Chapter Teece 2023
Corbel, P. « David J. Teece – Entre intégration et reconfiguration », in T. Burger-Helmchen, C. Hussler and P. Cohendet, Les grands auteurs en management de l’innovation et de la créativité, éditions EMS, 2nd edition, March 2023, Vol.1, pp. 161-177
Introduction:
David J. Teece is a highly influential author in the fields of strategic management and innovation. He is especially associated with the concept of dynamic capabilities and the "Profiting from innovation" (PFI) model. A closer look at his work, however, sheds light on other facets of his oeuvre: a propensity for proposing theoretical papers, quite often written alone, a thinking that is often a precursor to the theories and concepts that will emerge later, and an excellent ability to incorporate contemporary developments in the economics of innovation and strategic management into his models. These three complementary characteristics shape a highly original body of work in which we find a certain number of constants, sometimes already present in his doctoral thesis, but also an ability to integrate new concepts and reconfigure his models accordingly. This characteristic, which we already highlighted in the previous edition of this chapter (Corbel, 2016), is reminiscent of the concept of dynamic capabilities. In this chapter, we will try to show how David J. Teece's thinking has influenced and been influenced in turn by developments in the fields of strategic management and, above all, the economics and management of innovation.
As a chapter is devoted to him in the book "Les grands auteurs en stratégie" (Mothe, 2020), we will focus particularly on his contributions to innovation management, leaving aside, for example, his interest in transaction cost economics. After a brief biographical note, we will present his work in economics and then in innovation management. First, we will look back at the roots and invariants of Teece's thinking, then outline the foundations of the PFI model. The second part will be devoted to the way in which the PFI model, combined with the other theoretical concepts used by Teece, will influence several fields of strategic innovation management. Given Teece's ability to make his models evolve in symbiosis with developments in strategic management and innovation management, we will show both the ways in which other authors have seized on his work and his own enrichments. His influence has been particularly strong on issues such as appropriating the benefits of innovation, intellectual property, alliances and business models. Even with these enrichments, the central model of his work on innovation is not without its limitations, limitations which themselves open up new perspectives. This is the subject of the third and final part of this chapter.