Unraveling the resource‐based tangle

Abstract Resource‐based theory (RBT) is a prime example of a theory that integrates a management perspective with an economics perspective. As such, its challenge is to keep its arguments logically consistent and clear, despite the risk of their becoming entangled, due to competing and possibly conflicting theoretical influences. We argue, in this paper, that to meet this challenge, it is essential to understand the limits to the domain of RBT. Unless RBT is understood as a resource‐level and efficiency‐oriented analytical tool, its contribution cannot be understood and appreciated fully. Incorporating aspects of economic theory that fall outside this domain will not increase its power and will only add to the…