Routines, dominant logic and market dynamism: Reconfiguration challenges in Alberta's oil sands
Date
2013-01-23
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Energy companies must adapt to a rapidly changing and, at times, unpredictable business context. In response, some companies are looking inside their organizations to capabilities that can be reconfigured to capitalize on opportunities that will improve their economic and environmental performance. I use the dynamic capabilities framework to conduct a variance study examining challenges to reconfiguring capabilities for new technology adoption in Alberta’s oil sands. I find that a lack of formalized routines and deliberate planning associated with an entrepreneurial dominant logic are antecedents to negative reconfiguration outcomes. Informal routines are difficult to transfer and result in a ‘non transfer’ of capabilities in reconfiguration. In addition, fast paced planning can lead to a negative transfer where existing capabilities are not applicable to the new opportunity. I further find that a high velocity market intensified by the unpredictability of the natural system moderate the impact of an entrepreneurial dominant logic in reconfiguration. By explicating the micro foundations of a dynamic capability for reconfiguration, I provide insights into the tension between sensing and seizing opportunities in an entrepreneurial, incumbent firm and capability reconfiguration. I diverge from the extant literature by considering an entrepreneurial, fast paced response to external opportunity rather than one constrained by inertia and core rigidities. Data for this study is generated from 71 interviews conducted through an in-depth case study stemming from a creative sentence order connected to environmental noncompliance at Suncor Energy, Canada’s largest integrated energy company.
Description
Keywords
Business Administration--Management
Citation
Van der Byl, C. A. (2013). Routines, dominant logic and market dynamism: Reconfiguration challenges in Alberta's oil sands (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/27696