An evolutionary perspective on capabilities for fluid product-markets: The contingent effects of routinization and renewal in marketing, R&D, and operations
研究提出能力异质性和适应性两个衡量企业更新能力与市场匹配的指标，基于771家企业的20年面板数据发现，在稳定市场中功能能力提升利润，而在流动市场中异质性和适应性更关键，营销能力则始终有益。
The performance benefits of functional capabilities in marketing, technology, and operations rely on their routinization in organizational processes, but these also require renewal in response to environmental change. This raises a fundamental tension: is it better to maximally develop functional capabilities that offer the highest contingent benefit in present market conditions, and/or to modify capabilities as conditions change? We propose two measures of a firm's ability to renew its functional capabilities to align with market conditions: capability heterogeneity (variation in extant capabilities) and capability adaptability (selection among these strategic options). In a 20-year panel of 771 firms, we find environmental change increases the importance of these aspects of how capabilities are managed relative to what capabilities a firm possesses: In stable product-markets, capability heterogeneity and adaptability incur significant costs whereas functional capabilities improve profitability. In contrast, functional capabilities can be detrimental in fluid product-markets whereas heterogeneity and adaptability increase profitability. Notably, marketing capability remains beneficial across environments, acting as a profitable alternative to capability heterogeneity and adaptability when future conditions are uncertain. This evolutionary perspective contributes to ongoing theoretical debates on the conceptualization and consequences of capabilities, with practical implications for mitigating the risks of excessive inertia or change.