Three essays on building new innovation capabilities: A synthesis of the resource-based and operations strategy perspectives, with applications to the cases of electric vehicles and electronic commerce

This dissertation synthesizes the Resource-Based View of Strategy (RBVS) and Operations Strategy (OS) literature into 7 key hypotheses that significantly increase the importance of operations within strategy. We argue that instead of being focused solely on optimizing operations, OS plays several new roles: (1) finder of innovative strategies; (2) leader of strategy making; (3) formulator of new agility strategies; (4) protector of resource-based advantages; (5) sustainer of resource-based advantages; (6) builder of advantages through best-practice implementation; and (7) exploiter of both existing and optional portfolios of resources.;These hypotheses are applied in the context of New Product Development (NPD). Innovation is viewed as a subset of OS, since it is one of the key cross-functional processes spanning a firm's operations. As we transpose our hypotheses to the NPD context, we find opportunities to explain how firms build new innovation capabilities over time. Our framework offers a typical scenario by which firms change in order to remain innovative in hypercompetitive industries, where NPD managers can play determinant roles similar to those identified for OS.;An exploratory methodology is followed to address our research objectives. First, a deductive reasoning is used to illustrate our hypotheses in one industry, namely that of Electric Vehicles (EV's). We review the innovation management literature and infer some strategic challenges as the automotive industry attempts to develop commercially viable EV's. In that context, NPD is poised to take the leadership to change strategy from time-to-market to radical innovation. Managers of EV development are responsible for articulating and diffusing the new strategy, while adjusting best practices such as Concurrent Engineering and Knowledge Management to the new competitive environment, driven by the emergence of a dominant design.;We then follow a mixed deductive-inductive approach to demonstrate our hypotheses with findings from another industry, that of E-Commerce Solutions. Qualitative data is Gathered around three NPD cases within a leading organization that develops and commercializes E-Commerce solutions. First, we analyze a new B2C travel industry platform and demonstrate that a new set of hybrid MIS-NPD capabilities are emerging, driven by NPD managers. Second, we evaluate the development process of a new teleconferencing product, where new best practices inspired by Concurrent Engineering make E-Commerce development more agile and help build key competitive advantages. Third, we observe the planning of a new portfolio of B2B solutions, where NPD takes the lead to identify innovative E-Commerce strategies while protecting, leveraging, and exploiting both existing and optional portfolios of resources.;In our conclusions, we synthesize the findings of our EV and E-Commerce studies to formulate a theory that explains how firms build new innovation capabilities. We discuss the limitations of this new model and propose further research to integrate it within the evolutionary theory of the firm. Finally, we translate our hypotheses and research into managerial implications.