Mark Mallon authors article on dynamic capabilities and competitive advantage

The assistant professor of strategic management’s research appears in the Journal of Management Studies, one of the Financial Times’ top 50 business journals.

Mark Mallon, assistant professor of strategic management in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business, recently published research in the Journal of Management Studies.

In “When do Dynamic Capabilities Lead to Competitive Advantage? The Importance of Strategic Fit,” Mallon and co-authors Stav Fainshmidt, Lucas Wenger and Amir Pezeshkan share their configurational theoretical framework – underpinned by the mechanism of strategic fit – wherein dynamic capabilities lead to a competitive advantage when they support a strategic orientation appropriate for the levels of dynamism and munificence in an organization’s environment.

Results of a fuzzy‐set Qualitative Comparative Analysis using primary data show that dynamic capabilities lead to a competitive advantage in dynamic, munificent environments by enabling the combination of differentiation and low‐cost orientations, the authors show. In stable, non‐munificent environments, dynamic capabilities are effective in support of a low‐cost orientation.

Overall, the study shows the relationship between dynamic capabilities and competitive advantage is contingent upon the strategic fit between organizational and environmental factors.

The Journal of Management Studies is included in the Financial Times list of the top 50 business journals. It publishes innovative empirical and conceptual articles, advancing knowledge of management and organizations.