When Do Improvisational Capabilities Trump Dynamic Capabilities

The authors assert that innovation and adaptability within organizations during turbulent times gives companies a competitive edge over other organizations lacking such skills. To illustrate their thesis, they use the example of the 1949 Mann Gulch Fire disaster in which a firefighter escaped by using a new idea, setting an escape fire, while other firefighters using traditional firefighting techniques perished. The authors provide anecdotal descriptions of traits that define an organization's "improvisational capabilities" and their "dynamic capabilities."