The Past Speaks

The Roman god Janus faced both forward and backward in time. In addition to being the god of time, he was also associated with gateways and doors.

Presentation: 20 February, 15:30 and 16:30 at University of Liverpool Management School Seminar Room 4

“History and the Micro-foundations of Dynamic Capabilities” by Roy Suddaby, University of Victoria.
Abstract. The capacity to manage history is an important but undertheorized component of dynamic capabilities. Following Teece (2007), we observe that the micro-foundations of strategic action, particularly in rapidly changing environments, are premised on the ability of the firm to enact change by sensing opportunity in the future, seizing that opportunity in the present and reconfigure organizations by overcoming the historical constraints of their past. To accomplish this, firms must acquire a historical consciousness – an awareness of history as an objective, interpretive and imaginative cognitive skill. In order to fully exploit dynamic capabilities, firms must acquire the ability to manage history – to enact change by systematically articulating persuasive perceptions of the future that are anchored in convincing accounts of the past. We identify and elaborate three specific types of cognitive approaches to history – objective-empirical, interpretive-rhetorical and imaginative-future perfect thinking – that underpin managerial capabilities for sensing, seizing and reconfiguring. We explain how these historical-cognitive capabilities contribute to the  adaptability of firms under conditions of profound technological change.