The Resource-Based Theory of the Firm: The New Paradigm for Information Resources Management?

Abstract

This chapter explores the theoretical foundations of the digital economy. In doing that, it first discusses micro-economics – actually the eight main theories of the 20th century firm. A reasoning, through a literary review, is presented, which shows that no other theory of firm explored provides a suitable background for the digital economy, except the resource-based view of the firm. Starting from this finding, the paper further explores the strategic formulations based on the resource-based view of the firm, as well as its implications to organizational learning and competitive advantage created by information resources management. The conclusions suggest that the resource-based view of the firm, and its implications to strategic management and information resources management, form a solid base for further studies on the foundations of the digital economy. Therefore, the paper suggests that studies of the digital economy could be more fruitful, when studied under the premises of the resource-based theory, than any other modern theory of the firm.