Knightian uncertainty and risk : A basis for untangling dynamic capabilities from operational capabilities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a new way to distinguish a firm’s dynamic capabilities from operational capabilities. Design/methodology/approach – Conceptual paper/literature review. Findings – Current literature on dynamic capabilities posits that dynamic capabilities are those firm capabilities that can induce change in other capabilities, while operational capabilities are static. Distinguishing between these capabilities in this manner is not helpful because changes occur continuously in all capabilities to at least some extent. In addition, empirical studies show that even task-level operational capabilities can change on their own and can induce change in other capabilities. In contrast to focussing on the presence or lack of change to determine if a capability is dynamic or operational, this paper distinguishes between them by determining a priori the expected nature of the outcome. By focussing on the outcomes of change rather than the changes themselves, this paper proposes that capabilities should be considered operational if they produce outcomes that can be predicted using probability distribution while those capabilities that produce outcomes that cannot be predicted using probability distribution should be considered dynamic. Research limitations/implications – Future research on dynamic capabilities should not only investigate whether or not change is occurring, but the outcome of change to understand whether a change is precipitated by dynamic or operational capabilities. Originality/value – Existing dynamic capabilities literature is unclear about how to distinguish between dynamic capabilities from operational capabilities. Previous research attempts to distinguish these capabilities by arguing dynamic capabilities are those firm capabilities that can induce change in other capabilities, while operational capabilities are static and do not induce change. This is not particularly helpful. A clear distinction between dynamic and operational capabilities could facilitate further advancement of the dynamic capability literature; this study makes a rudimentary effort to distinguish between them.