While traveling brings economic opportunities while climate change, resource depletion and the rapid growth of tourist numbers threaten the communities and ecology in the destination. Concerns about these threats require the sustainability of tourism in the destination, where local enterprises as the major players are encouraged to lead change by adopting sustainable innovation. As the major players in tourism destinations, the contribution of sustainable innovation activities of NBT enterprises to the sustainable destinations development is greatly underestimated and there are few studies on the sustainable innovation of NBT enterprises employed in existing literatures. Thus, the purpose of this study is to reveal dynamic capabilities and processes of sustainable innovation of NBT enterprises. Based on the triple classification of the dynamic capabilities of Teece-model (2007) and the five key phases of enterprise development and ‘critical junctures’ of Vohora-model (2004), this study proposes a model of NBT sustainable innovation process and determines some important activities in the innovation process. This study provides suggestions on how to balance business growth and investment in sustainable innovation in order to achieve long-term development of the enterprise, and foreshadows possible challenges and important activities. This study also provides guidance for the government and other authorities on how to encourage and support NBT development.

While traveling brings economic opportunities while climate change, resource depletion and the rapid growth of tourist numbers threaten the communities and ecology in the destination. Concerns about these threats require the sustainability of tourism in the destination, where local enterprises as the major players are encouraged to lead change by adopting sustainable innovation. As the major players in tourism destinations, the contribution of sustainable innovation activities of NBT enterprises to the sustainable destinations development is greatly underestimated and there are few studies on the sustainable innovation of NBT enterprises employed in existing literatures. Thus, the purpose of this study is to reveal dynamic capabilities and processes of sustainable innovation of NBT enterprises. Based on the triple classification of the dynamic capabilities of Teece-model (2007) and the five key phases of enterprise development and ‘critical junctures’ of Vohora-model (2004), this study proposes a model of NBT sustainable innovation process and determines some important activities in the innovation process. This study provides suggestions on how to balance business growth and investment in sustainable innovation in order to achieve long-term development of the enterprise, and foreshadows possible challenges and important activities. This study also provides guidance for the government and other authorities on how to encourage and support NBT development.

In today’s fast changing business environment, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) need to seize the technological opportunities that this environment provides, by developing dynamic capabilities to build and attain high performance. This dissertation looks at the effect that technological opportunism has on the performance of SMEs in Namibia. In addition, the dissertation looks at the mediating role of dynamic capabilities on the relationship between technological opportunism and SMEs. The study draws from the dynamic capabilities view for theoretical context. The literature reviewed enabled the development of a conceptual model, which further contributes to theory. Data is drawn from a random sample of 209 SMEs located in Namibia. Results from the regression analysis suggest that the effect of technological opportunism on the performance of SMEs is partially mediated by dynamic capabilities. For the three capabilities assessed, the learning and integrative capabilities have a partial mediating effect on the link between technological opportunism and performance, while the transformative capability does not mediate this relationship. The study offers important academic and business implications, and also points out future research directions. The findings serve as a guide to best improve the work done in this sector, with an emphasis on how to best develop SMEs’ capabilities with regard to new technology initiatives, aimed at improving SMEs. SME owners are encouraged to build capacity, embrace partnerships and develop capabilities that results in better performance.

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The gap between the relatively static marketing resources of a firm and the turbulent marketplace is growing in importance for both practitioners and academics alike. This paper explores how marketing capabilities, specifically market orientation, work synergistically with other organizational capabilities to form dynamic marketing capabilities that enhance firm innovativeness. Findings indicate that a tight integration between the technical and marketing functions of a firm creates a fertile transformation point, where market orientation infuses the innovation process. Market orientation interacts with these integrated capabilities to form a dynamic marketing capability that enhances the organization's innovativeness. Implications include how these dynamic marketing capabilities differ between service and manufacturing firms, where only the cultural aspects of market orientation enhance performance in service firms.

Yes / This paper examines the relationship between open innovation (OI) practices (inbound and coupled) and innovation performance in service firms. Specifically, it invokes a dynamic capabilities perspective to propose the differential moderating effects of two forms of reconfiguration capabilities, strategic reconfiguration capability (SRC) and operational reconfiguration capability (ORC), on the focal relationship. Based on a sample of service sector firms drawn from the UK Community Innovation Survey, our analysis shows the positive combinative effects of SRC and coupled OI on radical innovation outcomes and those of ORC and coupled OI on incremental innovation outcomes. The findings of differential moderating effects underscore the need to assess the boundary conditions within which OI positively impacts on innovation outcomes and offer insights to managers on the importance of strategic and operational reconfiguration capabilities for achieving better innovation outcomes from OI practices.

This thesis examines the impact of dynamic capabilities on the global strategy of multinational corporations (MNCs), focusing on decisions related to creating capabilities, entering markets, and positioning for competitive advantage. Based on the Dynamic Capability View, and Commitment and Knowledge development, the study examines how dynamic capabilities influence strategic decisions in a company’s global strategy. Using a qualitative method with secondary data, the research uses a case study of Northvolt to demonstrate its findings. The outcomes highlight the crucial role of dynamic capabilities in shaping the global strategy of MNCs. In particular, Northvolt's strategic alliances, partnerships, and acquisitions have facilitated knowledge acquisition necessary for enhancing capabilities and expansion in the battery market. The study emphasizes the significance of dynamic capabilities in guiding the strategic direction of MNCs. Additionally, recommendations are provided for future researchers, urging them to explore the impact of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, the role of cultural diversity in cross-cultural management, and longitudinal studies to evaluate sustained competitive advantage.

The public sector needs the capacity for continual improvement and innovation. Cybersecurity threats against U.S. federal civilian agencies and national critical infrastructure stand out as a major problem area requiring agile and timely responses. Moreover, curbing ransomware attacks directed towards uniquely vulnerable domains, such as healthcare, education, and local government poses a particularly vexing policy challenge for government leaders. In three discrete essays, this dissertation examines management theories applied to the public sector and cybersecurity. The first two essays investigate a public management approach for improvement and innovation based on dynamic capabilities - that is, the organizational capacity to observe, understand, learn, and react in a transformational manner. The first essay of this dissertation presents a systematic literature review of empirical research on dynamic capabilities in the public sector which indicates clear benefits from the employment of dynamic capabilities through impacts on organizational capabilities, innovation, organizational change, operational performance, and public value. Building upon that literature review, the second essay of this dissertation applies archival data research and first-person interviews to examine the pivotal role played by dynamic capabilities in facilitating the generation and deployment of innovative cybersecurity approaches among the federal civilian agencies. This novel research identified and categorized dynamic capabilities in action and assessed their operational influence, specifically inter- and intra-agency collaboration, strategic planning, governance, and signature processes. The third essay of this dissertation was the first-ever documented system dynamics model of the ransomware ecosystem to understand incident trend patterns and provide insight into policy decisions. Simulation showed improvement by mandating incident reporting, reducing reporting delays, and strengthening passive defenses, but unexpectedly not by capping ransom payments. / Doctor of Philosophy / The public sector needs the capacity for continual improvement and innovation. Cybersecurity threats against U.S. federal civilian agencies and national critical infrastructure stand out as a major problem area requiring agile and timely responses. Moreover, curbing ransomware attacks directed towards uniquely vulnerable domains, such as healthcare, education, and local government poses a particularly vexing policy challenge for government leaders. In three discrete essays, this dissertation examines management theories applied to the public sector and cybersecurity. The first two essays investigate a public management approach for improvement and innovation based on dynamic capabilities - that is, the organizational capacity to observe, understand, learn, and react in a transformational manner. This dissertation first presents a review of prior research on dynamic capabilities in the public sector which indicates clear operational benefits. In the following essay, this dissertation examines the pivotal role played by dynamic capabilities in facilitating the generation and deployment of innovative cybersecurity approaches among the federal civilian agencies. The third essay of this dissertation highlights the simulation of the ransomware ecosystem to better understand incident trend patterns and provide insight into policy decisions such mandatory reporting requirements and defensive measures.

Background The growth of global e-commerce along with technology and information adoption has driven the international expansions of retail firms. Even though e-commerce companies (ECCs) are changing the way businesses operate and generally have fewer physical barriers to new markets, they still face numerous challenges while internationalizing. Dynamic capabilities are found to have an impact on the internationalization process of ECCs, where exploitative and explorative dynamic capabilities will be the focus of this study. This topic is particularly relevant for the fashion industry since the industry has the characteristics of being highly dynamic, global and complex. Therefore, this paper will focus on the internationalization process of ECCs in the fashion industry. Purpose Due to limited research regarding the internationalization process of ECCs, the purpose of this study is to seek a deeper understanding concerning the internationalization process of fashion ECCs. In particular, in what way exploitative and explorative dynamic capabilities affect the internationalization process of fashion ECCs and how they use these capabilities. Method This is a qualitative study with an abductive research approach. Furthermore, the empirical data was collected from semi-structured in-depth interviews with six international fashion ECCs. Conclusion One main conclusion that can be drawn from this study is that all the ECCs use both exploitative and explorative dynamic capabilities in their internationalization, and hence, ambidexterity is achieved. Moreover, language, logistics and payment method are three major factors used in both activities and could be an explanation for how fashion ECCs use their exploitative and explorative dynamic capabilities when internationalizing.

Abstract For a small and medium size firm (SME), expansion into new foreign markets is a remarkable milestone, requiring specific resources and capabilities. The purpose of this study is to explore how management in internationalizing small and medium-size firms allocate their limited resources between key functions, in particular, between marketing and R&D. This thesis builds on a resource-based view of the firm, a dynamic capabilities perspective, and the SME internationalization literature, and therefore assumes that a firm’s success in foreign markets is closely related to its internal resource and capability configurations. The findings of this study suggest that SMEs need a capability portfolio in which the relative importance of key capabilities varies as international expansion proceeds. It appears that throughout the international expansion process, investments in developing R&D capabilities do not notably decrease, not even at the time when SMEs need to begin to develop other activities, such as marketing. Closer examination reveals that investments in the capabilities’ underlying microfoundations, rather than the resource allocation between the key functions per se, determine the nature of the resulting competitive advantage. Cross-border mergers are specific situations that reveal the strong influence of function-specific microfoundations on functional capabilities and thus, on an SME’s dynamic capabilities. The results of this study show that in merger deals, each firm comes with distinctive cross-functional structures, processes, routines, and skills. Synergies might not be capitalized if management is not able to effectively align merging firms’ underlying microfoundations. The results in this thesis underline the invaluable role of SMEs’ management. The findings show that even if the different phases of international expansion require diverse managerial capabilities, unanimity among the top management team executives is needed (surprisingly) only when these SMEs are making substantial resource commitments. Such adoption to changing conditions is an illustration of dynamic managerial capabilities that partly determines success in international markets. / Tiivistelmä Pienelle yritykselle kansainvälistyminen on merkittävä virstanpylväs, joka edellyttää erityisiä resursseja ja kyvykkyyksiä. Tässä työssä on tarkoitus tutkia, kuinka pienen kansainvälistyvän yrityksen johto kohdentaa yrityksen rajallisia resursseja tuotekehitys- ja markkinointifunktioihin. Väitöskirjassa oletetaan, että pienten ja keskisuurten yritysten menestyminen kansainvälisillä markkinoilla liittyy olennaisesti yritysten käytössä oleviin resursseihin ja kyvykkyyksiin, ja tästä johtuen väitöskirjan teoreettinen osa rakennetaan resurssiteorian, dynaamisten kyvykkyyksien teorian sekä pienten yritysten kansainvälistymistä koskevien tutkimuksien yhdistelmänä. Työn tulokset osoittavat, että pienet yritykset tarvitsevat erityisen kyvykkyysportfolion, jossa eri kyvykkyyksien suhteellinen osuus muuttuu yrityksen kansainvälistymisen edetessä. Näyttäisi siltä, että yritysten investoinnit tuotekehitykseen eivät juuri pienene silloinkaan, kun yritykset aloittavat markkinointiin panostamisen. Lähempi tarkastelu kuitenkin osoittaa, että investoinnit eri funktioihin eivät sinänsä määrää syntyvää kilpailuetua, vaan edun luonne määräytyy sen mukaan, kuinka resurssit kohdennetaan taustalla oleviin kyvykkyyksien (mikro)rakenteisiin. Kansainväliset yrityskaupat ovat erityisiä tapahtumia jotka paljastavat funktiokohtaisten mikrorakenteiden merkittävän vaikutuksen. Työn tulokset osoittavat, että kussakin yksittäisessä fuusioituvassa yrityksessä on omanlaisensa, ajan myötä funktioiden välille muotoutuneet rakenteet, prosessit ja käytänteet. Yrityskauppojen hyödyt voivat jäädä saavuttamatta ellei näitä fuusioituvien yritysten funktioiden välisiä mikrorakenteita saada sujuvasti sulautettua yhteen. Tutkimustulokset korostavat pienen yrityksen johdon merkitystä. Kasvu kansainvälisillä markkinoilla vaatii johdolta erityistä kyvykkyyttä, mutta hieman yllättäen tulokset osoittavat, että johtoryhmän jäsenten yksimielisyys on tärkeää vain niissä kasvun vaiheissa, jotka edellyttävät erityisen merkittäviä sitoumuksia. Tällainen muuttuviin olosuhteisiin sopeutuminen on hyvä osoitus johdon dynaamisista kyvykkyyksistä, jotka osaltaan määräävät yrityksen menestymisen kansainvälisillä markkinoilla.