Re-exploring Seminal Works on Resource-Based View and Resource Dependence Theory: The Case of Entrepreneurial Research Organization

Abstract

A core idea to strategic management is resource management, differentiating between an inward resource perspective and an outward resource view. Historically, this was the front line in interpreting organizational resources for the formation and execution of strategy. However, this paper questions whether this dichotomy is still an appropriate approach to conceptualize resource management. By reviewing the seminal works that formed the resource-based view (RBV) and resource dependence theory (RDT), possibilities for cross-fertilization can be indicated. Specifically, this paper re-examines Edith Penrose’s pioneering work “The Theory of the Growth of the Firm” (1959) and Jeffrey Pfeffer and Gerald R. Salancik’s book “The External Control of Organizations” (1978) for complementarities. By integrating the ideas of resources as well as entrepreneurship and framing them within the context of entrepreneurial research organizations, a novel, yet analytical space for synthesis of RBV and RDT is presented.