Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • 2021
  • Article
  • Strategic Management Review

The Virtues and Limitations of Dynamic Capabilities

By: Bharat Anand and David J. Collis
  • Format:Print
ShareBar

Abstract

Dynamic capabilities have been identified as a key determinant of competitive advantage. This paper explores the foundations of dynamic capabilities, and the limits to their effectiveness, first theoretically and then through the case of Danaher, the most successful U.S. conglomerate for over three decades. Limitations of dynamic capabilities include that they (a) can be substitutable and (b) embody strategic choices themselves. The Danaher case, an exemplar of dynamic capabilities, illustrates how dynamic capabilities require long-term commitments in order to be effective, involve a set of choices that are closely tied to others made by the firm, and embody tradeoffs that imply that investments in any particular dynamic capability may be inconsistent with acquiring new ones

Keywords

Dynamic Capabilities; Danaher; Resources; Theory Of The Firm; Value-based Strategy; Organizations; Performance Effectiveness; Competitive Advantage; Strategy

Citation

Anand, Bharat, and David J. Collis. "The Virtues and Limitations of Dynamic Capabilities." Strategic Management Review 2, no. 1 (2021): 47–78.
  • Find it at Harvard

About The Authors

Bharat N. Anand

Strategy
→More Publications

David J. Collis

Strategy
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • October 2023
    • Faculty Research

    To Fizzle Out or Heat Up? PepsiCo and Coca-Cola’s SodaStream and Costa Coffee Acquisitions

    By: David Collis and Haisley Wert
    • June 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Komatsu and Smart Construction

    By: David J. Collis
    • June 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Siemens AG: A Private Equity Approach Within an Industrial Corporation?

    By: David J. Collis and Haisley Wert
More from the Authors
  • To Fizzle Out or Heat Up? PepsiCo and Coca-Cola’s SodaStream and Costa Coffee Acquisitions By: David Collis and Haisley Wert
  • Komatsu and Smart Construction By: David J. Collis
  • Siemens AG: A Private Equity Approach Within an Industrial Corporation? By: David J. Collis and Haisley Wert
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College