The performance benefits of functional capabilities in marketing, technology, and operations rely on their routinization in organizational processes, but these also require renewal in response to environmental change. This raises a fundamental tension: is it better to maximally develop functional capabilities that offer the highest contingent benefit in present market conditions, and/or to modify capabilities as conditions change? We propose two measures of a firm's ability to renew its functional capabilities to align with market conditions: capability heterogeneity (variation in extant capabilities) and capability adaptability (selection among these strategic options). In a 20-year panel of 771 firms, we find environmental change increases the importance of these aspects of how capabilities are managed relative to what capabilities a firm possesses: In stable product-markets, capability heterogeneity and adaptability incur significant costs whereas functional capabilities improve profitability. In contrast, functional capabilities can be detrimental in fluid product-markets whereas heterogeneity and adaptability increase profitability. Notably, marketing capability remains beneficial across environments, acting as a profitable alternative to capability heterogeneity and adaptability when future conditions are uncertain. This evolutionary perspective contributes to ongoing theoretical debates on the conceptualization and consequences of capabilities, with practical implications for mitigating the risks of excessive inertia or change.

中文翻译：

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流体产品市场能力的进化观点：营销、研发和运营中常规化和更新的或有效应


营销、技术和运营方面的功能能力的绩效优势取决于它们在组织流程中的常规化，但这些也需要更新以应对环境变化。这引发了一个根本性的紧张关系：在当前市场条件下，最大限度地发展提供最高或有利益的功能能力，和/或根据条件的变化修改能力更好吗？我们提出了衡量公司更新其功能能力以适应市场条件的两种指标：能力异质性（现有能力的变化）和能力适应性（在这些战略选项中进行选择）。在一个由 771 家公司组成的 20 年小组中，我们发现环境变化增加了相对于公司拥有的能力如何管理能力的以下方面的重要性：在稳定的产品市场中，能力异质性和适应性会产生巨大的成本，而功能能力可以提高盈利能力。相比之下，功能能力在流体产品市场中可能是有害的，而异质性和适应性可以提高盈利能力。值得注意的是，营销能力在各种环境中仍然是有益的，当未来条件不确定时，它可以作为能力异质性和适应性的有利可图替代方案。这种进化的观点有助于正在进行的关于能力的概念化和后果的理论辩论，对减轻过度惯性或变化的风险具有实际意义。