Purpose

While the evolution of subsidiaries has received considerable research attention, the framework for understanding it has not evolved much since the late 1990s. The purpose of this paper is to add both clarity and depth to the work on the foundations for – as well as the processes of – capability creation and development as a subsidiary evolves.

Design/methodology/approach

This conceptual paper takes as its point of departure the micro-foundation literature, with a specific emphasis on the capability development literature. To describe capability creation and development, both the resource-based view and the resource management perspective are used here.

Findings

The paper adds a conceptual layer to the drivers of subsidiary evolution. To add further clarity regarding how capabilities are actually formed, the resources for capability creation and development are specified herein as entities, abilities and capacity. Arguments are also presented for why capabilities ought to be viewed as patterned behavior to decrease the terminological ambiguity surrounding the concept of capabilities. The process of capability creation and development with an emphasis on learning is brought forward. Further, capability typologies, in terms of substantive, managerial and dynamic capabilities, are presented to add specificity to the kinds of capabilities that are created and developed within a subsidiary.

Originality/value

Clarifying the concept of capability and how capabilities are formed by using advancements in the literature is important to add precision to the literature on the evolution of subsidiaries.

中文翻译：

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完善辅助演化框架：阐明关键概念

目的

尽管子公司的发展受到了相当多的研究关注，但自1990年代末以来，了解子公司的框架并没有发展太多。本文的目的是为随着子公司的发展而进行的能力创建和开发的基础（以及过程）增加清晰性和深度。

设计/方法/方法

本概念文件以微观基础文献为出发点，特别着重于能力发展文献。为了描述功能的创建和开发，此处使用了基于资源的视图和资源管理透视图。

发现

本文为子公司发展的驱动力增加了一个概念层。为了进一步清楚地说明能力是如何形成的，此处将用于能力创建和开发的资源指定为实体，能力和能力。还提出了关于为什么应将能力视为具有规律性的行为以减少围绕能力概念的术语歧义的争论。提出了以学习为重点的能力创造和发展过程。此外，针对实体能力，管理能力和动态能力，提出了能力类型，以增加对在子公司内创建和开发的各种能力的特异性。

创意/价值

澄清能力的概念以及通过使用文献中的改进来形成能力的方法对于增加关于子公司发展的文献的准确性很重要。