Mohammad Yasser Darvizeh - Manchester Business School, University of Manchester
Jian-bo Yang - Manchester Business School, University of Manchester
Steve Eldridge - Lancaster Management School, University of Lancaster

Achieving a sustainable competitive advantage through supply chains (SC) leads to a firm being able to generate an economic surplus into the future (Teece, 2007). Prior studies have highlighted that developing organizational capabilities are a means by which this sustainable competitive advantage can be realised (Grant, 1996). In particular, dynamic capabilities (DC), which are considered as higher order organizational capabilities, are necessary for the firms to enhance its performance in a business environment where both market demand and technology are continuously changing. Firm performance in the context of new product development (NPD) depends on the continuous creation of new products and processes and the implementation of new organizational forms and business models which both require DC supported by senior management involvement (Pavlou and EI Sawy, 2011). In dynamically competitive environment, the understanding of relationship of DC and the superior performance of firms through new product development (NPD) performance enable firm’s managers to make a sound, robust and quick decision. While differential performances of firms in the high technology industry such as automotive or aerospace industry are so important for achieving sustainable competitive advantage, the study searches for the explanation of this phenomenon in the view of DC. Through a comparative multi cases study of fairly large R&D intensive manufacturing firms, the analysis focuses on identifying and evaluating the effects of organisational and managerial processes on the development of three capacities of sensing, seizing and reconfiguration that form DC through product development activities. While dynamic capability facilitates an effective and efficient product development, the integrated findings of the analysis is to show the performance assessment of dynamic capability using multi criteria decision analysis (MCDA) that determines the success and failure of manufacturing buyer’s firms in the recent volatile environment. The results contribute to the literature by verifying the conceptual framework of foundations and micro-foundations of DC, illustrating the transformation of its multiple roles, and introducing an extended framework for managerial actions. Most importantly, this research confirms that the superior performance of a company in the automotive or aerospace industry is best explained by the theory of DC. In short, the research provides an insight for managers to define relevant product development strategies to adapt to rapid changes in today’s modern business environment.

Multi-Criteria Decision Aids, Strategic Planning and Management, Supply Chain Management