Learning, knowledge and dynamic capabilities: theoretical implications for competitiveness and innovation in the 21st century

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to support dynamic capabilities as a strategic tool for company management. We will begin by illustrating the evolution that can be discerned in the process of developing competitive advantage as a result of the organisation s internal analysis. In a first stage, interest was centred on understanding the nature of the firm s assets, and knowing which conditions would make it possible to turn them into lasting and sustainable sources of competitive advantage. During a second phase, interest was shifted towards the dynamic processes of generation, development and accumulation of assets. In this sense, dynamic capabilities are those which allow managers to activate and redirect the complex framework of influential economic and organisational factors, thus helping control the company s evolution and enhancing the organisation s wealth of opportunity. Dynamic capabilities are therefore key factors in optimising innovation and the overall strategic course of the company s future.