Abstract

And I really mean it! This paper is still very much in a preliminary state – more the sketch of a paper than the finished thing. In particular, I am acutely aware that I have attempted to summarize – or at least draw from – several large and disparate literatures. In the process there is a very real risk that I have neglected important papers and/or mischaracterized existing research. If you find this to be the case, please let me know. I welcome your comments. 1 While there is widespread agreement in the strategy literature that organizational competencies are a potentially potent source of sustainable competitive advantage, our understanding of how they are developed and why they are difficult to imitate remains incomplete. This paper develops the hypothesis that many (most?) strategically important organizational competencies are the fruit of “relational contracts ” – implicit agreements both within and across firm boundaries that serve to support “the way we behave around here ”-- that have been developed through an evolutionary process that has taken both time and sustained managerial attention. We argue that the construction of a relational contract requires all parties to understand “the

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