Introduction

Abstract

An organization’s resource management determines how competitive advantage and sustainable growth are achieved in a rapidly changing environment. Correspondingly the optimization of a firm’s resource allocation patterns and the resulting impact on performance has substantive theoretical and practical implications (cf. Chiu and Liaw, 2009, p. 321). One of the main challenges in managing a company’s resources is to constantly have the required level of resources available. On the one hand resource optimization is favorable in order to operate highly efficiently, while on the other hand having a buffer of resources ready to address unexpected threats and opportunities can be crucial. The implications of this dilemma are intensified during times of environmental change and external threat.