| dc.description.abstract | This thesis empirically investigated dynamic managerial capabilities (DMCs), which are
the capacities that managers use to create, extend, and modify resources. The research
objectives involved identifying, classifying, and assessing DMCs in generating
competitive advantage using resource-based theory (RBT). The overall research aim
was to build theory in a critical yet underdeveloped area of the literature. A multi-case
study using a phenomenological approach was conducted with managers from five
small-to-medium sized enterprises from the finance and insurance and real estate
sectors. The managers were interviewed, and described episodes when they
reconfigured resources during periods of rapid change (such as the recent financial
crisis and recession) in order to compete. A survey questionnaire was also used in which
respondents ranked DMCs, and discussed the joint uses of them, including which
capabilities were used in developing and operating others. The results of the research
showed that managers used specific transformational DMCs in periods of rapid change
in order to generate advantage. The DMCs are learning-based (LBDMC) and
innovation-based capabilities (IBDMC) and involve participative leadership (PL). They
are mutually interdependent and reinforcing, impact on ordinary capabilities, and are
evolutionarily fit. They exhibited commonalities, yet are considered idiosyncratic in
detail. The results are relevant to the field of strategic management in terms of theory
development and practical applicability. The academic contribution exploits a gap in the
extant literature, and the research shows how DMCs can be developed, used, and
maintained in practice. | en_US |
