Exploring the Nature of Dynamic Capabilities and Enabling Environments for Service Innovation in the Global South: The Case of Digital Agro-advisory Services in Burkina Faso

Abstract

This study proposes to operationalize and contextualize existing frameworks of dynamic capabilities to clarify whether the untapped potential of digital agro-advisory services in the Global South can be explained by the weak dynamic capabilities of local organizations developing these services. In collaboration with two Burkinabe farmer organizations engaged in international development partnerships to digitalize their agro-advisory service, we developed a framework to assess the micro-foundations of the dynamic capabilities needed to innovate in this specific context. The assessment conducted confirms that the organization that failed to develop a service that fully met user expectations lacked specific dynamic capabilities, including the capabilities to develop and orchestrate the partnership; to design and experiment; and to scale up and sustain the new service. It also highlights that the configurations of the partnerships prevented local service providers from fully mobilizing their capabilities. We thus provide recommendations to improve the design of such partnerships.