Barnes & Noble
: reading between in lines

  • Samir Ussene Ahamad Keshavjee (Student)

Student thesis: Master's Thesis

Abstract

The dynamic capabilities view is one of the most recent theories developed to explain how companies can achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. This perspective emerged from the fact that past theories explaining the same phenomenon did not address dynamic environments. Indeed, the dynamic capabilities view aims to explain firm’s success in rapidly changing environments, where business patterns are constantly shifting towards different directions. This thesis was developed to contribute for the consolidation of this theory and its main purpose is to illustrate this view with a real-world business situation through the presentation of a teaching case. The company chosen was Barnes & Noble. The Barnes & Noble case provides insightful information regarding the ability of top managers to understand major trends affecting the market they are inserted in and act accordingly at the right time by reconfiguring resources and capabilities. The main findings of this case suggest that companies with well-established business models might fail to succeed and suffer from significant performance decreases if they are not in possession of these capabilities.
Date of Award2 Jul 2013
Original languageEnglish
Awarding Institution
  • Universidade Católica Portuguesa
SupervisorIlídio Barreto (Supervisor)

Designation

  • Mestrado em Gestão

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