Methodological Individualism and the Organizational Capabilities Approach

Abstract

Abstract\nDuring the last decade, strategy scholars have increasingly converged on organizational\ncapabilities as a key construct in strategy research. We explicate some of the underlying,\nunstated assumptions of current capabilities-based work by drawing on seminal work in the\nphilosophy of social science, particularly the debate between methodological individualism\nand collectivism. We argue that a number of explanatory anomalies as well as the apparent\nlack of progress in capabilities-based work are partly due to much of capabilities-based\nwork being based on collectivist notions that sidestep critical individual-level\nconsiderations, including individual action and heterogeneity. In this note we do not deny\nor reject the notion of routines or capabilities per se, but rather call for an increased\nemphasis on how these collective structures originate and change as a result of individual\nactions.\n\nKey words: Organizational capabilities, methodological individualism, philosophy of\nsocial science