Assessing the degree of development of dynamic capabilities theory: A systematic literature review

Abstract

Dynamic capabilities theory has become one of the most widely accepted theories of business strategy. The study aims to determine the degree of development of the dynamic capabilities theory. A meta-analysis was carried out through a bibliometric analysis and a systematic literature review. Documents published in Scopus and Web of Science between 1997–2023 were analyzed using VOSviewer software. 49 documents met the analysis requirements, with a maximum of 11 published in 2022. Keyword co-occurrences were also analyzed. 222 were found, and 26 were selected with at least two co-occurrences. The documents were grouped into six clusters by these keywords and analyzed to determine the degree of development of the theory. The results have shown popularity among researchers in different science branches, indicating a high degree of development. However, the study noted a lack of theoretical consistency in elaborating constructs for measuring variables in empirical investigations. As a result, this leads to a lack of consistency and generalization of the results. Hence, the theory is not considered fully developed in terms of lack of internal coherence, falsifiability, and predictability. Tools for the empirical measurement of variables need to be theoretically and empirically validated to ensure their application in different contexts. The confrontation of results from validated measurement tools in diverse environments will contribute to developing dynamic capabilities theory. AcknowledgmentWe appreciate the support granted through the Postdoctoral Stays program by CONAHCYT.

Keywords

• bibliometric analysis
• conceptual consistency
• empirical validation
• keywords co-occurrences
• tautology
• theory of business strategy