A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Why history matters: Micro-and macro-foundations in a corporate de alio spinoff
Authors: Kriz Alexandra, Eriksson Taina, Ketolainen Mari
Publisher: Elsevier
Publication year: 2021
Journal: Industrial Marketing Management
Journal name in source: INDUSTRIAL MARKETING MANAGEMENT
Journal acronym: IND MARKET MANAG
Volume: 95
First page : 142
Last page: 154
Number of pages: 13
ISSN: 0019-8501
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2021.03.005
Abstract
Much of the discussion surrounding dynamic capabilities has focused on mature and established corporate enterprises escaping core rigidities. Less understood is the role of dynamic capabilities in corporate spinoffs that represent a category of de alio ("from others"). These firms offer a novel context when investigating dynamic capabilities, as they are technically "new" firms yet demonstrate a level of establishment due to privileged access to resources from a corporate parent. We explore how incubation and attachment to a parent influences tacit and explicit transfer of resources and supports sensing and seizing in the early growth corporate de alio spinoff, promoting opportunities for transformation as the spinoff matures. Through an analysis of a longitudinal, empirical, illustrative case, we integrate Garnsey's Penrosean-inspired Theory of the Early Growth of the Firm with Teece's dynamic capabilities framework to illustrate how micro- and macro-foundations of dynamic capabilities unfold in a corporate de alio spinoff during incubation and following spinoff. This study builds an understanding of how corporate de alio spinoffs can more successfully navigate ambiguity by leveraging dynamic capabilities, the foundations of which emerge in a parent entity.
Much of the discussion surrounding dynamic capabilities has focused on mature and established corporate enterprises escaping core rigidities. Less understood is the role of dynamic capabilities in corporate spinoffs that represent a category of de alio ("from others"). These firms offer a novel context when investigating dynamic capabilities, as they are technically "new" firms yet demonstrate a level of establishment due to privileged access to resources from a corporate parent. We explore how incubation and attachment to a parent influences tacit and explicit transfer of resources and supports sensing and seizing in the early growth corporate de alio spinoff, promoting opportunities for transformation as the spinoff matures. Through an analysis of a longitudinal, empirical, illustrative case, we integrate Garnsey's Penrosean-inspired Theory of the Early Growth of the Firm with Teece's dynamic capabilities framework to illustrate how micro- and macro-foundations of dynamic capabilities unfold in a corporate de alio spinoff during incubation and following spinoff. This study builds an understanding of how corporate de alio spinoffs can more successfully navigate ambiguity by leveraging dynamic capabilities, the foundations of which emerge in a parent entity.