This study redefines dynamic managerial capabilities (DMCs) through the framework of liminality, revealing their emergence amidst the paradox of change and stability. Integrating liminality theory with DMC micro-foundations-managerial cognition, human capital, and social capital-it proposes a novel position-processual framework across pre-liminal, liminal, and post-liminal phases. The key finding is that DMCs are not just sustained but actively forged within change, leveraging liminality as a productive adaptive space. As managers transform their cognition, human, and social capital through these phases, DMCs dynamically evolve via a cyclical process of sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring. This perspective underscores how the strategic leveraging of these managerial factors bridges individual capabilities to robust, firm-level dynamic capabilities, positioning managers as central to generating dynamic stability through continuous change.

This study introduces a novel framework that integrates social neuroscience and entrepreneurship to explore how neuronal pathways enable the transformation of individuals into entrepreneurs with robust capabilities. Moving beyond traditional individual-centric views, it investigates inter-individual neural and social synchronization, identifying neurosocial mediators that drive the development of entrepreneurial competencies within enterprises. By leveraging the extended mirror neuron system and neuroplasticity, this conceptual paper demonstrates how social learning processes activate and strengthen neural networks, resulting in emergent entrepreneurial behaviours. Employing a theory-bridging approach, this research develops a nomological network to predict relationships between entrepreneurial and neurosocial constructs, clarifying causal linkages, antecedents, outcomes, and contingencies. This framework offers a comprehensive understanding of how individual capabilities evolve into entrepreneurial capabilities, moving beyond assumptions of serendipity and simplistic aggregation.

This study represents one of the earliest attempts to bring together two siloed paradigms viz. design thinking and knowledge management process capabilities to propose a novel ambidextrous approach for developing dynamic capabilities in individuals. An alternative conceptualization of connection between design thinking and dynamic capabilities has been unfolded by empirically establishing that the effect of design thinking on dynamic capabilities of individuals is indirect and realized through the development of knowledge management process capabilities. Through rigorous statistical analysis, including subgroup analyses based on gender, design thinking training, and work experience, the study provides valuable insights for individuals and organizations seeking to cultivate dynamic capabilities. The newly developed assessment instruments can be used to identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for development in these areas.

This study initiates a nascent conversation on the role of liminality in explaining the nuances of ‘being’ and ‘becoming’ dynamic capabilities by posing three questions: (a) Why do companies that have had dynamic capabilities, fail to retain them? (b) Why are some companies unable to complete the interdependent chain for sensing, seizing and reconfiguring? (c) How can managerial-level dynamic capabilities be effectively translated into organizational-level capabilities, avoiding preconceived notions of serendipity and aggregation? In answering these questions, this study positions dynamic capabilities at the borderland between the past and future and uncloaks how socio- and neuro-cognitive logics play out to shape dynamic capabilities. The novel perspective proposed herein allows managers to pivot their organization towards the successful development of dynamic capabilities.

The pervasive fragmentation in management and organization studies severely impedes the field's ability to generate high-impact, holistic solutions for contemporary organizational challenges. To address this critical structural limitation, this study executes a large-scale bibliometric-systematic literature review to map the field's intellectual architecture. The analysis reveals that fragmentation is an inherent structural characteristic driven by a persistent centripetal-centrifugal dualism: the simultaneous existence of centrifugal knowledge divergence (rapid conceptual specialization) and centripetal convergence (stability of a unifying core). Strategically leveraging this duality, this study introduces a dual-path framework and research agenda. This framework systematically manages the inherent tension by proposing both outward, centrifugal expansion (integrating external methodologies) and inward, centripetal consolidation (cross-linking foundational, isolated domains). This strategic roadmap equips the management and organization studies community with a blueprint to re-engineer its structure and unlock its potential as an engine for transformative, interdisciplinary knowledge synthesis.

Purpose Change lies at the heart of the dynamic capability theory; however, the essence of concept of change is antithetical to the brain's predominant mode of operation i.e. maintenance of internal homeostasis. Since very little is known about the connection between neurology and dynamic capabilities, the present study aims to open this black box and propose a novel brain-based view of developing dynamic capabilities. Design/methodology/approach This study draws on the insights from neuroscience to offer propositions that not only provide realistic approaches for building dynamic capabilities, but also explain what would cause the brain to enter a state of plasticity to facilitate the development of managerial dynamic capabilities. Findings This study explains that dynamic capabilities are shaped by both lower-level neural processes and higher-level organizational processes, and that both these levels must be brought together to provide a holistic explanation about the complex phenomena of dynamic capabilities. Originality/value This study proposes a novel brain-based view of dynamic capabilities that provides neuroscientific explanations regarding how managerial capabilities can be leveraged to form organization-level capabilities without holding a priori assumptions about the application of the aggregation principle.

The paper bridges the contours of neuroscience and entrepreneurship to unveil the neuronal path to transfigure entrepreneur-level capabilities into enterprise-level capabilities without holding a priori assumptions about serendipity or application of the aggregation principle. It reveals that neural mechanisms through which efforts of entrepreneurs are aggregated and exploited at the enterprise level—mirror neuron system and neuroplasticity—do not represent a fortuity, but conscious endeavors on the parts of both entrepreneurs and the enterprise to bridge these distances. In doing so, this paper explains how the brains of various entrepreneurial actors can be trained like muscles, and how they can achieve bio-behavioral synchrony to facilitate such neurochemical changes in their brain wiring that induce cognitive, affective, and conative aspects of opportunity identification, opportunity exploitation, and successful reconfiguration, which are essential for an entrepreneurial brain. Moreover, the paper demonstrates how mirror neuron system can become the gateway to neuroplasticity and how this cross-modal matching can assist entrepreneurial actors in developing their capabilities. The conceptual framework proposed explains how entrepreneurial actors, and consequently, the enterprise, can move towards a more plastic mode of operation, one that helps disrupt the brain's homeostasis to achieve enterprise plasticity, and ultimately develop robust enterprise-level capabilities.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to critically evaluate the canonical contribution of the classical theories of multinational enterprises (MNE) and complement them with congruous multi-theoretical lenses to a propose a meta-theoretical view for competitive advantage. The proposed framework is applied to fundamental questions of MNE, and exploratory insights are revealed. Design/methodology/approach This study sought to review the literature on various paradigms such as resource-based view, knowledge-based view, attention-based view, relational view, dynamic capability view and institution-based view to propose a meta-theoretical approach explicating the phenomenon of competitiveness. Findings This study proffers that the key to global competitiveness lies in building micro-foundational, multidimensional and multilevel multinational orchestration capabilities. The requisite orchestration capabilities are capabilities par excellence that explain: how organizational capabilities originate through the cognition of individual employees at the micro level; how individual-level abilities are amplified when they are harnessed through relational capabilities to form knowledge capabilities at the meso-level; and how the confluence of knowledge capabilities and higher order dynamic capabilities gives rise to heterogeneous firm-level knowledge-based dynamic capabilities that can be combined with institution capabilities to aggrandize the prediction of competitive advantage for MNEs. Originality/value The successful development of MNE competitiveness as a field of academic inquiry, brought about by an increasing amount of theoretical specialization, has come at the price of significant fragmentation of the overall scientific quest. The abovementioned paradigms and their underlying constructs have primarily been conceptualized in silos. The classical theories of MNE have been used a starting point to which complementary multidisciplinary views have been scaffolded to gain a more nuanced understanding of global competitiveness.

Purpose Several manuscripts are adopting knowledge-based dynamic capabilities (KBDCs) as their main theoretical lens. However, these manuscripts lack consistent conceptualization and systematization of the construct. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to advance the understanding of KBDCs by clarifying the dominant concepts at the junction of knowledge management and dynamic capabilities domains, identifying which emerging themes are gaining traction with KBDCs scholars, demonstrating how the central thesis around KBDCs has evolved and explaining how can KBDCs scholars move towards finding a mutually agreed conceptualization of the field to advance empirical assessment. Design/methodology/approach The Clarivate Analytics Web of Science Core Collection database was used to extract 225 manuscripts that lie at the confluence of two promising management domains, namely, knowledge management and dynamic capabilities. A scientometric analysis including co-citation analysis, bibliographic coupling, keyword co-occurrence network analysis and text mining was conducted and integrated with a systematic review of results to facilitate an unstructured ontological discovery in the field of KBDCs. Findings The co-citation analysis produced three clusters of research at the junction of knowledge management and dynamic capabilities, whereas the bibliographic coupling divulged five themes of research that are gaining traction with KBDCs scholars. The systematic literature review helped to clarify each clusters’ content. While scientific mapping analysis explained how the central thesis around KBDCs has evolved, text mining and keyword analysis established how KBDCs emerge from the combination of knowledge management process capabilities and dynamic capabilities. Originality/value Minimal attention has been paid to systematizing the literature on KBDCs. Accordingly, KBDCs view has been investigated through complementary scientometric methods involving machine-based algorithms to allow for a more robust, structured, comprehensive and unbiased mapping of this emerging field of research.

Addressing the ongoing deficit in technical skills and talent necessitates an effective management approach that can harness the power of accelerating innovation. In response to the challenge, this paper presents a comprehensive learning model called Citizen Development Andragogy (CDA), specifically tailored for adult learners. CDA is an integrative learning framework, designed for an array of academic programs from micro-credentialing to four-year degrees, which combines leading-edge technology, such as low-code tools and platforms and generative AI, design thinking for creativity, and the institutionally oriented, knowledge-based dynamic capabilities (KBDC) model. Additionally, CDA is epistemologically rooted in the individually focused constructivist learning theory, providing a consistent structure that caters to the learning needs of working adults, enhancing their ability to conceive, design, build, and implement digital solutions. The andragogical learning theory is designed for adult learners and has important implications regarding teaching and program differences for reaching traditional aged college students, emerging learners, versus more seasoned individuals. Emerging strategic components conveyed in this paper—via a discursive style—represent some first steps towards considering and building a citizen development andragogy. An initial CDA framework conceptualization is detailed in this paper, which explores its theoretical constructs, practical considerations, current limitations, and it also shares insights from early implementation efforts, and presents a variety of potential future research avenues. Importantly, the paper emphasizes CDA's role as an accessible gateway for introducing citizen development into adult education and upskilling programs. In a broader societal context, citizen development, facilitated by CDA, can serve as a vital influencer for larger 'citizen' involvement movements like citizen scientists, human rights observers, and environmentalists. As such, an effective, scalable CDA prototype has the potential to yield meaningful benefits, empowering individuals, and organizations to achieve impact on an unprecedented scale, ultimately benefiting society at large.

This study represents one of the earliest attempts at providing a complete scientometric mapping and a systematic review of the nascent field of neurostrategy. Machine-based algorithms and text-mining have been used to - (a) clarify the dominant concepts at the junction of neuroscience and strategic management; (b) identify the ontological and epistemological foundations of neurostrategy; (c) explain how the scholarly discourse around neurostrategy has evolved; (d) reveal the trends that are gaining traction within neurostrategy research; and (e) develop propositions at the confluence of managerial capabilities, knowledge management, dynamic capabilities, and neurostrategy. The study unveils how neurostrategy represents a quintet of disciplines and lays bare the hypes and hopes surrounding neurostrategy. The study explains how the road that leads to competitive success passes through the development of neuronally intelligent strategies that not only resolve the battle between the organization and its people, but also the one within an organizational decision maker.

Purpose Fundamental classifications of knowledge may be measurable as factors of production and can reveal evidence of specialization between adjacent stages of production even in the presence of shared substantive knowledge. This study of aims to distinguish between, and empirically measure, relative reliance on fundamental classifications of knowledge at the individual level. Design/methodology/approach In this study, investment managers were asked in an online survey to weigh their relative reliance on tacit, codified and encapsulated knowledge in executing different investment strategies for diverse client groups. Measures of relative reliance on each fundamental classification of knowledge were derived from weights assigned by each survey respondent in a series of six questions. Findings Survey respondents provided reliable measures of their relative reliance on tacit, codified and encapsulated knowledge. Reliance on these fundamental classifications of knowledge is shown to differ between investment managers, depending on the investment strategies being used and client groups served. These differences were exhibited notwithstanding all the respondents sharing common substantive knowledge. Research limitations/implications Measures of relative reliance on three classifications of knowledge were based on self-reported ratings rather than on objectively observed phenomena, making them subject to measurement error. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to observe relative reliance on tacit, codified and encapsulated knowledge in future studies. Originality/value The divergences in relative reliance on the fundamentally different knowledge-based factors of production were found in the presence of jointly held substantive knowledge, suggesting that fundamental classifications of knowledge are measurable and can provide evidence of specialization.

The development of competitive advantage as a field of academic inquiry has come at the price of significant fragmentation of the overall scientific quest. The existing competitiveness studies are mainly characterized by mono-level research related to separate levels of analysis accompanied by the absence of a synthesis of various approaches. Thus, promising concepts of managerial attention, knowledge processes, and dynamic capabilities, emanating from varied strategic theories, have been integrated to develop a robust multilevel, meta-theoretical framework which explains: (a) how dynamic capabilities originate through the cognition of individual employees at the micro level, allowing managers and knowledge workers to systematically recognize the need for change in current routines and capabilities; (b) how individual-level abilities are amplified when they are harnessed to form knowledge capabilities, thereby orchestrating an idiosyncratic knowledge base at the meso level; and (c) how the multiple, firm-specific combinations of attention capabilities, knowledge capabilities, and higher-order dynamic capabilities together produce heterogeneous attention-based and knowledge-based dynamic capabilities that are capable of triggering instant yet systematic resource realignment to create the potential for sustainable competitive advantage at the macro level.

The chapter discusses the results of pre-testing as well as presents the descriptive and inferential statistical data analysis of the present study. The chapter ensures the adequacy of survey response and gives the background of the respondents by analyzing the demographic profiles. This is followed by data purification and analysis by using descriptive statistics. For the purpose of ensuring the application of multivariate techniques for analyzing data, the survey responses have been screened to ensure normality, linearity, homoscedasticity and multicollinearity. A panoply of research techniques like correlation, regression, analysis of variance, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modelling have been used to analyze the data. Thereafter, the results of these techniques are presented in a meaningful manner to arrive at relevant conclusions. Interpretations have been done under three broad themes namely Knowledge-Management Process Capabilities, Higher-Order Dynamic Capabilities and Competitive Advantage.

The chapter provides a snapshot of four organizations that come under the purview of the study. The chapter presents brief profile of the organizations under study from the point of view of the evolution of the organizations, products and services offered, major business segments catered, business operations, global clientele, employee statistics, organizational performance, capability development and deployment, etc. The broad strategic context also focuses on the competitive environment faced by the organizations under study.

The chapter summarizes the findings and assesses how well the book addresses the problem that engendered the study. In doing so, research contributions as well as implications of the present study for management practice are discussed. Additionally, major suggestions that become apparent from the results of the present research are proposed. The chapter draws to a close with the underlining of the limitations of the study and the recommendations for future research.