The profitability and growth of business firms is increasingly dependent upon the development and astute deployment of intangible (knowledge) assets. Wealth creation in an open world economy depends critically on technological innovation, and this in turn involves developing, owning, and astutely orchestrating knowledge assets and intellectual property. This is what is meant by dynamic capabilities. The value‐enhancing skills required in management are gravitating away from the administrative towards the entrepreneurial. The determinants of a firm's innovative capacity are rooted in organizati ... More

The profitability and growth of business firms is increasingly dependent upon the development and astute deployment of intangible (knowledge) assets. Wealth creation in an open world economy depends critically on technological innovation, and this in turn involves developing, owning, and astutely orchestrating knowledge assets and intellectual property. This is what is meant by dynamic capabilities. The value‐enhancing skills required in management are gravitating away from the administrative towards the entrepreneurial. The determinants of a firm's innovative capacity are rooted in organizational design, incentives, human resources, internal culture, and external linkages. Profiting from innovation is always a challenge, requiring the right business model, integration strategy, and organizational form. Licensing is one of many ways to capture value from innovation, but is generally not the most profitable, except when intellectual property rights are secure. Imitators are prolific and the survival and prosperity of the innovator requires the astute orchestration of intellectual property rights, and complementary assets. Managers designing market entry strategies must also be mindful of the evolution of standards. This book develops the principles involved in firm management and illustrates the interplay of these ideas.