50 ENTREPRENEURSHIP
nization’s members know and what information these people possess. Networking gives
the entrepreneur access to resources without controlling them. This access minimizes the
potential risk of ownership and keeps overhead down. Entrepreneurial networking has
become standard practice, and the old view of the entrepreneur as a rugged individualist
has been modified to reflect the realities of today’s complex business environment.^41
There is a perspective called the relational viewof the firm.^42 We incorporate the relation-
al view theory into the resource-based view.
Frequently, the most important and valuable resource that the new venture has is the
founding entrepreneur. These are unique people with their own special characteristics,
histories that cannot be duplicated, and complex social relationships.Technological Resources
Technological resources consist of processes, systems, or physical transformations.
They may include labs, research and development facilities, and testing and quality con-
trol technologies. Knowledge generated by research and development and then pro-
tected by patents is a resource, as are formulas, licenses, trademarks, and copyrights.
Technological secrets and proprietary processes are resources as well.
There is a distinction between technological capital and intellectual capital.
Intellectual capital is embodied in a person or persons and is mobile. If the person or
persons leave the firm, so does the capital. Technological resources are physical, intangi-
ble, or legal entities and are owned by the organization.
Can complex physical technology provide a basis for SCA? The answer in general
must be no. Technological resources—machines, computer systems, equipment, ma-
chine tools, robots, complicated electronics, and so on—cannot be the basis for SCA be-
cause they can be duplicated and reproduced. There are enough mobile and capable
engineering and scientific human resources to take apart and put together any of this
complex technology. A patent, however, might make it illegal for a firm’s competition
to commercially develop an exact copy. However, complex technology is not worthless
as a source of competitive advantage. Although a number of firms may have the same
complex technology, one firm may be more adept at exploiting this technology through
its human or organizational resources. If the method of exploiting the technology is not
easy to copy (assuming it is valuable, rare, and difficult to substitute), then other
resources can augment technology to provide SCA.^43
For example, consider information technology (IT). Many would consider IT a rent-
generating resource, but not because of the hardware involved. IT has an infrastructure
and systems, and these are complex. IT employs human resources with skills and man-
agement capabilities that are hard to copy. IT has enabling intangibles, such as knowl-
edge of customer orientations and synergies. High IT capability can lead to improved
profits and lower costs.^44
One company with outstanding technological resources is Sicor. Sicor (Irvine,
California) is a pharmaceutical company specializing in injectable products. It is ranked
number 15 in Business Week’s 2003 list of hot growth companies. (The company has
since been acquired by TEVA.) One of Sicor’s sources of competitive advantage is its
technological resources. It has mastered the manufacture and testing of hundreds of
medical compounds in its labs and facilities, as well as the production of injection instru-