Dynamic capabilities: towards an organizing framework

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to stimulate, shape and extend current discourse on the relevance of dynamic capabilities on firm competitiveness. Design/methodology/approach The authors delineate current debates on dynamic capabilities and synthesize them to develop some propositions and a heuristic framework to guide future research on dynamic capabilities as a strategic management construct. Findings The theoretical and methodological complexities involved in mapping the routines and processes’ underpinning dynamic capabilities has led to conceptual discrepancies, which in turn impede the understanding of the relevance and contribution of dynamic capabilities to competitiveness. Measuring dynamic capabilities remains the biggest barrier to progress in developing directions for theory and research in this area. Practical implications Stimulating and shaping the current discourse on the relevance of dynamic capabilities on competitiveness, the proposed integrated framework as a heuristic device can be to gauge the a firm’s dynamic capabilities vis-à-vis their competitors. Originality/value The authors propose a framework built around the inter-relationships of capabilities and hierarchies of capabilities to extend the understanding of how dynamic capabilities can be developed relative to a firm’s ability and embedded context.