Creating value through entrepreneurship: A reconceptualization, theoretical extension, and conceptual level empirical investigation of the resource-based view of the firm

The resource-based view (RBV) is one of the most widely accepted bodies of thought in the strategic management field and beyond. Notwithstanding its appeal, however, certain challenges have hindered and continue to hinder its acceptance as a "theory" of the firm. Specifically, the RB V literature (1) has yet to present a methodological approach capable of testing the RBV's central tenets, (2) continues to rely on factors exogenous to the resource exploitation process to operationalize competitive advantage, (3) under-specifies the resource exploitation process, and (4) offers few prescriptions for firms regarding how to create value.; Despite the daunting nature of these challenges, they are not insurmountable. In fact, it is possible to resolve them by (1) testing the RBV at the conceptual level, (2) reconceptualizing the dependent variable of the RBV as the creation of value, (3) drawing on the entrepreneurship literature to elaborate on the manner in which resources may be used to maximize value creation at the firm level, and (4) examining the value creation process through an organizational adaptation lens to identify the antecedents to this process.; By synthesizing these ideas with the current RBV's conceptual arguments a new multi-stage model is developed that suggests that a firm can best create value through the novel combination of valuable resources. Since this process is often complicated in the face of radical environmental change, it may be accomplished in the presence of entrepreneurial capital, entrepreneurial management, and resource access. The subsequent empirical analysis lends support to the model hypotheses, suggesting that this reconceptualization of the RBV may provide a more dynamic understanding of the value creation process than currently exists.