THE RESOURCE-ADVANTAGE THEORY OF COMPETITION - DYNAMICS, PATH DEPENDENCIES, AND EVOLUTIONARY DIMENSIONS

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