The Evolution of Resource-Based Inquiry: A Review and Meta-Analytic Integration of the Strategic Resources–Actions–Performance Pathway

Abstract

Understanding why some firms outperform others is central to strategy research. The resource-based view (RBV) suggests that competitive advantages arise due to possessing strategic resources (i.e., assets that are valuable, rare, nonsubstitutable, and inimitable), and researchers have extended this logic to explain performance differences. However, RBV is relatively silent about the actions managers could use to create or capitalize on a resource-based advantage. Enriching RBV, the resource orchestration framework describes specific managerial actions that use such resources to realize performance gains. After reviewing the conceptual evolution of these two literature streams as well as related streams, we use meta-analytic structural equation modeling to aggregate evidence from 255 samples involving 111,120 observations to answer outstanding research questions regarding the strategic resources–actions–performance pathway. The results show strong complementarity and interdependence between their logics. Additional inquiry drawing on their complementarity is a clear path toward enhancing scholars’ understanding of how and why some firms outperform others. We build on our findings to lay a foundation for such inquiry, including a call for theorizing centered on the interdependence of resources and actions, as well as new theoretical terrain that can help resource-based inquiry continue to evolve.