Practicing the Resource Based View: Learning to Play the Song of “Theory in Practice”; A reflective case study on the challenges of formulating an expansion strategy through the lens of the resource based view

Sammanfattning: Background and Problem: The resource based view (RBV) has been a central paradigm within management research for more than two decades and it is an accepted theory used to analyze differences in firm performance as well as strategy formulation. However, the RBV has been accused of being too theoretical with practitioners finding it difficult to fully operationalize its concepts, making the RBV difficult to use in practice. Company X is a provider of digital visualization tools for online marketing in the real estate industry and thus needs to formulate an expansion strategy that matches the company’s resources and capabilities with the opportunities in the US market. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is at its core to reflect on the practical application of the RBV in a real life strategic setting to highlight what potential challenges practitioners face when attempting to operationalize the theory. Since this thesis has a strong emphasis on theory in practice the situation Company X finds it self in presents a good setting to apply the RBV on a real strategic issue, namely a proposed expansion in the US market. The purpose of this thesis has a clear practical component in the actual strategy for Company X as well as a theoretical component in the form of the reflective approach on theory as practice. Method: The research design of this thesis has two layers, the first of which is a case study of Company X and the application of the RBV in formulating a an expansion strategy. The second layer being a reflective approach that allows the authors to identify challenges of applying RBV theory in practice. First hand data collection has been conducted through a number of interviews with managers at Company X as well as representatives from different stakeholders in the US real estate market. Secondary data has been collected through a comprehensive narrative literature review as well as secondary sources providing additional data on the US market. Findings: The combined internal and external findings show that Company X has capabilities that can be leveraged within two different sub markets to approach different types of customers. Furthermore, the analysis reveals some gaps in the companies resources stock where recommendations are given for how to close those resource gaps. Additionally the reflection on the RBV in practice allows the authors to identify a number of challenges that emerge when operationalizing the theory in a real business setting. The thesis concludes with recommendations for future research directions within the RBV with the aim to increase its practical applicability.