Causation, counterfactuals, and competitive advantage Export

@article{citeulike:5910467, abstract = {Causation is still poorly understood in strategy research, and confusion prevails around key concepts such as competitive advantage. In this paper, we define epistemological conditions that help dispel some of this confusion and provide a basis for more developed approaches. In particular, we argue that a counterfactual approach - one that builds on a systematic analysis of lsquowhat-ifrsquo questions - can advance our understanding of key causal mechanisms in strategy research. We offer two concrete methodologies - counterfactual history and causal modeling - as useful solutions. We also show that these methodologies open up new avenues in research on competitive advantage. Counterfactual history can add to our understanding of the context-specific construction of resource-based competitive advantage and path dependence, and causal modeling can help to reconceptualize the relationships between resources and performance. In particular, resource properties can be regarded as mediating mechanisms in these causal relationships. Copyright {\copyright} 2009 John Wiley \& Sons, Ltd.}, address = {HEC School of Management, Paris, Jouy en Josas, France; HANKEN School of Economics, Helsinki, Finland}, author = {Durand, Rodolphe and Vaara, Eero}, citeulike-article-id = {5910467}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/smj.793}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/122513212/ABSTRACT}, doi = {10.1002/smj.793}, issn = {1097-0266}, journal = {Strategic Management Journal}, keywords = {advantage, causation, competitive, counterfactuals}, number = {12}, pages = {1245--1264}, posted-at = {2009-10-08 17:48:40}, priority = {3}, title = {Causation, counterfactuals, and competitive advantage}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/smj.793}, volume = {30}, year = {2009} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:5910467 L3 - citeulike-article-id:5910467 N2 - Causation is still poorly understood in strategy research, and confusion prevails around key concepts such as competitive advantage. In this paper, we define epistemological conditions that help dispel some of this confusion and provide a basis for more developed approaches. In particular, we argue that a counterfactual approach - one that builds on a systematic analysis of lsquowhat-ifrsquo questions - can advance our understanding of key causal mechanisms in strategy research. We offer two concrete methodologies - counterfactual history and causal modeling - as useful solutions. We also show that these methodologies open up new avenues in research on competitive advantage. Counterfactual history can add to our understanding of the context-specific construction of resource-based competitive advantage and path dependence, and causal modeling can help to reconceptualize the relationships between resources and performance. In particular, resource properties can be regarded as mediating mechanisms in these causal relationships. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. IS - 12 JF - Strategic Management Journal SN - 1097-0266 AD - HEC School of Management, Paris, Jouy en Josas, France; HANKEN School of Economics, Helsinki, Finland EP - 1264 TI - Causation, counterfactuals, and competitive advantage VL - 30 SP - 1245 KW - advantage KW - causation KW - competitive KW - counterfactuals AU - Durand, Rodolphe AU - Vaara, Eero PY - 2009/// UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/smj.793 ER -