This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Salvato, C. Search for Related Content

Capabilities Unveiled: The Role of Ordinary Activities in the Evolution of Product Development Processes

Management Department, Bocconi University, 20136 Milan, Italy
carlo.salvato{at}unibocconi.it

In contrast to the prevailing interpretation of capabilities as collectives, this inductive study of product development in a leading design firm highlights the centrality of the myriad ordinary activities that may shape the evolution of capabilities. A detailed comparison of 90 diverse product development processes over a 15-year period shows, first, that mindful microactivities carried out by individuals in and around the organization and at all levels of the organizational hierarchy are central in shaping the content of the product development capability and its dynamic adaptation. Understanding organizational renewal and competitive advantage may hence require a partial shift in focus from capabilities as aggregate entities, to the practical realities of core organizational processes. Second, this more fine-grained perspective leads to a set of insights on how organizational renewal may be partially shaped by timely managerial interventions aimed at encoding successful experiments into higher-level organizational capabilities. Third, higher-level capabilities resulting from the conversion of heterogeneous experiences display higher process homogeneity and a permanent increase in performance, because of stabilization of managerial attention. My findings contribute to unveiling the concept of capabilities, extending prior research on dynamic capabilities and organizational renewal and providing a lens for research on the microfoundations of capability evolution and organizational advantage.

Key Words: capability evolution; capability microfoundations; mindfulness; dynamic managerial capabilities; event-sequence analysis; optimal matching analysis

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. Rerup Attentional Triangulation: Learning from Unexpected Rare Crises Organization Science, September 1, 2009; 20(5): 876 - 893. [Abstract] [PDF]

				A. M. Knott and H. E. Posen Firm R&D Behavior and Evolving Technology in Established Industries Organization Science, March 1, 2009; 20(2): 352 - 367. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J. P. Eggers and S. Kaplan Cognition and Renewal: Comparing CEO and Organizational Effects on Incumbent Adaptation to Technical Change Organization Science, March 1, 2009; 20(2): 461 - 477. [Abstract] [PDF]

				H. E. Kim and J. M. Pennings Innovation and Strategic Renewal in Mature Markets: A Study of the Tennis Racket Industry Organization Science, March 1, 2009; 20(2): 368 - 383. [Abstract] [PDF]

				R. Agarwal and C. E. Helfat Strategic Renewal of Organizations Organization Science, March 1, 2009; 20(2): 281 - 293. [Abstract] [PDF]