Dynamic Capabilities and Economic Relations

The dynamic capabilities approach to a firm’s organisation and behaviour is attracting a growing number of studies and applications, now evident in economics and business literature. Starting from the main features of the consequent debate, this paper analyses the theoretical foundations of dynamic capabilities and their relevance to a firm’s internal structure and external relations. The paper contextualises the concept of dynamic capabilities into specific economic environments, in order to reduce the indeterminacy of their implications. An empirical application to a sample of firms operating in “flexible specialisation” manufacturing highlights the potential of this approach for understanding the behaviour of enterprises and their performance.