The intention of this essay is to point out the key weaknesses of the resource-based view (RBV) and provide prescriptions for curing them. The authors begin with Gibbert’s (this issue) question of whether the RBV is ready for generalization and concluded generalizability is an inappropriate goal for the RBV. Furthermore, they believe that the RBV is simply not ready for generalization. They argue that the quest for generalizability is counter productive when applied to the RBV. Generalizability is not only the least relevant of the external validity criteria but also can only be assessed after valid operationalizations for constructs are developed across different contexts, industries, samples, and so on. Because they believe that RBV researchers have yet to achieve construct validity within their empirical testing, it appears to them that the RBV is simply not ready for generalizability. Finally, when they incorporate RBV developments that have occurred since Barney such as the knowledge-based view and dynamic capabilities, many arguments by Gibbert and others are rendered obsolete.
Barney, J. B. (1986). Strategic factor markets: Expectations, luck and business strategy. Management Science, 32, 1231-1241.
2.
Barney, J. B. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17, 99-120.
3.
Black, J. A., & Boal, K. B. (1994). Strategic resources: Traits, configurations, and paths to sustainable competitive advantage. Strategic Management Journal, 15(Special Issue), 131-148.
4.
Bromiley, P., & Fleming, L. (2002). The resource-based view of strategy: A behaviorist critique. In M. Augier & J. G. March (Eds.), The economics of choice, change and organization (pp. 319-336). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
5.
Bryk, A. S., & Raudenbush, S. W. (1992). Hierarchical linear models. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
6.
Calder, B. J., Phillips, L. W., & Tybout, A. M. (1981). Designing research for application. Journal of Consumer Research, 8, 197-207.
7.
Calder, B. J., Phillips, L. W., & Tybout, A. M. (1982). The concept of external validity. Journal of Consumer Research, 9, 240-244.
8.
Collis, D. J. (1994). Research note: How valuable are organizational capabilities?Strategic Management Journal, 15(Winter Special Issue), 143-152.
9.
Cook, T. D., & Campbell, D. T. (1979). Quasi-experimental design. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
10.
Cronbach, L. J. (1975). Beyond the two disciplines of scientific psychology. American Psychologist, 29, 116-127.
11.
Cyert, R. M., & March, J. C. (1963). A behavioral theory of the firm. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
12.
Demsetz, H. (1973). Industry structure, market rivalry, and public policy. Journal of Law and Economics, 16, 1-9.
13.
Dierickx, I., & Cool, K. (1989). Asset stock accumulation and sustainability of competitive advantage. Management Science, 35, 1504-1511.
14.
Eisenhardt, K., & Martin, J. (2000). Dynamic capabilities: What are they?Strategic Management Journal, 21, 1105-1121.
15.
Foss, N. J., Knudsen, C., & Montgomery, C. A. (1995). An exploration of common ground: Integrating evolutionary and strategic theories of the firm. In C. A. Montgomery (Ed.), Resource-based and evolutionary theories of the firm: Towards a synthesis (pp. 1-18). Norwell, MA: Kluwer.
16.
Gerstner, L. V. (2002). Who says elephants can’t dance? Inside IBM’s historic turnaround. New York: Harper Business.
17.
Gibbert, M. (2006). Generalizing about uniqueness: An essay on an apparent paradox in the resource-based view. Journal of Management Inquiry, 15(2), 124-134.
18.
Grant, R. (1996). Toward a knowledge-based theory of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 17, 123-136.
19.
Greene, W. H. (1997). Econometric analysis (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall
20.
Henderson, R., & Cockburn, I. (1994). Measuring competence? Exploring firm effects in pharmaceutical research. Strategic Management Journal, 15(Special Issue), 29-44.
21.
Henderson, R., & Cockburn, I. (1996). Scale, scope, and spillovers: The determinants of research productivity in drug discovery. Rand Journal of Economics, 27, 32-59.
22.
Hoopes, D. G., Madsen, T. J., & Walker, G. (2003). Guest editors introduction to the special issue: Why is there a resource-based view? Toward a theory of competitive heterogeneity. Strategic Management Journal, 24(Special Issue), 889-902.
23.
Jacobson, R. (1992). The “Austrian” school of strategy. Academy of Management Review, 17, 782-807.
24.
Kennedy, P. (1996). A guide to econometrics (3rd ed.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
25.
Kim, D., & Kogut, B. (1996). Technological platforms and diversification. Organization Science, 7, 283-301.
26.
Kogut, B., & Zander, U. (1992). Knowledge of the firm, combinative capabilities, and the replication of technology. Organization Science, 3, 383-397.
27.
Levinthal, D. A., & March, J. G. (1993). The myopia of learning. Strategic Management Journal, 14(Special Issue), 95-112.
28.
Levitas, E., & Chi, T. (2002). Rethinking Rouse and Daellenbach’s rethinking: Isolating versus testing for sources of sustainable competitive advantage. Strategic Management Journal, 23, 957-962.
29.
Lipmann, S., & Rumelt, R. (1982). Uncertain imitability: An analysis of interfirm differences in efficiency under competition. Bell Journal of Economics, 13, 418-438.
30.
Lynch, J. G. (1982). On the external validity of experiments in consumer research. Journal of Consumer Research, 9, 225-239.
31.
Makadok, R. (2001). Toward a synthesis of the resource-based and dynamic-capability views of rent creation. Strategic Management Journal, 22, 387-402.
32.
Nelson, R. R., & Winter, S. G. (1982). An evolutionary theory of economic change. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press.
33.
Nonaka, I. (1994). A dynamic theory of organizational knowledge creation. Organization Science, 5, 14-37.
34.
Penrose, E. T. (1959). The theory of the growth of the firm. New York: John Wiley.
35.
Peteraf, M. A. (1993). The cornerstones of competitive advantage: A resource-based approach. Strategic Management Journal14, 179-191.
36.
Peteraf, M. A., & Barney, J. B. (2003). Unraveling the resource-based tangle. Managerial and Decision Economics, 24, 309-323.
37.
Popper, K. R. (1968). The logic of scientific discovery. New York: Harper & Row.
38.
Porter, M. E. (1985). Competitive advantage: Creating and sustaining superior performance. New York: Free Press.
39.
Priem, R. L., & Butler, J. E. (2001). Is the resource-based “view” a useful perspective for strategic management research?Academy of Management Review, 26, 22-40.
40.
Rouse, M. J., & Daellenbach, U. S. (1999). Rethinking research methods for the resource-based perspective, isolating sources of sustainable competitive advantage, Strategic Management Journal, 20, 487-494.
41.
Rumelt, R. (1984). Towards a strategic theory of the firm. In R. Lamb (Ed.), Competitive strategic management (pp. 556-570). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
42.
Sirmon, D. G., Hitt, M. A., & Ireland, R. D. (in press). Managing firm resources in dynamic environments to create value: Looking inside the black box. Academy of Management Review.
43.
Sorensen, J. B., & Stuart, T. E. (2000). Aging, obsolescence and organizational innovation. Administrative Science Quarterly, 45, 81-112.
44.
Standard & Poor’s industry surveys. (2004, April). New York: McGraw-Hill.
45.
Teece, D., Pisano, G., & Shuen, A. (1997). Dynamic capabilities and strategic management. Strategic Management Journal, 18, 509-533.
46.
Webster’s encyclopedic unabridged dictionary of the English language. (1989). New York: Random House.
47.
Wernerfelt, B. (1984). A resource based view of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 5, 171-180.
48.
Williamson, O. E. (1975). Markets and hierarchies. New York: Free Press.
