Organizational Evolution and Dynamic Capabilities

Author(s):  
Daniel A. Levinthal ◽  
Alessandro Marino

This article examines the importance of plasticity and diversity in organizational adaptation and with respect to dynamic capabilities. It begins by conceptualizing what elements comprise a dynamic capability within an evolving organization using the contrast between templates (genotypes) and realized practices (phenotypes). It then introduces a model of hierarchical learning inside organizations with the goal of elucidating the interrelationships underlying the adaptive properties of the internal ecology of organizational evolution. In particular, it compares higher-level selection/recombination mechanisms with lower-level learning capabilities. This article highlights the importance of recognizing the interplay among the mechanisms and forces at work in the evolutionary dynamics of organizations. It shows that processes of variation and selection can be a valuable substitute for the capacity to adapt individual behaviors and that plasticity of templates may mitigate the effective selection of more or less promising templates.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Xie ◽  
Wenying Shou

AbstractMicrobial communities often perform important functions that arise from interactions among member species. Community functions can be improved via artificial selection: Many communities are repeatedly grown, mutations arise, and communities with the highest desired function are chosen to reproduce where each is partitioned into multiple offspring communities for the next cycle. Since selection efficacy is often unimpressive in published experiments and since multiple experimental parameters need to be tuned, we sought to use computer simulations to learn how to design effective selection strategies. We simulated community selection to improve a community function that requires two species and imposes a fitness cost on one of the species. This simplified case allowed us to distill community function down to two fundamental and orthogonal components: a heritable determinant and a nonheritable determinant. We then visualize a “community function landscape” relating community function to these two determinants, and demonstrate that the evolutionary trajectory on the landscape is restricted along a path designated by ecological interactions. This path can prevent the attainment of maximal community function, and trap communities in landscape locations where community function has low heritability. Exploiting these observations, we devise a species spiking approach to shift the path to improve community function heritability and consequently selection efficacy. We show that our approach is applicable to communities with complex and unknown function landscapes.


2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 368-384 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lidija Breznik ◽  
Robert D. Hisrich

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the relationship between dynamic capabilities and innovation capabilities. It links dynamic capability with innovation capability and indicates the ways they can be related. Design/methodology/approach – The relationships between dynamic and innovation capability were investigated through a systematic literature review. Findings – The review indicates that common characteristics exist between of the both fields, which demonstrate six relationships. Additionally, findings show some inconsistencies and even contradictions. Originality/value – In this paper, the authors have compared dynamic capabilities, a relatively new approach in the field of strategic management, with innovation capabilities, a widely recognised crucial domain for sustained competitiveness. Since both areas address issues that are essential to today's environment, future research should seek to clarify both concepts, by undertaking some new research and developing comprehensive and unambiguous framework.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-46
Author(s):  
T.V. BOGDANOVA ◽  

The purpose of the article is to review the activities of the civil governor M.M. Oreus in the service in the Vyborg (Finland) province in 1799–1804. The guarantee of an effective mechanism of admin-istration creation as for over than 200-year period of the Russian Empire existence, as for modern conditions, it was and still is the effectiveness of the government policy on the ground. Based on this key task, the most important condition for its implementation at different stages of the development of the country was the effective selection of personnel for the post of a governor. It was the governor responsible for everything happened in his province, and the government expected him to under-stand the tasks assigned to him and take definite steps to solve them. The urgent management problem in these conditions was the strength of administrative resources capable of retaining their effective power in cases of emerging extraordinary situations, including which, will be discussed in this article. Emergency situations in the border areas occurred regularly and required the ob-servance of certain administrative traditions that influenced the success of the governor's initiatives in state tasks implementation. It will be all the more important to consider the history of the life and activities of one of the governors of the Finland (Vyborg) province, Maxim Maksimovich Oreus, who was at the head of this territory from December 14, 1799 to April 9, 1804.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matin Mohaghegh ◽  
Andreas Größler

PurposeAdopting the dynamic capability perspective, this study aims at exploring which problem-solving capabilities result in fundamental solutions with a potentially low likelihood for problems to recur. This can also shed light on why, despite many attempts, process improvement programs often fail to produce such long-term solutions.Design/methodology/approachA case study is carried out to inductively describe and classify problem-solving in companies and to indicate why problem-solving efforts are typically bounded to short-term solutions. The empirical findings are triangulated with findings from the extant literature.FindingsFirst, the authors propose three problem-solving modes with different characteristics and potential impacts on operational performance: intuitive problem-solving, semi-structured problem-solving and systematic problem-solving. Second, by emphasizing dynamic capabilities' micro-foundations and with the focus on learning mechanisms, the authors show that, among these modes, only systematic problem-solving can serve as a dynamic capability with fundamental solutions. Third, based on insights from the case study, the authors address behavioral and organizational impediments that curb dynamic capabilities and limit systematic problem-solving adoption.Originality/valueThis study is an empirically informed attempt to understand systematic problem-solving as a dynamic capability. The authors uncover the micro-foundations and the learning mechanisms through which systematic problem-solving becomes a dynamic capability. By highlighting problem-solving orientation as a hardly investigated dimension of improvement programs, the authors show that a mixture of a static problem-solving approach and a set of impediments at both individual and organizational levels is the major reason of failures of improvement programs over time.


Author(s):  
Ralf Wilden ◽  
Timothy M. Devinney ◽  
Nidthida Lin

Some management scholars doubt the value of the dynamic capability view when compared to existing theories. The concern expressed is often related to unclear definitions of the core construct and the relationship among the components that make up that construct. The end result is potentially confused and conflicting interpretations of empirical findings and non-commensurate measurement. One solution is to formalize core components of the theory at hand. The purpose of this paper is not to discuss or argue for (or against) the theoretical status of the dynamic capability view, but to provide a simple, yet insightful, structured model of its core components. Specifically, this paper takes as its basis the perspective of dynamic capabilities as comprising the sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring processes that are deployed to create a resource base aimed at satisfying evolving market demand; it presents a simple but formal way of characterizing its components.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yoshinori Fujimura ◽  
Chihiro Kawano ◽  
Ayaka Maeda-Murayama ◽  
Asako Nakamura ◽  
Akiko Koike-Miki ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 286-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi-Sheng Wang

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to reconfigure a new component of dynamic capabilities across firms, and to summarize propositions and to construct a conceptual framework of the dynamic capabilities in fashion apparel industry. Design/methodology/approach – The author used the interviews with the industry experts and trade association executives to develop an understanding of the strategic and technological issues facing the industry and to gain a historical perspective on the evolution of the industry. Findings – This study explored the establishment of dynamic capability and market competitiveness in the fashion apparel industry from the perspectives of dynamic capability and resources embedment, and brought out the insight that commonalities/component has been overlooked. The “conceptual framework of dynamic capabilities in fashion apparel industry” developed by this study, which consists of the major key factors for the maintenance of fast fashion apparel industry in market competitive advantage. Research limitations/implications – Although the five top fashion apparel groups interviewed in this study are representative, there are limits in classification of other brands, which is one of the limitations in this study. Second, although qualitative research can achieve understanding of the utmost layer of situations, its greatest limitation is that it cannot investigate massive amount of interviewees, which is a second limitation in this study. Originality/value – The theoretical contribution of the study is to construct a conceptual framework of dynamic capabilities in the fashion apparel industry using eight theoretical propositions. Such conceptual framework will become a basic knowledge system for firms in the fashion apparel industry to develop strategic directions, as well as an important knowledge reference to other firms when choosing what to establish as their core competences.


In the Indian scenario construction industry facing a major problem is cost and time overrun. Effective time performance and cost performance are very important to execute the project in a successful manner by keeping them within the prescribed schedule and cost. Overall cost and duration of construction projects affected by the effective resource selection factor. This paper's objective is to rectify the improper selection of resources by a programming tool. Field survey and codebook study did collect the needed data to feed in the programming tool. The prepared tool gets distributed and making to access by every stakeholder of construction projects. This may result in the selection of construction resources as effectively. The term cost overrun in the resource part will be reduced.


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