The recent financial crisis of 2008 has caused significant turbulence in the financial sector and the strategic direction of a number of banking organizations. To survive situations characterised by adversity and changing institutions, various organisations in the sector needed to renew their legitimacy with diverse groups of stakeholders and to refocus their business models into more sustainable ones requiring change and development in the company’s operational capabilities. Recent scholarly interest in the study of organisational and more specifically dynamic capabilities has focused on exploring the development processes through such capabilities emerge. However, the recent literature has been focused much more on the conceptual nature of capabilities rather than on offering empirically grounded accounts on how a specific type of an organisational capability is developed and transforms in line with the changing institutional contexts, and fluctuating levels of environmental uncertainty. Scant attention has been paid to the relationship between institutional change and the capability development process. In order to shed light on the development of such capabilities, this study specifies the micro-foundations of the capability development process and illustrates the relationships between the development process and the changing institutional context through a multilevel of analysis. Explicitly, it aims to find out how and what micro-foundations participate in the development of a sustainability-banking capability and how the changing institutional and market contexts and its dynamics influence the development process. This work is a phenomenon-driven study, which centres its empirical and theoretical contributions in the exploration of the case of the Royal Bank of Scotland – a particularly interesting case of an organisation, which has survived a near-death experience during times of immense institutional turbulence. The selected company case is special for the richness of organisational changes that assisted in tracing the main events and processes in which dynamic capabilities emerge. Inductively, this research study found ‘sustainability-banking’ capability to be conductive for the explored case company’s adaptation in the rapidly changing context of the financial crisis of 2008. To respond to the research questions and meet the research objectives, the work follows a process research methodology, involving the triangulation of multiple sources of primary and secondary qualitative data, collected both in real-time and retrospectively of the observed longitudinal period 2004-2012. The adopted process analysis revealed three key phases through which sustainability banking capability which emerged in the context of Royal Bank of Scotland, accordingly Phase One: The Philanthropic route (2004-2007), Phase Two: The Responsive engagement route (2008-2009) and Phase Three: The Stakeholder co-creation route (2010-2012). Each one of the charted phases of development pictures diverse set of micro-foundations constituted the company’s capability diachronically (over time) and synchronically (across levels and layers of learning). The research indicates that the capability development process is a complex process moderated by changing market environment and the presence of a number of institutional and market inhibitors and accelerators which moderate the occurring micro-foundational transformations. By illustrating the transformations in the micro-foundations of the explored capability, the research work casts light on the temporal changes that accompany capability learning, which affect the capability nature and unfold into different forms of capabilities – ordinary, transitional and dynamic. The key finding of this study is that the variability in the alignment of micro-foundational constructs defines the form and the function of the observed organizational capability – sustainability-banking capability. Although drawing on macro-institutional perspective to demonstrate the types of institutional pressures, which trigger changes in individual and organizational behaviours and processes, this research study contributes primarily to the organisational capability literature. First, the main contribution of this thesis is the development of a novel process model perspective of sustainability-banking capability in the context of institutional and market changes. The process model indicates the interactions between individual-based, process-based and structure-based micro-foundations and how this interaction, alignment, between their capability micro-foundations changes in the course of social, political and regulatory disruptions in the sector, which either inhibit or accelerate these transformations. Secondly, the observed processes of interaction suggest how an operational capability can escalate to become a dynamic capability, which has not been mapped in the field of study. Previously, scholars (e.g. Helfat and Winter, 2011) have suggested conceptually the possible existence of dual-purpose or multiple variant capabilities where the complication of drawing a line between operational and dynamic capabilities occurs due to the speed of change they enable in organisations. Within the context and content of study – sustainability-banking capability at the Royal Bank of Scotland, this study demonstrates the existence of what is entitled in the thesis as a “transitional capability”, which responds to the recent call for research work in this domain. Scholars have suggested that sometimes the low pace in which changes occur can disguise one capability as operational but in fact it can have a dynamic variant when it is explored longitudinally. The analysis of the findings in the second stage of capability development proves that the contrary can be also true. Although previously the literature has associated radical changes somehow instantly with dynamic capabilities, the analysis suggest that extremely turbulent exogenous shocks can lead to internal disturbances and misalignment in the relationship between some of the micro-foundations composing them which on the other hand can constrain the level of impact that the capability under study has in the process of organisational adaptation and development. The third contribution of this work is methodological which is accomplished by the adoption of a process methodology and a ‘hybrid’ strategy of processual data analysis, which complements the existing variance research stream in the study of organisational capability, which is predominately positivist in nature. Lastly but not the least important, this phenomenon-driven research contributes to the recent call in the strategic management field for exploring “bigger issues”, such as the global financial crisis which are often a “window of opportunity” and lead to relevant knowledge for managerial practice, citizens and policy makers.

Although organisational capabilities have been recognised as a key source of competitive advantage, the empirical understanding of marketing capability and its associated components is still relatively under-developed. There is little consistency in approaching what constitutes organisational marketing capability, proposed conceptual frameworks have not been empirically tested and little attention has been paid to how organisational marketing capabilities are developed over the longer term. The purpose of this study was to empirically test how proposed conceptual frameworks of marketing capabilities match real-life organisational marketing capabilities, explore which marketing resources act as inputs into marketing capability and how these resources are transformed into marketing capability. The following key questions were answered: what are components of marketing capability in real-life organisational contexts, what resources inputs does it incorporate and how are these resources transformed into capabilities? This study employed an innovative (in this theoretical context) multiple embedded case study design using multiple data sources to provide a rich and detailed understanding of marketing capability. The target population for the cases was any South African organisation marketing products and services to domestic consumers/ customers. Based on this definition, four company cases were identified, representing the two target groups (business to business and business to customer) as well as products and services. Data was derived from 22 in-depth interviews with multiple interviews conducted for each case, as well as documentation and archival records. This study contributes at the theoretical level by developing a framework of marketing capability and sub-capabilities, providing an enhanced understanding of the nature of marketing knowledge resources underpinning marketing capability and outlining the mechanisms that integrate marketing knowledge resources in the development of marketing capability and sub-capabilities. At practitioner level, the findings can contribute to enhancing effective marketing within organisations by providing a route to building stronger underlying marketing capabilities, which in turn will improve competitiveness. / Thesis (DBA)--University of Pretoria, 2018. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / DBA / Unrestricted

Much has been written about the benefits to be derived from maximising organisational capability as a means of increasing competitive advantage, establishing human resource functions as a strategic partner and improving stakeholder satisfaction. However, there is very little in the research on how organisations build their organisational capability (OC). This thesis explores how developments in our understanding of strategic planning and human resource practices have contributed to a focus in organisations on building their organisational capability. The emergence of the resource-based theory of the firm, together with changes in human resource practices in job analysis, performance management and staff development has laid the foundation for organisational capability. A Model of Organisational Capability is proposed that explores how systems and processes can be aligned to maximize core organisational capability. Three research questions emerge from the literature and the Model: *How do organisations define their Strategic Intent Domain? *How can organisations define their Core OCs? *How do organisations embed their OCs into their Job Context, Organisational Systems and Knowledge Networks Enablers? These questions are explored by examining an Australian University utilising a participatory action research methodology. The study focused on how the organisation engaged senior managers to develop an organisational capability framework and agreed on a strategy to embed the capabilities in HR practice. As a result, this thesis presents a step-by-step process for organisations seeking to build their Core Organisational Capability. Practitioners wishing to maximize their organisational capability can draw on the Model of Organisational Capability, step-by-step process and contextual principles, to assist them to engage with the organisation to explore an organisational capability agenda.

In our knowledge-intensive economy, charismatic managers of organisations are increasingly adopting innovation and knowledge management strategic imperatives to improve products and services for service delivery and competitive edge. However, organisations implementing homogeneous and intellectual resource organisational capabilities such as Innovation Capability (INNO) and Knowledge Management Capability (KMC) suffer inertia, lack of understanding and organisational capability inefficiencies caused by multiple influences, complex building blocks and depleted organisational capability. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to examine if Organisational Capability Efficiency (OCE) is improved by aligning/synthesising organisational capabilities when implementing Innovation Capability and Knowledge Management Capability in organisations. The main objective of the study was to develop a conceptual framework for the alignment of Innovation Capability (INNO) and Knowledge Management Capability (KMC) that would assist managers in organisations during implementation to improve Organisational Capability Efficiency (OCE). This study adopted a positivist research philosophy. The variables derived from the theory for this study were Innovation Capability (INNO), Knowledge Management Capability (KMC) and Organisational Capability Efficiency (OCE). An in-depth literature review was undertaken to develop the constructs for the conceptual research model. The hypothesis and research questions were developed from the theory. The variables were operationalised into definable measurable indicators and a research survey instrument was used to measure the variables and operationalise the indicators to test the hypothesis. Quantitative research was used in this exploratory study and data were collected from a representative sample. No sampling was done in this study because the researcher conducted a census survey. A semi-structured questionnaire, mainly utilising the five-point Likert scale, was used to collect data. The target population consisted of all organisations, including national government departments, state-owned enterprises and listed SA companies engaged in innovation and knowledge management in South Africa. The data were analysed statistically, primarily by means of factor analysis, to determine the significant factors that contributed to the validation of the conceptual framework. The Structured Equation Model in chapter 4 (figure 4.7), which shows the interrelationships between Innovation Capability, Knowledge Management Capability and Organisational Capability Efficiency, and the conceptual framework described in chapter 5 (section 5.3.1), which offers insight into the aligned/synthesised implementation of Innovation Capability and Knowledge Management Capability are considered to be contributions to the body of knowledge. In terms of the research result, it is recommended that organisations implementing Innovation Capability consider Knowledge Management Capability concepts and, where applicable, align/synthesise them with the appropriate Innovation Capability, using their order of importance to prioritise implementation for the organisation and attain Organisational Capability Efficiency. It was found that implementing Innovation Capability and Knowledge Management Capability separately did not produce Organisational Capability Efficiency. However, aligning/synthesising Innovation Capability and Knowledge Management Capability coherently allowed managers and practitioners to achieve cohesive implementation strategies, optimised utilisation of resources, reduced redundancy of effort, improved investments and accessibility to scarce and skilled resources. / In die hedendaagse kennisekonomie gee charismatiese maatskappybestuurders voorkeur aan innovering en kennisbestuur om hulle organisasies se produkte en dienste te verbeter en ʼn mededingende voordeel te behaal. Organisasies wat homogene en intellektuele hulpbronvermoëns, soos Innoveringsvermoë (INNO) en Kennisbestuursvermoë (KBV), implementeer, openbaar egter mettertyd ʼn traagheid, ʼn gebrekkige begrip en ondoeltreffendheid as gevolg van verskeie invloede, waaronder ingewikkelde boustene en verminderde organisasievermoëns. Daarom probeer hierdie studie vasstel of Organisasievermoëdoeltreffendheid (OVD) verbeter indien organisasievermoëns gekorreleer of gesintetiseer kan word deur Innoveringsvermoë en Kennisbestuursvermoë in organisasies te implementeer. Die doel van hierdie studie was om ʼn konseptuele raamwerk vir die korrelering van Innoveringsvermoë (INNO) en Kennisbestuurvermoë (KBV) te ontwikkel wat tydens die implementering van Organisasievermoëdoeltreffendheid (OVD) vir maatskappybestuurders van nut kan wees. Hierdie studie het ʼn positiwistiese navorsingsbenadering gevolg. Die veranderlikes wat uit die teorie afgelei is, is Innoveringsvermoë (INNO), Kennisbestuursvermoë (KBV) en Organisasievermoëdoeltreffendheid (OVD). Die literatuur is grondig bestudeer om die konstrukte van die konseptuele navorsingsmodel te ontwikkel. Die hipotese en navorsingsvrae het uit die teorie voortgespruit. ʼn Navorsingsopname-instrument is gebruik om die veranderlikes te meet en in omskryfbare en meetbare aanwysers te operasionaliseer ten einde die hipotese te toets. Kwantitatiewe navorsing is in hierdie verkennende studie onderneem, en data is uit ʼn verteenwoordigende steekproef versamel. Geen steekproef is vir hierdie studie geneem nie, aangesien die navorser ʼn sensusopame gedoen het. Data is met behulp van ʼn halfgestruktureerde vraelys volgens die vyfpunt-Likert-skaal ingesamel. Allerlei organisasies, van staatsdepartemente en ondernemings in staatsbesit tot genoteerde plaaslike maatskappye wat by innovering en kennisbestuur in Suid-Afrika betrokke is, het A conceptual framework for the relationship between the implementation of innovation and knowledge management and its link to organisational capabilities Page 7 of 260 die teikenpopulasie gevorm. Die data is grotendeels aan die hand van ʼn faktoranalise statisties ontleed om die faktore te bepaal wat die geldigheid van die konseptuele raamwerk bevestig. Die Gestruktureerde Vergelykingsmodel in hoofstuk 4 (figuur 4.7) en die konseptuele raamwerk wat in hoofstuk 5 (afdeling 5.3.1) beskryf word, lewer ʼn bydrae tot die geheel van kennis. Eersgenoemde toon die onderlinge verbande tussen Innoveringsvermoë, Kennisbestuursvermoë en Organisasievermoëdoeltreffendheid, en laasgenoemde bied insig in die gekorreleerde of gesintetiseerde implementering van Innoveringsvermoë en Kennisbestuursvermoë. Wat die navorsingsuitslag betref, word aanbeveel dat organisasies wat Innoveringsvermoë implementeer, die Kennisbestuursvermoëkonsepte in ag neem en, as dit nodig is, met die toepaslike Innoveringsvermoë korreleer of sintetiseer, en volgens hulle eie prioriteite in werking stel om Organisasievermoëdoeltreffendheid moontlik te maak. Daar is bevind dat wanneer Innoveringsvermoë en Kennisbestuursvermoë afsonderlik geïmplementeer word, Organisasievermoëdoeltreffendheid nie verbeter nie. Indien Innoveringsvermoë en Kennisbestuursvermoë egter samehangend gekorreleer of gesintetiseer word, is bestuurders en praktisyns se implementeringstrategieë samehangend, word hulpbronne optimaal aangewend, verminder onnodige inspanning, verbeter beleggings, en is skaars en opgeleide hulpbronne meer toeganklik. / Olwazini wethu lomnotho obanzi, abaphathi abanobuntu bezinhlangano baya ngokuya bamukela izindlela ezintsha zokuphathwa kolwazi nokwenza ngcono imikhiqizo nezinsizakalo zokulethwa kwezinsiza kanye nokuncintisana. Kodwa-ke, izinhlangano ezisebenzisa amandla amakhulu wezinsizakusebenza ezinokuqonda okufana nAmandla Ezindlela Ezintsha (Innovation Capability INNO) kanye nAmandla okuPhatha uLwazi (Knowledge Management capability KMC) zihlupheka ngokweqile, ukuntuleka kokuqonda nokungakwazi ukwenza kahle kwenhlangano okubangelwa yimithelela eminingi, izakhi zokwakha ezibucayi namandla aphelile enhlangano. Ngakho-ke, inhloso esemqoka yalolu cwaningo bekuwukuhlola ukuthi ngabe Amandla okuSebenza Kahle kweNhlangano (Organisational Capability Effeciency OCE) athuthukisiwe ngokuvumelanisa / ukuhlanganisa amandla enhlangano lapho kufakwa Amandla Ezindlela Ezintsha kanye nAmandla Okuphatha uLwazi ezinhlanganweni. Inhloso esemqoka yalolu cwaningo bekuwukuqamba uhlaka oluzwisisekayo lokuqondiswa kwAmandla Ezindlela Ezintsha (Innovation Capability INNO) nAmandla okuPhatha uLwazi (Knowledge Management capability KMC) oluzosiza abaphathi ezinhlanganweni ngesikhathi sokuqalisa ukwenza ngcono Amandla okuSebenza Kahle kweNhlangano (Organisation capability Performance OCE). Lolu cwaningo lwamukele ucwaningo lolwazi olususelwa ezintweni zemvelo nobudlelwano bazo (positivist philosophy). Ukwehlukahluka okususelwa kumcabango walolu cwaningo bekungAmandla Ezindlela Ezintsha (Innovation capability INNO), Amandla okuPhatha uLwazi (Management Capability KMC) kanye nAmandla okuSebenza Kahle kweNhlangano (Organisation capability OCE). Ukubuyekezwa kwezincwadi okujulile kwenziwa ukuze kuthuthukiswe ukwakhiwa kwesifaniselo socwaningo olucatshangelwe. Imibuzo ehlongozwayo njengesisekelo sobufakazi bokuqala uphenyo locwaningo yathuthukiswa kusuka emcabangweni. Izinto eziguqukayo zazisetshenziselwa izinkomba ezikwazi ukuqondakala futhi ithuluzi lokuhlola lusetshenziselwe ukukala okuguquguqukayo futhi kusebenze izinkomba ukuhlola umqondo Kusetshenziswe uhlobo locwaningo olufuna ukuhumusha ukuqonda emininingwaneni ezosiza ukuqonda impilo yenhlalakahle (quantitative research) kulolu cwaningo lokuhlola futhi imininingwane iqoqwe kusampuli emelwe. Akukho sampula eyenziwe kulolu cwaningo ngoba umcwaningi wenze inhlolovo yokubalwa kwabantu. Uhlu lwemibuzo olwakhiwe kancane, ikakhulukazi olusebenzisa isilinganiso samaphuzu amahlanu kaLikert, lwalusetshenziselwa ukuqoqa imininingwane. Abantu ababehlosiwe babehlanganisa zonke izinhlangano, kufaka phakathi iminyango kahulumeni kazwelonke, amabhizinisi aphethwe nguhulumeni kanye nezinkampani ezikleliswe ohlwini lweNingizimu Afrika ezisebenza ezindleleni ezintsha nokuphathwa kolwazi eNingizimu Afrika. Imininingwane yahlaziywa ngokwezibalo, ngokuyinhloko kusetshenziswa ukuhlaziywa kwezinto, ukuthola izinto ezibalulekile ezaba nomthelela ekuqinisekisweni kohlaka lomqondo. ISakhiwo Esilungisiwe Sesifaniselo esahlukweni 4 (isithombe 4.7), esikhombisa ukuxhumana phakathi, kwAmandla Ezindlela Ezintsha, Amandla okuPhathwa koLwazi kanye nAmandla okuSebenza Kahle kweNhlangano, nohlaka lomqondo oluchazwe esahlukweni 5 (isigaba 5.3.1), olunikeza ukuqonda ngokuhambisana / ukuqaliswa okwenziwe kwaAmandla Ezindlela Ezintsha kanye nAmandla okuPh athwa koLwazi kubhekwa njengegalelo emzimbeni wolwazi.Ngokomphumela wokucwaninga, kuphakanyiswe ukuthi izinhlangano ezisebenzisa Amandla Ezindlela Ezintsha zibheke imiqondo yAmandla okuPhathwa koLwazi futhi, lapho kusebenza khona, zikuqondanise / zikuhlanganise nAmandla Ezindlela Ezintsha ezifanelekile, zisebenzisa ukuhleleka kokubaluleka kokubeka phambili ukusebenza kwenhlangano futhi zithole Amandla okuSebenza Kahle kweNhlangano. Kwatholakala ukuthi ukusebenzisa Amandla Ezindlela Ezintsha kanye nAmandla okuPhathwa koLwazi ngokwehlukanisa akuzange kukhiqize Amandla okuSebenza Kahle kweNhlangano. Kodwa-ke, ukuvumelanisa / ukuhlanganisa Amandla Ezindlela Ezintsha kanye nAmandla okuPhathwa koLwazi kuvumele ngokuqinile abaphathi nabasebenza ngempumelelo ukufezekisa amasu wokusebenzisa okuvumelanayo, ukusetshenziswa kahle kwezinsiza, ukunciphisa kwemizamo engadingekile, ukuthuthukiswa kokutshalwa kwemali kanye nokufinyeleleka kwezinsizakusebenza ezinamakhono. / Business Management / D.B.L.

The thesis describes and analyses a long-term transformative change program conducted at ICI (Australia) Botany Site between the years 1987 - 1997. The change program is unusual in that, after a massive and destructive confrontation between management and the unions, a new collaborative approach to change was developed which led to significant organisational renewal. Change interventions developed in the program have diffused through Australian industry over the decade. The program is analysed within the framework of a theoretical model which describes a path taken towards achieving a capable organisation which can sustain productive performance. The thesis uses evidence from the case to investigate issues of management style, governance, flexibility, 'bundled interventions', productivity, work organisation, downsizing, reward systems, skills acquisition and self-managed teams. A theoretical model of organisational change is developed which suggests how the treatment of these contingencies can lead to organisational capability.

Background: “Scale-ups”, characterised by their high growth and significant contribution to economic development, receive increasing attention in today's economies. They are often young and innovative SMEs that grow rapidly across international borders. “Scale-ups” achieve growth and improved performance through an accelerated organisational development process, which is based on their knowledge resources. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore and theorise what constitutes a scaling capability. Specifically, we will study knowledge acquisition and integration in SMEs that scale across international markets. Method: This study has an abductive research approach that considers the current theories on scaling and the knowledge-based view on strategic management and international business. To this end, we completed a multiple-case study of 4 innovative and internationalising scale-ups to accomplish our purpose. Conclusion: The study contributes with a view of scaling as a “scaling capability” that captures how innovative scale-ups manage the internal organisation of experiential knowledge. We develop frameworks that give a generalised understanding of how scale-ups in this particular context acquire and integrate knowledge resources during episodes of growth and improved performance. These frameworks show how scale-ups start their scaling journey with a full acquisition of specialised resources in technical, business and internationalisation knowledge, which they integrate through providing direction and organisational routines to organisational members. We address the importance of having different knowledge capital in symmetry to increase the common knowledge, and we suggest that the scaling capability enables a scale-up to adapt for their changing organisational needs, which is why we liken scaling to developing organisational capability. / Contexto: Las "scale-ups", caracterizadas por su elevado crecimiento y su importante contribución al desarrollo económico, reciben cada vez más atención en las economías de hoy. Suelen ser PYMES jóvenes e innovadoras que crecen rápidamente más allá de las fronteras internacionales. Las scale-ups logran crecer y mejorar su rendimiento mediante un proceso acelerado de desarrollo organizativo, basado en sus recursos de conocimiento. Propósito: El propósito de este estudio es explorar y teorizar lo que constituya una capacidad de escalamiento empresarial. En concreto, estudiaremos la adquisición e integración de conocimientos en las PYME que escalan por los mercados internacionales. Método: Este estudio tiene un enfoque de investigación abductiva que considera las teorías actuales sobre el concepto de escalamiento empresarial, o "scaling", y la teoría de la gestión estratégica y los negocios internacionales basada en el conocimiento. Para lograr nuestro propósito, realizamos un estudio de casos múltiples de cuatro scale-ups innovadoras que se internacionalizan. Conclusiones: El estudio contribuye con un enfoque del escalamiento como "capacidad de escalamiento" que capta cómo las scale-ups innovadoras gestionan la organización interna del conocimiento experiencial. Desarrollamos modelos que ofrecen una comprensión generalizada de cómo las scale-ups en este contexto adquieren e integran recursos de conocimiento durante los episodios de crecimiento y mejora del rendimiento. Los modelos muestran cómo las scale-ups inician su proceso de crecimiento con una adquisición completa de recursos especializados en conocimientos técnicos, empresariales y de internacionalización, que integran proporcionando dirección y rutinas organizativas a los miembros de la organización. Abordamos la importancia de contar con diferentes capitales de conocimiento en simetría para aumentar el conocimiento común, y sugerimos que la capacidad de escalamiento permite a una scale-up adaptarse a sus necesidades organizativas cambiantes, razón por la cual vemos el escalamiento como el desarrollo de la capacidad organizativa.