Dynamic managerial capabilities in micro-enterprises: Stability, vulnerability and the role of managerial time allocation

Abstract

This article analyses how dynamic capabilities are enacted in micro-enterprises and what role different parties and managerial time allocation play in this enactment. Drawing upon three in-depth case studies of micro-enterprises, we make three theoretical contributions. First, after arguing that micro-enterprises are likely to enact individual- or group-level dynamic managerial capabilities rather than organisation-level dynamic capabilities, we counter Teece’s warnings about the vulnerable nature of dynamic managerial capabilities. Second, we identify that how managers allocate their own time, is a core micro-foundation of dynamic managerial capabilities; we illustrate that failure to allocate time to capability enactment can lead to capability vulnerability. Finally, we introduce the notion of ‘self-damaging dynamic managerial capabilities’ – these being capabilities that damage established micro-foundations.