Performance Impact of Technological Assets and Reconfiguration Capabilities: The Case of Small Manufacturing Firms in Japan

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between firm resources and performance. We divide firm resources into two types: primary resources and support resources. Primary resources include technological assets and reconfiguration capabilities, which directly contribute to a firm’s competitive advantage. Support resources include internal human capital, interfirm collaboration, and managerial vision, which contribute to the development of primary resources. Using a sample of 302 small-and-medium manufacturing firms in Japan, our analysis revealed that both technological assets and reconfiguration capabilities significantly enhanced firm performance, that the firms with superior technological assets tended to possess superior reconfiguration capabilities, and that most of the support resources significantly contributed to the development of both technological assets and reconfiguration capabilities.