The Resource-Advantage Theory of Competition: Dynamics, Path Dependencies, and Evolutionary Dimensions

Abstract

The authors respond to the thoughtful concerns raised by Dickson (1996) about the issue of path dependencies and the dynamics of resource-advantage (R-A) theory ( Hunt and Morgan 1995 ). Rather than R-A theory and Dickson's work being inconsistent, the authors point out that Hunt and Morgan (1995) cite Dickson's (1992) work on two different occasions as support for the dynamics of R-A theory. Furthermore, because R-A theory proposes that firms seek superior financial performance, when combined with the fact that all firms cannot be superior at the same time, R-A competition necessarily is dynamic. Moreover, though the issue of path-dependencies is more contentious than Dickson suggests, R-A theory fully accommodates path dependencies, because it is an evolutionary, nonconsummatory theory.