Developing a Dynamic Capability Framework for Real Estate Firms in Emerging Markets: Theory and Evidence from Nigeria

This dissertation develops an original dynamic capability framework for real estate firms operating in emerging markets, explaining how Nigerian property companies build, maintain, and reconfigure the organisational capabilities required to sustain competitive advantage in a volatile, institutionally uncertain, and rapidly changing business environment. Dynamic capability theory has been extensively developed in the strategy and management literature for manufacturing and technology firms, but its specific application to real estate firms in emerging markets presents both theoretical gaps and empirical opportunities that this dissertation addresses. The theoretical contribution applies dynamic capability theory to the specific resource configuration and competitive dynamics of Nigerian estate management and development firms, identifying five capability domains particularly relevant to the Nigerian real estate business environment: institutional navigation capability, enabling firms to operate effectively across formal-informal institutional boundaries; relational capital management capability, building and maintaining the network relationships that substitute for market mechanisms; adaptive valuation capability, developing and updating property assessment methods under poor data conditions; crisis response capability, enabling rapid reconfiguration following macroeconomic shocks; and political environment management capability, navigating government relationships in a context where state actors have significant discretionary influence over firm outcomes. The framework is developed and validated through a multi-method empirical programme including interviews with 60 senior real estate firm executives, a survey of 150 firms across Lagos, Abuja, Kano, and Port Harcourt, and three detailed longitudinal case studies of firms with different capability profiles. Performance outcomes are tracked through financial and market position indicators. Keywords: dynamic capabilities, real estate firms, emerging markets, strategic management, Nigeria.