An Appraisal of the Influence of the Theory of the Growth of the Firm on the Development of Edith Penrose´ Resource Based View

Abstract

The general objective of this work is to assess the relationship between the Resource-Based View (RBV) and Penrose’s theory of the growth of the firm in order to draw a comparative analysis between them. The motivation comes from the widespread notion in academic literature that Penrose is the precursor of those theories of the firm which focus on capabilities, one of them being the RBV. In this sense, the specific objective is to determine which aspects confirm this assertion and which highlight differences. Furthermore, this work intends to chart the debate, which is fragmented throughout the literature. The RBV focus will be that of Jay Barney and authors who follow his line of interpretation, given that he is considered one of the pioneers of this theory.