Where do new resources come from? We build on the premise that environments feature vast reservoirs of latent resources, uses and resource combinations. However, identifying this value can be costly and difficult. In this paper we consider the thought experiment of an endowment-less firm and how...

This paper outlines the theory-based view of strategy and markets. We argue that novel or “great” strategies come from theories. Entrepreneurs and managers originate theories and hypotheses about which activities they should engage in, which assets they might buy, and how they will create...

This article features an interdisciplinary debate and dialogue about the nature of mind, perception, and rationality. Scholars from a range of disciplines — cognitive science, applied and experimental psychology, behavioral economics, and biology — offer critiques and commentaries of a...

The purpose of this article is to suggest a (preliminary) taxonomy and research agenda for the topic of “firms, crowds, and innovation” and to provide an introduction to the associated special issue. We specifically discuss how various crowd-related phenomena and practices — for example,...

To truly create new value, you need a theory. A theory helps you see what others can't see. Contrarian or unique beliefs provide the underlying raw material of a firm's theory of value. But beliefs are just rhetoric and cheap talk, unless you identify the specific obstacles and problems that...

How can organizations put dynamic capabilities into practice? We focus on the power of organizational design, showing how managers can harness new organizational forms to build a capacity for sensing, shaping and seizing opportunities. Fast-moving environments favor open organization and...

In this paper we address the hard problem of search. Search is a pervasive phenomenon of biological and economic life. But search is hard—especially in uncertain and dynamic environments. We develop a generalized form of question-answer probing as a way of simplifying search, with implications...

The concept of bounded rationality—and the work of Herbert Simon, Daniel Kahneman, Richard Thaler, and many others in behavioral economics—has provided a much-needed counterweight to rational expectations theory in economics. In this chapter we revisit the contrast between rational...

In the extant organizational, management, and strategy literatures there are now frequent calls for microfoundations. However, there is little consensus on what microfoundations are and what they are not. In this paper we first (briefly) review the history of the microfoundations discussion and...