Emotional foundations of capability development: An exploration in the SME context

Kars-Unluoglu, Selen; Kevill, Alex

Abstract

Research uncovering the behavioural and cognitive foundations of capability development has gained traction in recent years. However, the emotional foundations of capability development have not been adequately addressed. This is an important gap; if emotions impact decisions and actions of key organisational actors, this suggests an influence on capability development processes in organisations, with implications for their survival and evolution. In this paper, we therefore explore 'how do the emotions of key strategists enable and/or hinder capability development?' Our in-depth qualitative research, based on five small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), shows that emotions of key strategists, including emotional tensions and ambivalence, have multi-faceted effects on capability development depending on the activation level of pleasant and unpleasant emotions experienced. This adds to extant understanding of idiosyncratic foundations of capability development and extends conversations regarding the internal dynamics behind organisational survival and evolution.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 16, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Jan 12, 2021
• Publication Date: 2021-07
• Deposit Date: Nov 20, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 19, 2021
• Journal: Journal of Management and Organization
• Print ISSN: 1833-3672
• Electronic ISSN: 1839-3527
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 27
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 674-693
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2020.38
• Keywords: Capabilities and capability development; dynamic capability view; emotions and mood; qualitative methods
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/6863187