CULTIVATING STRATEGIC ADAPTABILITY OF ENTERPRISES FOR SUSTAINED PERFORMANCE UNDER MARKET UNCERTAINTY
Abstract
In a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) business environment firms must not only deploy dynamic capabilities but continuously reinvent them. The article introduces the concept of Meta-Dynamic Capability (MDC), a higher-order strategic capability that enables an organization to adapt and reconfigure its own dynamic capabilities amid turbulent conditions. MDC is defined as comprising three dimensions analogous to first-order dynamic capabilities: meta-sensing (sensing the need to change the sensing-seizing-transforming processes themselves), meta-seizing (seizing opportunities to enhance or renew the firm’s dynamic capability routines), and meta-transforming (transforming the organization’s structures and resources that undergird dynamic capabilities). Methodologically, the study draws on a multiple case study approach: examined 7 real-world firms from diverse sectors, including technology, manufacturing, and services, that demonstrate the emergence of MDC in practice. The findings illustrate how companies like Danaher, Netflix, Amazon, Microsoft, Haier, and others have cultivated strategic adaptability by reconfiguring not just their resources but their dynamic capability processes themselves. Discussed the theoretical contribution of MDC to the Dynamic Capabilities View (DCV) by extending its scope to meta-capabilities, thereby refining our understanding of how firms survive and thrive in high-uncertainty contexts. The article concludes with implications for research and management, acknowledging the need for further empirical inquiry into MDC and offering guidance for practitioners seeking sustained performance amid uncertainty.
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