Resource bundles and value creation: An analytical framework

Abstract

All organizations intend to create some form of value. Yet, the most influential analytical frameworks focusing on resources emphasize competitive advantage, which is a concern for only some organizations. This study proposes a novel analytical framework focusing on value creation. Moreover, the framework returns to the emphasis on the bundled nature of resources stressed in earlier strategy theory. The concepts of resource interfaces, resource imprints and cogency effects, are combined to (i) highlight the bundled and interdependent nature of resources (ii) reinterpret the classical emphasis on rareness and inimitability and (iii) redefine the meaning of a strategic resource. With help of a longitudinal case study, the scope of value creation is broadened by reconsidering the meaning of the ‘best resource’ and the ‘weakest link’; focusing on being ‘better with…’ rather than being ‘better than….’.