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ANALYSIS OF PUBLICATIONS ON DYNAMIC CAPABILITIES BETWEEN 1992 AND 2012: DISCUSSIONS ON THE CONCEPTUAL EVOLUTION AND CONTRIBUTIONS BY THE MOST RENOWNED AUTHORS IN THE AREA

ABSTRACT

Some elements of the dynamic capabilities approach emerge in several publications (Schumpeter, 1942Schumpeter, J. A. (1942). Capitalism, socialism and democracy. New York: Harper.; Penrose, 1959Penrose, E. T. (1959). The theory of the growth of the firm. New York: John Wiley., Nelson & Winter, 1982Nelson, R. R., & Winter, S. (1982). An evolutionary theory of economic change. Cambridge: Harvard University Press., Prahalad & Hamel, 1990Prahalad, C. K., & Hamel, G. (1990). The core competence of the corporation. Harvard Business Review, 66, 79-91.), but it is through Teece, Pisano and Schuen (1997)Teece, D. J., Pisano, G., & Shuen, A. (1997). Dynamic capabilities and strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 18(7), 509-534. that this theme has attracted an increasing interest from scholars. The relevance of this issue has led researchers to consider dynamic capabilities as a robust new paradigm in the field of strategy, especially by proposing answers to the shortcomings of the resource-based view (RBV). The theoretical framework of dynamic capabilities has changed over time (Barreto, 2010Barreto, I. (2010). Dynamic capabilities: a review of past research and an agenda for the future. Journal of Management, 36(1), 256-280.) and it has, in addition to convergence, branches among its supporters, especially regarding the theoretical foundations and sources used in their various conceptions. The concept of dynamic capabilities as a source of competitive advantage has made studies on this topic proliferate over the last few years, however, this proliferation does not occur homogeneously nor in a consensual way that makes going deeper into the theme even more challenging. Thus, considering the major publications on dynamic capabilities between the years 1992 and 2012, this research introduces contributions from leading authors interested in developing the dynamic capabilities approach and discusses its conceptual evolution. This is a bibliometric study with data processing by using multidimensional scaling and network analysis. Qualitatively, the evolution of the approach is analyzed by considering the different concepts and theoretical-empirical claims made by authors based on their notoriety. The results indicate 1. evolution in terms of conceptual, theoretical, and empirical propositions; 2. increased citations of authors concerned with the theme; 3. diverse sources of publication having multidisciplinary approaches; and 4. multiple themes related to dynamic capabilities. Themes such as knowledge, skills, learning, value creation, manager’s capacity, strategic partnerships and alliances, and associations with dynamic capabilities broaden the debates on complex, absent, or obscure points of the previous theories, reinforcing their strong points as a way to expand the possibility of empirical evidence, somehow overcoming drawbacks of the previous theories.

KEYWORDS
Strategy; Dynamic capabilities; Notoriety; Bibliometric analysis; Network analysis

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