Abstract
Microfoundations is a nascent research area in strategic management that scrutinizes individual-level actions and interactions as the fundamental basis of various strategic topics. We conducted a quantitative survey of existing literature to comprehend microfoundations research in strategic management comprehensively. Employing topic modeling, we determined the primary themes in microfoundations research and performed scientometric analysis to comprehend authorship networks, co-citation patterns, landmark publications, and the most productive institutions and countries. Based on the insights garnered from the analysis, we put forward prospective areas for future research.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The author confirms that all data generated or analyzed during the study are included in the manuscript and available for further analysis.
References
Abell P, Felin T, Foss N (2008) Building micro-foundations for the routines, capabilities, and performance links. Manag Decis Econ 29(6):489–502
Adner R, Helfat CE (2003) Corporate effects and dynamic managerial capabilities. Strateg Manag J 24(10):1011–1025. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.331
Aguinis H, Glavas A (2012) What we know and don’t know about corporate social responsibility: a review and research agenda. J Manag 38(4):932–968. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206311436079
Aguinis H, Molina-Azorín JF (2015) Using multilevel modeling and mixed methods to make theoretical progress in microfoundations for strategy research. Strateg Organ 13(4):353–364. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476127015594622
Aguinis H, Boyd BK, Pierce CA, Short JC (2011) Walking new avenues in management research methods and theories: Bridging micro and macro domains. SAGE Publications Sage CA, Los Angeles, CA
Alvesson M, Robertson M (2006) The best and the brightest: the construction, significance and effects of elite identities in consulting firms. Organization 13(2):195–224. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350508406061674
Barney JB (1986) Strategic factor markets: Expectations, luck, and business strategy. Manage Sci 32(10):1231–1241. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.32.10.1231
Barney J (1991) Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. J Manag 17(1):99–120. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639101700108
Barney J, Felin T (2013) What are microfoundations? Acad Manag Perspect 27(2):138–155. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2012.0107
Barney JB, Ketchen DJ Jr, Wright M, McWilliams A, Siegel DS (2011) Creating and capturing value: Strategic corporate social responsibility, resource-based theory, and sustainable competitive advantage. J Manag 37(5):1480–1495. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206310385696
Blei DM, Ng AY, Jordan MI (2003) Latent dirichlet allocation. J Mach Learn Res 3:993–1022
Booth P, Chaperon SA, Kennell JS, Morrison AM (2020) Entrepreneurship in island contexts: a systematic review of the tourism and hospitality literature. Int J Hosp Manag 85:102438. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2019.102438
Buckley PJ, Chen L, Clegg LJ, Voss H (2016) Experience and FDI Risk-taking: a microfoundational reconceptualization [Article]. J Int Manag 22(2):131–146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intman.2016.02.001
Chattopadhyay P, Glick WH, Huber GP (2001) Organizational actions in response to threats and opportunities. Acad Manag J 44(5):937–955. https://doi.org/10.5465/3069439
Chittoor R, Aulakh PS, Ray S (2019) Microfoundations of firm internationalization: the owner CEO effect. Glob Strateg J 9(1):42–65. https://doi.org/10.1002/gsj.1193
Choo J, Lee C, Reddy CK, Park H (2013) UTOPIAN: user-driven topic modeling based on interactive nonnegative matrix factorization. IEEE Trans Visual Comput Graphics 19(12):1992–2001. https://doi.org/10.1109/tvcg.2013.212
Coff RW (1997) Human assets and management dilemmas: Coping with hazards on the road to resource-based theory. Acad Manag Rev 22(2):374–402. https://doi.org/10.2307/259327
Coff RW (1999) When competitive advantage doesn’t lead to performance: The resource-based view and stakeholder bargaining power. Organ Sci 10(2):119–133. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.10.2.119
Coff R, Kryscynski D (2011) Invited Editorial: drilling for micro-foundations of human capital-based competitive advantages. J Manag 37(5):1429–1443. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206310397772
Cohen WM, Levinthal DA (1990) Absorptive capacity: a new perspective on learning and innovation. Adm Sci Q. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780080517889-9
Contractor F, Foss NJ, Kundu S, Lahiri S (2019) Viewing global strategy through a microfoundations lens [Article]. Glob Strateg J 9(1):3–18. https://doi.org/10.1002/gsj.1329
Crocker A, Eckardt R (2014) A multilevel investigation of individual- and unit-level human capital complementarities [Article]. J Manag 40(2):509–530. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206313511862
Cyert RM, March JG (1963) A behavioral theory of the firm. Englewood Cliffs, NJ 2(4):169–187
Davis JP, Aggarwal VA (2020) Knowledge mobilization in the face of imitation: microfoundations of knowledge aggregation and firm-level innovation. Strateg Manag J 41(11):1983–2014. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3187
DesJardine MR, Shi W (2021) How temporal focus shapes the influence of executive compensation on risk taking. Acad Manag J 64(1):265–292. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2018.1470
Distel AP, Sofka W, de Faria P, Preto MT, Ribeiro AS (2019) Dynamic capabilities for hire–How former host-country entrepreneurs as MNC subsidiary managers affect performance. J Int Business Stud. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-019-00274-0
Dong A, Garbuio M, Lovallo D (2016) Generative sensing: a design perspective on the microfoundations of sensing capabilities. Calif Manage Rev 58(4):97–117. https://doi.org/10.1525/cmr.2016.58.4.9
Felin T, Foss NJ (2005) Strategic organization: a field in search of micro-foundations. Strateg Organ 3(4):441–455. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476127005055796
Felin T, Foss NJ (2012) The (proper) microfoundations of routines and capabilities: a response to Winter, Pentland, Hodgson and Knudsen. J Inst Econ 8(02):271–288. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1744137411000506
Felin T, Hesterly WS (2007) The knowledge-based view, nested heterogeneity, and new value creation: Philosophical considerations on the locus of knowledge. Acad Manag Rev 32(1):195–218. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2007.23464020
Felin T, Powell TC (2016) Designing organizations for dynamic capabilities [Article]. Calif Manage Rev 58(4):78–96. https://doi.org/10.1525/cmr.2016.58.4.78
Felin T, Foss NJ, Heimeriks KH, Madsen TL (2012) Microfoundations of routines and capabilities: individuals, processes, and structure. J Manage Stud 49(8):1351–1374. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1988881
Felin T, Foss NJ, Ployhart RE (2015) The microfoundations movement in strategy and organization theory [Article]. Acad Manag Ann 9(1):575–632. https://doi.org/10.1080/19416520.2015.1007651
Fohim E (2019) Institutional entrepreneurs’ skills: a multi-dimensional concept. Res Sociol Organ. https://doi.org/10.1108/s0733-558x2019000065b013
Fonti F, Maoret M (2016) The direct and indirect effects of core and peripheral social capital on organizational performance. Strateg Manag J 37(8):1765–1786. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2409
Foss NJ, Lindenberg S (2013) Microfoundations for strategy: a goal-framing perspective on the drivers of value creation. Acad Manag Perspect 27(2):85–102. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2012.0103
Foss NJ, Pedersen T (2016) microfoundations in strategy research. Strategic Manag J. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2362
Gavetti G (2005) Cognition and hierarchy: rethinking the microfoundations of capabilities’development. Organ Sci 16(6):599–617. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1050.0140
Gond JP, El Akremi A, Swaen V, Babu N (2017) The psychological microfoundations of corporate social responsibility: A person-centric systematic review. J Organ Behav 38(2):225–246. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2170
Grootendorst M. (2022). BERTopic: Neural topic modeling with a class-based TF-IDF procedure. arXiv preprint arXiv:2203.05794.
Hagen M, Su W, Junge S (2023) 60th birthday of ‘A Behavioral Theory of the Firm’: a review of the relational concepts and recommendations for future research. Manag Rev Q. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-023-00369-x
Hannigan TR, Haans RFJ, Vakili K, Tchalian H, Glaser VL, Wang MS, Kaplan S, Jennings PD (2019) Topic modeling in management research: rendering new theory from textual data. Acad Manag Ann 13(2):586–632. https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2017.0099
Helfat CE, Campo-Rembado MA (2016) Integrative capabilities, vertical integration, and innovation over successive technology lifecycles. Organ Sci 27(2):249–264. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2015.1045
Henderson R, Cockburn I (1994) Measuring competence? Exploring firm effects in pharmaceutical research. Strateg Manag J 15(S1):63–84. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250150906
Heubeck T (2023) Looking back to look forward: a systematic review of and research agenda for dynamic managerial capabilities. Manag Rev Q. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-023-00359-z
Hodgson GM (2012) The mirage of microfoundations. J Manage Stud 49(8):1389–1394. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2012.01079.x
Jinha AE (2010) Article 50 million: an estimate of the number of scholarly articles in existence. Learned Publishing 23(3):258–263. https://doi.org/10.1087/20100308
Kano L, Tsang EWK, Yeung HWC (2020) Global value chains: a review of the multi-disciplinary literature [Review]. J Int Bus Stud 51(4):577–622. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-020-00304-2
Kemper J, Schilke O, Brettel M (2013) Social capital as a microlevel origin of organizational capabilities. J Prod Innov Manag 30(3):589–603. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12004
Kogut B, Zander U (1992) Knowledge of the firm, combinative capabilities, and the replication of technology. Organ Sci 3(3):383–397. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.3.3.383
Kunisch S, Menz M, Cannella AA (2019) The CEO as a key microfoundation of global strategy: T ask demands, CEO origin, and the CEO’s international background. Glob Strateg J 9(1):19–41. https://doi.org/10.1002/gsj.1184
Lee S (2019) Learning-by-moving: can reconfiguring spatial proximity between organizational members promote individual-level exploration? Organ Sci 30(3):467–488. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2019.1291
Lee S, Meyer-Doyle P (2017) How performance incentives shape individual exploration and exploitation: evidence from microdata [Article]. Organ Sci 28(1):19–38. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2016.1104
Lewin AY, Massini S, Peeters C (2011) Microfoundations of internal and external absorptive capacity routines. Organ Sci 22(1):81–98. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.3.3.383
Linnenluecke MK, Marrone M, Singh AK (2020) Conducting systematic literature reviews and bibliometric analyses. Aust J Manag 45(2):175–194. https://doi.org/10.1177/0312896219877678
Lippman SA, Rumelt RP (2003) The payments perspective: micro-foundations of resource analysis. Strateg Manag J 24(10):903–927. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.346
MacLean D, MacIntosh R, Seidl D (2015) Rethinking dynamic capabilities from a creative action perspective. Strateg Organ 13(4):340–352. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476127015593274
Maitland E, Sammartino A (2015) Managerial cognition and internationalization. J Int Bus Stud 46(7):733–760. https://doi.org/10.1057/jibs.2015.9
Minbaeva D, Santangelo GD (2018) Boundary spanners and intra-MNC knowledge sharing: the roles of controlled motivation and immediate organizational context. Glob Strateg J 8(2):220–241. https://doi.org/10.1002/gsj.1171
Molina-Azorín JF (2014) Microfoundations of strategic management: Toward micro–macro research in the resource-based theory. BRQ Bus Res Q 17(2):102–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brq.2014.01.001
Mollick E (2012) People and process, suits and innovators: The role of individuals in firm performance. Strateg Manag J 33(9):1001–1015. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1630546
Mustak M, Salminen J, Plé L, Wirtz J (2021) Artificial intelligence in marketing: topic modeling, scientometric analysis, and research agenda. J Bus Res 124:389–404. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.10.044
Nag R, Corley KG, Gioia DA (2007) The intersection of organizational identity, knowledge, and practice: Attempting strategic change via knowledge grafting. Acad Manag J 50(4):821–847. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2007.26279173
Nahapiet J, Ghoshal S (1998) Social capital, intellectual capital, and the organizational advantage. Acad Manag Rev 23(2):242–266. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1998.533225
Nelson LK (2020) Computational grounded theory: A methodological framework. Sociological Methods and Research 49(1):3–42. https://doi.org/10.1177/0049124117729703
Nigam K, McCallum AK, Thrun S, Mitchell T (2000) Text classification from labeled and unlabeled documents using EM. Mach Learn 39(2):103–134
Nuruzzaman N, Gaur AS, Sambharya RB (2019) A microfoundations approach to studying innovation in multinational subsidiaries [Article]. Glob Strateg J 9(1):92–116. https://doi.org/10.1002/gsj.1202
Nyberg AJ, Wright PM (2015) 50 Years of human capital research: assessing what we know, exploring where we go. Acad Manag Perspect 29(3):287–295. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2014.0113
Page MJ, Moher D, Bossuyt P, Boutron I, Hoffmann T, Mulrow CD, Shamseer L, Tetzlaff J, Akl E, Brennan SE, Chou R, Glanville J, Grimshaw J, Hróbjartsson A, Lalu MM, Li T, Loder E, Mayo-Wilson E, McDonald S, McKenzie J (2020) PRISMA 2020 explanation and elaboration: updated guidance and exemplars for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ. https://doi.org/10.31222/osf.io/gwdhk
Paruchuri S, Awate S (2017) Organizational knowledge networks and local search: the role of intra-organizational inventor networks. Strateg Manag J 38(3):657–675. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2516
Paruchuri S, Eisenman M (2012) Microfoundations of firm RandD capabilities: a study of inventor networks in a merger. J Manage Stud 49(8):1509–1535. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2012.01066.x
Pentland BT, Feldman MS, Becker MC, Liu P (2012) Dynamics of organizational routines: a generative model. J Manage Stud 49(8):1484–1508. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2012.01064.x
Ployhart RE, Nyberg AJ, Reilly G, Maltarich MA (2014) Human capital is dead; long live human capital resources! [Article]. J Manag 40(2):371–398. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206313512152
Porter ME (1979) How competitive forces shape strategy. Harv Bus Rev 57(2):137–145
Powell TC, Lovallo D, Fox CR (2011) Behavioral strategy. Strateg Manag J 32(13):1369–1386. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.968
Rogan M, Mors ML (2014) A network perspective on individual-level ambidexterity in organizations. Organ Sci 25(6):1860–1877. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2014.0901
Rumelt RP, Schendel DE, Teece DJ (1994) Fundamental issues in strategy: A research agenda for the 1990s. Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA
Santangelo GD, Phene A (2022) Knowledge sourcing by the multinational enterprise: An individual creativity-based model. J Int Bus Stud 53(3):434–448. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41267-021-00444-z
Santos C, Coelho A, Marques A (2023) A systematic literature review on greenwashing and its relationship to stakeholders: state of art and future research agenda. Manag Rev Q. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-023-00337-5
Schmiedel T, Müller O, Vom Brocke J (2019) Topic modeling as a strategy of inquiry in organizational research: a tutorial with an application example on organizational culture. Organ Res Methods 22(4):941–968. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428118773858
Spender JC (1996) Making knowledge the basis of a dynamic theory of the firm. Strateg Manag J 17(S2):45–62. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250171106
Stadler C, Helfat CE, Verona G (2022) Transferring knowledge by transferring individuals: Innovative technology use and organizational performance in multiunit firms. Organ Sci 33(1):253–274. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2021.1446
Tasselli S, Kilduff M, Menges JI (2015) The microfoundations of organizational social networks: a review and an agenda for future research. J Manag 41(5):1361–1387. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206315573996
Udehn L (2002) The changing face of methodological individualism. Ann Rev Sociol 28(1):479–507. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.28.110601.140938
Vanhala M, Lu C, Peltonen J, Sundqvist S, Nummenmaa J, Järvelin K (2020) The usage of large data sets in online consumer behaviour: a bibliometric and computational text-mining–driven analysis of previous research. J Bus Res 106:46–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.09.009
Volberda HW, Foss NJ, Lyles MA (2010) Absorbing the concept of absorptive capacity: how to realize its potential in the organization field [Article]. Organ Sci 21(4):931–951. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1090.0503
Walls JL, Salaiz A, Chiu S-C (2021) Wanted: Heroic leaders to drive the transition to “business beyond usual.” Strateg Organ 19(3):494–512. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476127020973379
Wernerfelt B (1984) A resource-based view of the firm. Strateg Manag J 5(2):171–180. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.4250050207
Zahra SA, Wright M (2011) Entrepreneurship’s next act. Acad Manag Perspect 25(4):67–83. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2010.0149
Zollo M, Winter SG (2002) Deliberate learning and the evolution of dynamic capabilities. Organ Sci 13(3):339–351. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.13.3.339.2780
Funding
This work does not receive any financial aid or support.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
All authors contributed to the study's conception and design. All authors read and approved the revised manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the context of the article.
Additional information
Communicated by Joern Block (Editor-in-Chief).
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Venugopal, A., Gopinathan, S., Al-Shammari, M. et al. A topic modeling and scientometric analysis of microfoundations of strategy research. Manag Rev Q (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-023-00379-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-023-00379-9