GRECO

This research group was recognised as a group of excellence (after passing an evaluation by the Agencia Nacional de Evaluación y Prospectiva). Reference GR00-221. GRECO aims to be an area of creation, transfer and learning in Strategic Management, within which projects and contracts of fundamental and applied research, technology transfer and generation of competences can be developed, aimed at improving the capacity of management teams and the competitiveness of companies. GRECO's Work Programme currently revolves around five lines of research, all of them positioned in the field of Strategic Management. The research in these five lines is strongly related, so that an important part of the projects developed and the works published explore the relationships between the phenomena analysed in several of them. The project approved for 2013-2016 aims to advance in the identification of the main dynamic capabilities based on a review of the literature, especially the existing literature on knowledge management processes, in order to establish the conceptual boundaries between knowledge acquisition, creation and absorption capabilities, innovation capabilities and learning capabilities. A deeper understanding of the structure of the 'dynamic capabilities' basket case should help to better understand the processes that facilitate their creation and renewal. Specifically, this research examines how the implementation of organisational practices influences the building of dynamic capabilities. Specifically, the study differentiates five different types of practices according to their focus on processes, people, groups/teams, products and knowledge. The analysis looks at how these different practices condition dynamic capabilities in two particular contexts: When practices are introduced individually. When practices are implemented in coordination with the format of organisational forms, in order to exploit the value creation potential inherent in complementarity. The starting hypothesis is that, except when capabilities rest with one agent or a small group of individuals, the development of knowledge-based capabilities requires complex coordination and integration of practices of different types. While exploring the role of managerial practices as antecedents to dynamic capabilities, this research also explores the relationships between dynamic capabilities and business performance. Progress in demonstrating the direct effect of knowledge creation, acquisition, absorption and application capabilities on performance has overlooked the possible existence of other mediating variables. The project aims to explore the role of innovations in managerial practices through which management seeks to strengthen its stock of dynamic capabilities. In this way, a circular process is introduced into the research process, where management practices play two roles in different phases of the value creation process: Organisations develop dynamic capabilities through the introduction of practices. Moreover, thanks to the capabilities they have accumulated, they can deploy innovations in organisational practices that help strengthen their competence to innovate and deliver outstanding results by producing sustainable competitive advantages. The demonstration of this preliminary premise requires the development of empirical work involving panel data.