The Resource-based View: Origins and Implications.

This paper explores the origins and implications of the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm. The authors explain that the field of strategic management is organized around the question of why some firms persistently outperform others. According to the authors, the RBV emerged as one of several significant explanations of persistent firm performance differences in the field of strategic management. The authors explore the theoretical history of the RBV, its major theoretical tenants and how they differ from other explanations of persistent firm performance differences. According to the author, prior theoretical work of the RBV comes from at least four sources: the traditional study of distinctive competencies, Ricardian economics, Penrosian economics, and the study of the anti-trust implications of economics. The authors also address some unresolved issues about the RBV and its empirical and practical implications.