The authors respond to the thoughtful concerns raised by Dickson (1996) about the issue of path dependencies and the dynamics of resource-advantage (R-A) theory (Hunt and Morgan 1995). Rather than R-A theory and Dickson's work being inconsistent, the authors point out that Hunt and Morgan (1995) cite Dickson's (1992) work on two different occasions as support for the dynamics of R-A theory. Furthermore, because R-A theory proposes that firms seek superior financial performance, when combined with the fact that all firms cannot be superior at the same time, R-A competition necessarily is dynamic. Moreover, though the issue of path-dependencies is more contentious than Dickson suggests, R-A theory fully accommodates path dependencies, because it is an evolutionary, nonconsummatory theory.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AghionPhillippe and HowittPeter, (1991), “A Model of Growth Through Creative Destruction,” Econometrica, 60 (March), 322–52.
2.
ArthurW. Brian (1989), “Competing Technologies, Increasing Returns, and Lock-in by Historical Events,” Economic Journal, 99 (1), 116–31.
3.
BarneyJay (1991), “Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage,” Journal of Management, 17 (1), 99–120.
4.
BlaugMark (1992). The Methodology of Economics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
5.
ChamberlinEdward (1933/1962), The Theory of Monopolistic Competition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
6.
ConnerKathleen (1991), “A Historical Comparison of Resource-Based Theory and Five Schools of Thought Within Industrial-Organization Economics: Do We Have a New Theory of the Firm?” Journal of Management, 17 (March), 121–54.
7.
DavidPaul A. (1985), “Clio and the Economics of QWERTY,” American Economic Review, 75 (2) 332–37.
8.
DayGeorge S. (1994), “Continuous Learning About Markets,” California Management Review, 36 (Summer), 9–31.
9.
DicksonPeter Reid (1992), “Toward a General Theory of Competitive Rationality,” Journal of Marketing, 56 (January), 69–83.
10.
DicksonPeter Reid (1996), “The Static and Dynamic Mechanics of Competition: A Comment on Hunt and Morgan's Comparative Advantage Theory,” Journal of Marketing, 60 (October), 102–106.
11.
DierickxIngemar and CoolKarel (1989), “Asset Stock Accumulation and Sustainability of Competitive Advantage,” Management Science, 35 (December), 1504–11.
12.
DosiGiovanni and NelsonRichard (1994), “An Introduction to Evolutionary Economic Theories,” Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 4 (September), 153–72.
13.
FossNicolai J. (1991), “The Suppression of Evolutionary Approaches in Economics: The Case of Marshall and Monopolistic Competition,” Methodus, 3 (December), 65–72.
14.
FriedmanMilton (1953), Essays in Positive Economics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
15.
GlazerRashi (1991), “Marketing in an Information-Intensive Environment: Strategic Implications of Knowledge as an Asset,” Journal of Marketing, 55 (October), 1–19.
16.
GrossmanGene and HelpmanElhanan (1991), Innovation and Growth in the Global Economy. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
17.
GrossmanGene (1994), “Endogenous Innovation in the Theory of Growth,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 8 (Winter), 23–44.
18.
HodgsonGeoffrey (1992), “The Reconstruction of Economics: Is There Still a Place for Neoclassical Theory?” Journal of Economic Issues, 26 (September), 749–67.
19.
HodgsonGeoffrey (1993), Economics and Evolution. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
20.
HuntShelby D. (1995), “The Resource-Advantage Theory of Competition: Toward Explaining Productivity and Economic Growth,” Journal of Management Inquiry, 4 (December), 317–32.
21.
HuntShelby D. (1996), “The Evolutionary and Neoclassical Traditions in Economics: Towards Narrowing the Gap,” unpublished working paper, Marketing Department, Texas Tech University.
22.
HuntShelby D. (forthcoming), “Resource-Advantage Theory: An Evolutionary Theory of Competitive Firm Behavior?” The Journal of Economic Issues.
23.
HuntShelby D. and MorganRobert M. (1995), “The Comparative Advantage Theory of Competition,” Journal of Marketing, 59 (April), 1–15.
24.
JacobsonRobert (1992), “The Austrian School of Strategy,” Academy of Management Review, 17 (4), 782–807.
25.
KatzMichael L. and ShapiroCarl (1985), “Network Externalities, Competition, and Compatability,” American Economic Review, 75 (3) 424–40.
26.
KellerMary Ann (1993), Collision: GM, Toyota, Volkswagen and the Race to Own the 21st Century. New York: Currency Doubleday.
27.
KirznerI. M. (1979), Perception, Opportunity and Profit: Studies in the Theory of Entrepreneurship. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
28.
LavinDouglas (1994), “Chrysler Is Now Lowest-Cost Producer in Auto Industry, Harbour Report Says,” Wall Street Journal, (June 23), B3.
29.
LavoieDon (1985), Rivalry and Economic Planning: The Socialist Calculation Debate Reconsidered. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
30.
LiebowitzS. J. and MargolisStephen E. (1990), “The Fable of the Keys,” Journal of Law and Economics, 33 (April), 1–25.
31.
LiebowitzS. J. (1994), “Network Externality: An Uncommon Tragedy,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 8 (2), 133–50.
32.
LiebowitzS. J. (1995), “Path Dependence, Lock-In, and History,” Journal of Law Organization and History, 7 (1), 205–26.
33.
LiebowitzS. J. (1996), “Typing Errors,” Reason, (June), 29–35.
34.
LippmanS. A. and RumeltR. P. (1982), “Uncertain Imitability,” Bell Journal of Economics, 13, 418–38.
35.
MarshallAlfred (1898), “Distribution and Exchange,” Economic Journal, 8 (1), 37–59.
36.
MarshallAlfred (1925), Principles of Economics, 8th ed. London: MacMillan.
37.
NelsonRichard R. (1995), “Recent Evolutionary Theorizing About Economic Change,” Journal of Economic Literature, 33 (March), 48–90.
38.
NelsonRichard R. and WinterSidney G. (1982), An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change. Cambridge, MA: Belknop Press.
39.
NorthD. C. (1990), Institutions, Institutional Change, and Economic Performance. Cambridge: University of Cambridge.
40.
PeterafMargaret A. (1993), “The Cornerstones of Competitive Advantage: A Resource-Based View,” Strategic Management Journal, 14 (3), 179–91.
41.
ReedRichard and DeFellippiRobert J. (1990), “Causal Ambiguity, Barriers to Imitation, and Sustainable Competitive Advantage,” Academy of Management Review, 15 (January), 88–117.
42.
RobinsonJoan (1934), The Economics of Imperfect Competition. London: Macmillan.
43.
RomerPaul M. (1986), “Increasing Returns and Long-Run Growth,” Journal of Political Economy, 94 (October), 1002–37.
44.
RomerPaul M. (1990), “Endogenous Technological Change,” Journal of Politician Economy, 98 (5), 71–102.
45.
RomerPaul M. (1993a), “Idea Gaps and Object Gaps in Economic Development,” Journal of Monetary Economics, 32, 543–73.
46.
RomerPaul M. (1993b), “Two Strategies for Economic Development: Using Ideas and Promoting Ideas,” in Proceedings of the World Bank Annual Conferences on Development Economics 1992, New York: World Bank, 63–115.
47.
RomerPaul M. (1994), “The Origins of Endogenous Growth,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 8 (Winter), 3–22.
48.
SchumpeterJ. A. (1950), Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. New York: Harper & Row.
49.
SinkulaJames M. (1994), “Market Information Processing and Organizational Learning,” Journal of Marketing, 58 (January), 34–15.
50.
SolowR. M. (1956), “A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 70 (February), 65–94.
51.
SolowR. M. (1994), “Perspectives on Growth Theory,” Journal of Economic Perspectives, 8 (Winter), 45–54.
