic managers, were characterized by spontaneity, creativity and managerial flexibility. Dynamic and complex environments make improvisational practices that emerge in the day-to-day of academic management. The existence of a culture favorable to experimentation, to the autonomy of managers, contributes to reviewing processes and disseminating practices of improvisation. The incorporation of bricolage as a way to better use limited resources proved to be promising for managerial effectiveness. Originality is demonstrated in the relationship between the practices of improvisation and academic management, seen as a unique context in a flexible and complex system. This paper highlights suggestions for managerial practice related to improvisation practices as one of the ways to cope with organizational dynamics.

PurposeBy exploring “what is strategic improvisation in organizations?” the authors respond to advances in strategic improvisation (SI) conceptualization with an emphasis on the challenges of combining unplanned but deliberate responses to relentlessly changing environments, in which strategy becomes increasingly improvised.Design/methodology/approachAn integrative review was conducted with the potential to develop new theoretical approaches to research problems. This literature review resulted in an introductory SI framework.FindingsThe authors propose a SI conceptual framework combining foundation, structuration and capillarization. While foundations comprise extemporaneity, novelty and intentionality, considered as triggers for the manifestation of SI, in this study structuration refers to the combination of a minimal structure and a reassessment process in response to unexpected situations. Capillarization means interaction patterns characterized as spontaneous, dynamic and collaborative. This framework leads to the definition of SI as an impromptu deliberate action stream, combining unplanned responses with intentional actions sustaining the convergence of strategy and operation, to integrate and reconfigure resources at the strategic level.Practical implicationsSI in practice considers reconfiguring the internal and external forces to deal with unexpected events and impromptu deliberate responses to face rapidly changing environments. This would enable practitioners and managers to prepare for eventualities that evolve dynamically and spontaneously, and unpredictable imminent global crises.Originality/valueThe authors conducted the first study mapping improvisation as a strategic organizational level phenomenon. SI is recognized as operating across levels, from the tactical and functional to the strategic.