Title: Path Dependence, VRIN Resource Endowments, and Managers: Towards an Integration of Resource-Based Theory and Upper Echelons Theory
Abstract: <p>Path dependencies associated with the firm’s evolving resource endowments lead to redundancies,<br />which makes it sub-optimal to attain sustainable competitive advantage based on these resource<br />bundles. In this context, managers can play a proactive role by ensuring that resource endowments<br />continue to remain beneficial for their organizations. By suggesting such a linkage and the enabling<br />role of managers, I provide a way to integrate core arguments of two of the foremost organizational<br />theories in vogue: resource-based theory (RBT) and upper echelons theory (UET).</p>