Towards a Regional Dynamic Capability View – Components of Macrofoundation

The paper outlines components of a regional dynamic capability view (RDCV) considering the interdependence between regional and firm development. It is aiming at enhancing the multilevel perspective of the dynamic capability view (DCV) with respect to upper-level dynamics and mechanisms of organizational renewal. For this macrofoundation components from new institutionalism and regional studies enrich the DCV. The outline treats the interconnected ecosystem of regional firms and institutions as the unit of analysis, gives emphasis to institutional entrepreneurs in their pivotal role for sensemaking and to the middleground as a supporting organizational form for enhancing enactment as the key prerequisites for allocating resources in a new manner. The RDCV especially outlines the process of seizing. The example of the recent transformation of the Ruhr area serves as an illustration for the relevance of the theoretical considerations. In order to prepare empirical analyses, the paper, moreover, outlines a research design for data collection and evaluation based on a mixed-method approach combining document analysis with participating observation aiming at an operationalization of second-order constructs during the process of data evaluation. The contribution is considered as an invitation to other researchers to build on an RDCV mutually.