A RESOURCE-BASED FRAMEWORK TO ASSESS DISCONTINUITIES IN THE DISTRIBUTION PARADIGM AND THEIR EFFECT ON INCUMBENTS’ STRATEGIES: THE CASE OF MOBILE NETWORK OPERATORS AND APPLICATION STORES

摘要

The discontinuity determined by a shift in the distribution paradigm in place has deeprnstrategic implications, with specific reference to the resources, competencies andrncapabilities firms leverage on to achieve competitive advantage.rnTaking stock of a wide literature review on Strategic Management’s Resource-basedrnView and Dynamic Capabilities Approach to ground and test the definition of “core”rnresources, competencies and capabilities, and adopting multiple case studies on anrnextensive set of relevant companies as the empirical research method, the presentrnstudy analyzes the upfront issue related to the rise of the Mobile Application Store modelrnas a substitute to the original Mobile Portal model from the incumbent Mobile NetworkrnOperators perspective, and proposes a resource-based framework to address the issuernof how a distribution paradigm change can affect a firm’s resources endowment.rnThe original framework is built on three main steps, encompassing: identification andrncategorization of resources, competences and capabilities before and after therndiscontinuity takes place; application of literature-derived tests to assess the actual corernstatus of traditional and emerging resources; and provisioning of strategic guidelines tornsupport the management of the resources portfolio, as reclassified according to therndiscontinuity outcomes.rnThe framework can have both a methodological, a descriptive and a normative value. Inrnaddition to its academic significance, its adoption as an internal strategy analysis toolrncan benefit a wide set of stakeholders facing critical discontinuity conditions on therndistribution side.