Identifying and measuring dynamic capability using search routines
Author(s)
Goldstein, Don
Hilliard, Rachel
Date Issued
February 13, 2018
Abstract
Much attention has been paid to the theoretical and empirical difficulties of identifying dynamic capability, given that it is a latent construct that is difficult to observe. There is consensus that dynamic capability should be defined so as to distinguish the capability for change from the change achieved: it is the organisation’s capacity to change its resource base. But operationalising this idea has proven difficult. We propose an empirical representation based on a modest theoretical extension: the accepted definition implies that dynamic capability is constituted in organic engagement with the operating resources it is intended to change. This extension allows us to represent dynamic capability using a widely recognised, observable underpinning of dynamic capability – search routines. Using data on Irish manufacturers’ efforts to adapt to a heightened environmental-regulation regime, we draw from environmental-management research and the evolutionary and behavioural theories of the firm to specify criteria for identifying, categorising and measuring search routines and using this to construct a dynamic capability measure. The contribution is to present a replicable, theory-based protocol for studying dynamic capability and its complex relationship with firm performance and evolutionary fitness.
Journal
Strategic Organization
Department
Economics
Citation
Hilliard, R., & Goldstein, D. (2019). Identifying and measuring dynamic capability using search routines. Strategic Organization, 17(2), 210–240. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476127018755001
Publisher
Sage Choice
Version of Article
Final manuscript post peer review, without publisher's formatting or copy
editing (postprint)
Embargo
This version of the article is available for viewing to the public after February 13, 2019.
DOI
10.1177/1476127018755001
ISSN
1476-1270
1741-315X
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