Renewing the resource‐based view: New contexts, new concepts, and new methods

Abstract

The resource‐based view is an enduring and impactful mainstay of research within strategic management and beyond. This editors' introduction to the special issue on “new directions for the resource‐based view” accomplishes two main tasks. First, we describe the contributions offered by the seven articles contained in the special issue. Second, we explain the potential value to research of incorporating into resource‐based inquiry new contexts (artificial intelligence and digitization, distributed organizations, and stakeholders and sustainability); new concepts (resource redeployment, market shaping through resources and capabilities); and new methods (text analysis and machine learning, formal models, policy capturing). The overall aim of this introduction is to help invigorate the resource‐based view by spotlighting a series of promising new directions.

Robotic process automation and artificial intelligence capabilities driving digital strategy: a resource-based view

“…Strategic management inquiry leveraging the RBV has grown tremendously in recent decades to become firmly entrenched as a central perspective for understanding organizations (Helfat et al, 2023). Known as an important theory able to concretely explain the role of the firm's resources as the foundation of the firm's strategy (Grant, 1991), the RBV can be considered one of the most used theories in the field of IS/IT.…”

“…Strategic resources are seen as a core concept of the RBV and are distinguished from resources in general, such as cash, because they have certain attributes: they are valuable, rare, inimitable and irreplaceable (Barney and Hesterly, 2015). However, the use of AI technologies that aid human decision-making challenges our understanding of the relationship between resource management and performance improvement (Helfat et al, 2023). This can be explained by a basic premise of RBV where managers seek to build advantageous positions for their company, gathering unique and valuable combinations of resource bundles (Rumelt, 1984).…”

“…Our theoretical lens workflow was designed based on the backbone of RBV (Barney and Hesterly, 2015;Grant, 2018;Helfat et al, 2023;Peteraf, 1993;Wernerfelt, 1984), which is represented by the four main elements of the theory. Thus, it is possible to observe that its basic foundations were maintained, with resources being the forerunners, followed by capabilities that together promote sustainable competitive advantages, responsible for creating strategies capable of strengthening organizations in the face of their competition.…”

“…Strategic management inquiry leveraging the RBV has grown tremendously in recent decades to become firmly entrenched as a central perspective for understanding organizations (Helfat et al. , 2023).…”

Complementary and contingent value of SMEs' data capability and supply chain capability in the competitive environment

“…As such, SCC can be a source of data and a mechanism utilizing information derived from data capability. Hence, data is valuable only when providing firms with insights (Helfat et al ., 2023). Further, data and information acquired from collaborative work with customers can be acted on to enhance firm performance (Arias-Pérez et al ., 2022).…”