Causation, counterfactuals, and competitive advantage

@inproceedings{Durand2009CausationCA,
  title={Causation, counterfactuals, and competitive advantage},
  author={Rodolphe Durand and Eero Vaara},
  year={2009}
}
Causation is still poorly understood in strategy research, and confusion prevails around key concepts such as competitive advantage. In this paper, we define epistemological conditions that help dispel some of this confusion and provide a basis for more developed approaches. In particular, we argue that a counterfactual approach - one that builds on a systematic analysis of what-if questions - can advance our understanding of key causal mechanisms in strategy research. We offer two concrete… 
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