Developing a Framework for the Identification and Analysis of the Strategic Resources and Capabilities in Supply Chains

A fundamental challenge in the resource-based view (RBV) research is the identification of strategic resources and capabilities, whether they lie within a firm’s boundaries or in its supply chain. RBV theorists regarded the identification of the strategic resources as the first step in the analysis of the resources, followed by development/maintenance of the resources and finally their deployment. Some authors developed frameworks for the analysis of strategic resources within a firm’s boundaries. Many believe that a firm’s strategic resources and capabilities are not limited to the firm’s boundaries, extend its network. In this paper, we classify supply chain resources and capabilities into two categories: internal resources and capabilities (based on RBV) and relational ones (based on RV). We then develop a framework for the identification and analysis of these resources and capabilities and apply it to the supply chain resources and capabilities of two automobile manufacturing companies in Iran.