Latest Brief
Brief No. 4 · 2026
From Capability Trap to Capability Leap:
From Capability Trap to Capability Leap:
Resource & Capability Transformation under Environmental Discontinuity
When technologies shift and competitive landscapes rupture, why do some incumbents collapse while others regenerate? Drawing on the dynamic capabilities framework and core rigidity theory, this brief identifies four distinct transformation mechanisms — illustrated through Microsoft, Amazon, FUJIFILM, and Netflix — through which firms successfully reconfigure existing resources and capabilities in response to environmental discontinuity.
Read Full ArticleTransformation Cases
4 firms
Microsoft · Amazon · FUJIFILM · Netflix
Source: Company IR & Annual Reports (2024)
Source: Company IR & Annual Reports (2024)
4 mechanisms
Distinct pathways of resource & capability reconfiguration
Derived from dynamic capabilities literature
Derived from dynamic capabilities literature
→ Leap
From core rigidity (trap) to renewed advantage (leap)
Leonard-Barton (1992); Teece (2007)
Leonard-Barton (1992); Teece (2007)
Theoretical Lens
Dynamic Capabilities · Core Rigidity Theory
Path Dependency – Reconfiguration – Renewal
Path Dependency – Reconfiguration – Renewal
Sources: Microsoft IR, Amazon Annual Report 2024, FUJIFILM Holdings FY2024, Netflix IR; Leonard-Barton (1992), Teece (2007).
All Insights
Strategy
From Capability Trap to Capability Leap: Resource & Capability Transformation under Environmental Discontinuity
Four transformation mechanisms — Microsoft, Amazon, FUJIFILM, Netflix — through which incumbent firms reconfigure resources and capabilities to escape core rigidity and renew competitive advantage.
Strategy
From Resource Rigidity to Adaptive Capacity: Dynamic Capabilities in the Age of AI
How the generative AI paradigm shift erodes RBV-based advantages and how incumbent firms sustain competitive advantage through sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring.
Trade Policy
US–China Supply Chain Fragmentation and Dynamic Capability Reconfiguration
US-China supply chain decoupling analyzed through the Dynamic Capabilities framework. Strategic implications at each stage: Sensing, Seizing, and Reconfiguring.