Building middle managers’ managerial dynamic capabilities through collaborations: exploring the microfoundations in a university–industry consortium

Abstract Through a longitudinal study of a university–industry consortium, this paper explores how middle managers’ dynamic capabilities (DC) are enhanced through participating in an open innovation (OI) environment. It shows how OI environments significantly expand managers’ cognitive DC, critical for a firm’s adaptability and competitive advantage. The study employs qualitative methods, including interviews and direct observations within a university–industry Consortium, revealing the identification of mechanisms through which managers develop capabilities in sensing, seizing, and reconfiguring, transitioning from initial knowledge gaps to advanced strategic application and internalization of external knowledge. This work contributes to the understanding of the microfoundations of DC enhancing the pivotal role of middle managers in bridging external knowledge with organizational innovation strategies. It highlights: (1) the progression, the hierarchy and the enablers for the development of cognitive managerial dynamic capabilities in middle managers; (2) routes for the acquisition and renewal of cognitive managerial capabilities beyond what previously highlighted in literature.