Understanding complex organization: the role of know-how, internal structure, and human behavior in the evolution of capabilities

This article begins with some notes on the intellectual climate in which the article of Winter (1968, “Towards a Neo-Schumpeterian Theory of the Firm,” The RAND Corporation; 2006, Industrial and Corporate Change, 15, 1) was first written. It identifies core ideas and contentions Sidney Winter helped put on the research agenda for scholars interested in complex business organization. We point out that Winter’s early contentions have implications for strategic thinking (in both business and military contexts) and that a promising research agenda lies in the further development of notions of organizational capability.