Heterogeneity of isomorphic pressures: Intertwining the Resource-Based view and the neoinstitutional approach

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to establish a conceptual framework that contributes to explaining sustained competitive advantage, forming an analytical framework that brings the resource-based view and organizational analysis’ neoinstitutional approaches closer together. A detailed epistemological articulation has been undertaken to advance the understanding of strategy and competitive advantage in organizations, aggregating contribution to the literature with the proposal of a theoretical model that steadily articulates elements from organizational institutionalism and the resource-based view. Hence, the major contribution is to associate the resource-based view and organizational analysis’ neoinstitutional theory as a means to reformulate the notion of institutional isomorphism, and have a potential new explanation for organizational diversity and the existence of organizations that are more capable of generating (or maximize) value than others. In its formulation, the similarity among organizations in their fields provides the baseline for organizational performance. Thus, it is from this baseline level that organizations would then be able to differentiate themselves and generate sustainable competitive advantage through active and selective response to different institutional pressures.