The Development of the Resource-based View: Reflections from Birger Wernerfelt 1

Since the publication of Birger Wernerfelt's seminal article on the `Resource-based view of the firm' in 1984, the strategic management field has embraced the notion that firms are fundamentally heterogeneous in terms of their resources and internal capabilities. This paper assesses the development of the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm from Wernerfelt's own perspective. Given his limited engagement in the strategic management field over the previous decades, we asked Wernerfelt to revisit his work and to comment on the critical issues which have subsequently arisen as the RBV has developed into a dominant paradigm in strategic management.

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