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T h e o r i e s U s e d i n I S R e s e a r c h
R e s o u r c e B a s e d V i e w o f t h e F i r m
| Theory Name | The resource-based view of the firm |
| Acronym | RBV, RBT |
| Alternate name(s) | Resource-based theory |
| Main dependent construct(s)/factor(s) | Sustainable competitive advantage |
| Main independent construct(s)/factor(s) | Assets, capabilities, resources |
| Concise description of theory | The resource-based view (RBV) argues that firms possess resources, a subset of which enable them to achieve competitive advantage, and a subset of those that lead to superior long-term performance. Resources that are valuable and rare can lead to the creation of competitive advantage. That advantage can be sustained over longer time periods to the extent that the firm is able to protect against resource imitation, transfer, or substitution. In general, empirical studies using the theory have strongly supported the resource-based view. |
| Diagram/schematic of theory |
Source: Wade and Hulland (2004) |
| Originating author(s) | Jay Barney, Edith Penrose |
| Seminal articles | Barney, J. B. (1986a). “Strategic factor
markets: Expectations, luck and business strategy.” Management Science, 32,
pp. 1512-1514.
Barney, J. B. (1986b). “Organizational culture: Can it be a source of sustained competitive advantage?” Academy of Management Review, 11, pp. 656-665. Barney, J. B. (1986c). “Types of Competition and the Theory of Strategy: Toward an Integrative Framework.” Academic of Management Review, 11, pp. 791-800. Barney, J. B. (1988). “Returns to bidding firms in mergers and acquisitions: Reconsidering the relatedness hypothesis.” Strategic Management Journal, 9, pp. 71-78. Barney, J. B. (1991a). “Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage.” Journal of Management, 17, pp. 99-120. Barney, J. B. (1991b). “The Resource Based View of Strategy: Origins, Implications, and Prospects.” Editor of Special Theory Forum in Journal of Management, 17, pp. 97-211. Dierickx & Cool (1989). “Asset Stock Accumulation and Sustainability of Competitive Advantage.” Management Science, 35, 1504-1511. Mahoney, J. T., and J. R. Pandian (1992). “The resource-based view within the conversation of strategic management.” Strategic Management Journal, 13, pp. 363-380. Penrose, E. T. (1959). The Theory of the Growth of the Firm. Wiley, New York. Prahalad, C. K., and G. Hamel (1990). “The Core Competence of the Corporation.” Harvard Business Review, June, pp. 79-91. Priem, R. L., and J. E. Butler (2001). “Is the resource-based ‘view’ a useful perspective for strategic management research?” Academy of Management Review, in press. Wernerfelt, B. (1984). “A resource-based view of the firm.” Strategic Management Journal, 5, pp. 171-180. |
| Originating area | Strategic management, Micro-economics |
| Level of analysis | Firm |
| Links to WWW sites describing theory |
http://www.valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_barney_resource_based_view_firm.html,
review/summary of the RBV http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/amsrev/theory/fahy10-99.html, Paper by John Fahy and Alan Smithee on the RBV and strategic management |
| Links from this theory to other theories | Dynamic capabilities, Knowledge based theory of the firm, Resource-dependency theory, Theory of competitive strategy, Evolutionary theory, Organizational knowledge creation |
| IS articles that use the theory |
Andreu, R. and C. Ciborra (1996) "Organizational learning and core capabilities development: the role of IT," The Journal of Strategic Information Systems (5) 2, pp. 111-127. Bharadwaj, A. S. (2000) "A resource-based perspective on information technology capability and firm performance: an empirical investigation," MIS Quarterly (24) 1, pp. 169-196. Bharadwaj, A. S., V. Sambamurthy, and R. W. Zmud. (1998) “IT capabilities: theoretical perspectives and empirical operationalization.” The International Conference on Information Systems, Helsinki, Finland, 1998, pp. 378-385. Brush, T. and K. Artz (1999) "Toward a contingent resource-based theory: the impact of information asymmetry on the value of capabilities in veterinary medicine," Strategic Management Journal (20pp. 223-250. Clemons, E. K. and M. C. Row (1991) "Sustaining IT advantage: the role of structural differences," MIS Quarterly (15) 3, pp. 275-292. Collis, D. J. (1991) "A resource-based analysis of global competition: the case of the bearings industry," Strategic Management Journal (12pp. 49-68. Collis, D. J. (1994) "Research note: how valuable are organizational capabilities," Strategic Management Journal (15pp. 143-152. Collis, D. J. and C. A. Montgomery (1995) "Competing on resources: strategy in the 1990s," Harvard Business Review ) July-August, pp. 118-128. Feeny, D. F. and B. Ives (1990) "In search of sustainability: reaping long-term advantage from investments in information technology," Journal of Management Information Systems (7) 1, pp. 27-46. Feeny, D. F. and L. P. Willcocks (1998) "Core IS capabilities for exploiting information technology," Sloan Management Review ) Spring, pp. 9-21. Gregoire, Y., M. Wade, J. Hulland, and K. Antia. (2001) “Resource redeployment in an ecommerce environment: a resource-based view.” American Marketing Association Conference, Long Beach, CA, 2001. Heijden, H. v. d. (2000) “Measuring IT core capabilities for electronic commerce: results from a confirmatory factor analysis.” ICIS, Brisbane, Australia, 2000, pp. 152-163. Hidding, G. (2001) "Sustaining strategic IT advantage in the information age: how strategy paradigms differ by speed," Strategic Information Systems (10pp. 201-222. Jarvenpaa, S. L. and D. E. Leidner (1998) "An infomation company in Mexico: extending the resource-based view of the firm to a developing country context," Information Systems Research (9) 4, pp. 342-361. Lederer, A., A. M. Dinesh, and K. Sims (1997) "The link between information strategy and electronic commerce," Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce (7) 1, pp. 17-34. Mata, F. J., W. L. Fuerst, and J. B. Barney (1995) "Information technology and sustained competitive advantage: a resource-based analysis," MIS Quarterly (19) 4, pp. 487-505. Melville, N, K.L. Kraemer, and V. Gurbaxani, “Information technology and organizational performance: An integrative model of IT business value,” MIS Quarterly 28(2), 2004, 283-322. Periera, R. E. (1999) "resource view theory analysis of SAP as a source of competitive advantage for firms," The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems (30) 1, pp. 38-46. Powell, T. C. and A. Dent-Micallef (1997) "Information technology as competitive advantage: the role of human, business, and technology resources," Strategic Management Journal (18) 5, pp. 375-405. Ross, J. W., C. M. Beath, and D. L. Goodhue (1996) "Develop long-term competitiveness through IT assets," Sloan Management Review ) Fall, pp. 31-42. Santhanam, R., and Hartono, E. "Issues in linking information technology capability to firm performance," MIS Quarterly (27:1), March 2003, pp 125-153. Silverman, B. S. (1999) "Technological resources and the direction of corporate diversification: toward an integration of the resource-based view and transaction cost economics," Management Science (45) 8, pp. 1109-1124. Wade, M. and Hulland, J., “The Resource-Based View and information Systems Research: Review, Extension, and Suggestions for Future Research,” MIS Quarterly, 28, 1 (March 2004), 107-142 Zaheer, A. and K. Dirks (1999) “Research on strategic information technology: a resource-based perspective,” in , vol. 2Research in Strategic Management and Information Technology: JAI Press, pp. 87-121. |
| Contributor(s) | Mike Wade |
| Date last updated | September 10, 2005 |
Please contact Mike Wade or Scott Schneberger if you would like to add, delete, or change any content on this page.