Incumbents' strategic responses to disruption

: a study of german luxury car manufacturers' reaction to electric mobility

Abstract

The present master thesis investigates the strategic responses of incumbents from the luxury segment to disruption. In this context, a focus is laid on the micro foundations of the dynamic capabilities sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring and how they are influenced by the resource base. This research design connects the resource-based view with the dynamic capability perspective to obtain new insights into their links. A multiple case study research design in the German car manufacturing industry was chosen to answer the research question. Data was collected using expert interviews and analyzed with deductive categories that stemmed from the foundational paper on micro foundations of dynamic capabilities by Teece (2007). The first results of this master thesis are operationalized micro foundations of sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring for luxury segments. Additionally, findings indicate that producers of luxury goods need to manage tangible and intangible resources equally well, to maintain competitive advantage. While intangible resources such as brand reputation open a broad field of opportunities, they depend on tangible resources like production justifying this status. The results of this research extend literature with a new perspective on micro foundations of dynamic capabilities and by managerial implications for leveraging resources in disrupted environments.

Date of Award	22 Oct 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Philipp Hukal (Supervisor)