Distinctive Dynamic Capabilities for New Business Creation: Sensing, Seizing, Scaling and Separating

This study examines the distinctive dynamic capabilities for new business creation in established companies. We argue that these are very different from those for managing incremental innovation within a company's core business. We also propose that such capabilities are needed in both slow and fast-paced industries, and that similarities exist across industries. Hence, the study contributes to dynamic capabilities literature by: 1) identifying the distinctive dynamic capabilities for new business creation; 2) shifting focus away from dynamic capabilities in environments characterised by high clock-speed and uncertainty towards considering dynamic capabilities for the purpose of developing new businesses, which also implies a high degree of uncertainty. Based on interviews with 33 companies, we identify distinctive dynamic capabilities for new business creation, find that dynamic capabilities for this are needed across industries regardless of their clock-speed, and ascertain that capabilities and practices are similar across industries although idiosyncratic differences at the company level do exist.