The study examines the relationship between dynamic capabilities and institutional size of financial cooperatives. A mixed research design was adopted to study 269 savings and credit cooperatives (SACCOs) in Uganda. Structural equation modelling and content analysis were carried out. The results indicate that dynamic capabilities and institutional size of financial cooperatives are significant and positively related. Further, the constructs of dynamic capability of coordination, learning, and competitive response contribute to the increase in membership, capital base, returns to members, and portfolio quality of SACCOs. The study concludes that the size and development of financial cooperatives depends heavily on the institutional and managerial capabilities for coordination, learning, and competitive responses to the environment. The study’s contribution is to highlight the complexity of the environment in which the financial cooperatives operate and the importance of dynamic capabilities to succeed.

Achtenhagen, L., Naldi, L. and Melin, L. (2010) ‘“Business growth” – Do practitioners and scholars really talk about the same thing?’ Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 34(2): 289–316.

Adizes, I. (1979) ‘Organizational passages – diagnosing and treating lifecycle problems of organizations’, Organizational Dynamics 8(1): 3–25.

Amin, M. (2005) Social Science Research: Conception, Methodology and Analysis, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.

Anyidike-Danes, M., Karen, B., Mark, H., Colin, M. (2009) Measuring Business Growth, -High growth firms and their contribution to employment in UK, Nesta, Aston Publications Explorer.

Auditor General of Uganda (2013) Value for Money Audit Report on the Capacity Building Support to SACCOs by the Rural Financial Services Programme

Beltran, G. and Ramesh, B. (2017) ‘Dynamic capabilities in small service firms’, Engaged Management ReView 1(3): 2.

Breznik, L. and Lahovnik, M. (2016) ‘Dynamic capabilities and competitive advantage: Findings from case studies’, Management: Journal of Contemporary Management Issues 21(Special issue): 167–185.

Chukwuemeka, O.W. and Onuoha, B. (2018) ‘Dynamic capabilities and competitive advantage of fast foods restaurants’, International Journal of Management Science and Business Administration 4(3): 7–14.

Coad, A. and Tamvada, J.P. (2012) ‘Firm growth and barriers to growth among small firms in India’, Small Business Economics 39(2): 383–400.

Creswell, J.W. (2009) Research Design, Qualitatif, Quantitative, and Mixing Approaches, Sage, London.

Cronbach, L.J. (1951) Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika 16(3), 297–334.

D’Annunzio, C., Carattoli, M. and Dupleix, D. (2015) Dynamic Capabilities Associated With A Firm’s Growth In Developing Countries: A Comparative Study Of Argentinean Smes In The Software And Tourism Industries, Journal of Entreprenuership, Management and innovations;Fundacja cognitione, ISSN 2299-7326

Davidsson, P., Achtenhagen, L. and Naldi, L. (2010) ‘Small firm growth’, Foundations and Trends® in Entrepreneurship 6(2): 69–166.

Field, A. (2005) Reliability analysis, in Field, A. (ed.), Discovering Statistics Using spss, 2nd edn, Sage, London.

Froehlich, C., Bitencourt, C.C. and Bossle, M.B (2017) ‘The use of dynamic capabilities to boost innovations in a Brazilian chemical company’, Revista de Administracao 52: 479–491

Girod, S. J. and Whittington, R. (2017) ‘Reconfiguration, restructuring and firm performance: Dynamic capabilities and environmental dynamism’, Strategic Management Journal 38(5): 1121–1133.

Greene, J.C. and Caracelli, V.J. (1997) Advances in mixed-method evaluation: The challenges and benefits of integrating diverse paradigms, Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco United States.

Hair, J., Black, W.C., Babin, B.J. and Anderson, R.E. (2010) Multivariate Data Analysis, 7th edn, Pearson Education International, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

Kagaari, J.R.K. (2010) ‘Performance management practices and managed performance: The moderating influence of organizational culture and climate’, PhD thesis, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.

Kazanjian, R.K. (1988) ‘Relation of dominant problems to stages of growth in technology-based new ventures’, Academy of Management Journal 31(2): 257–279.

Koryak, O., Mole, K.F., Lockett, A., Hayton, J. C., Ucbasaran, D. and Hodgkinson, G.P. (2015) ‘Substantive growth capabilities’, International Small Business Journal 33(1): 89–105.

Lamoureux, E.L., Pallant, J.F., Pesudovs, K., Hassell, J.B. and Keeffe, J.E. (2006). ‘The impact of vision impairment questionnaire: an evaluation of its measurement properties using Rasch analysis’, Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 47(11): 4732–4741.

Little, R.J. and Rubin, D.B. (2002) ‘Bayes and multiple imputation’, in Statistical analysis with missing data, pp. 200–220, Wiley Series in probability and Statistics.

Mafabi, S., Munene, J. and Ntayi, J. (2012) ‘Knowledge management and organizational resilience: Organizational innovation as a mediator in Uganda parastatals’, Journal of Strategy and Management 5(1): 57–80.

Makkonen, H., Pohjola, M., Olkkonen, R. and Koponen, A. (2014) ‘Dynamic capabilities and firm performance in a financial crisis’, Journal of Business Research 67(1): 2707–2719.

Melén, S. and Nordman, E.R. (2009) ‘The internationalisation modes of Born Globals: A longitudinal study’, European Management Journal 27(4): 243–254.

Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., Huberman, M.A. and Huberman, M. (1994) Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook, Thousand Oaks, CA Sage Publications.

Mwakujonga, J. and Bwana, K. M. (2013) ‘Specializing in entrepreneurship field of study on entrepreneurial intentions of university students’, Journal of Education and Practice 4(9): 116–127.

Nunnally, J. (1978) Psychometric theory, 2nd edn, Mcgraw-hill, Hillsdale, New Jersey.

Pavlou, P.A. and El Sawy, O.A. (2011) ‘Understanding the elusive black box of dynamic capabilities’, Decision Sciences 42(1): 239–273.

Priya, D.G., Sumpati, G. and Shiva, S.K. (2013) ‘Firm growth and its determinants’, Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship springer open, 2: 15

Protogerou, A., Caloghirou, Y. and Lioukas, S. (2011) ‘Dynamic capabilities and their indirect impact on firm performance’, Industrial and Corporate Change 21(3): 615–647.

Rengkung, L.R. (2018) ‘Modelling of dynamic capabilities: A system dynamics approach’, Academy of Strategic Management Journal 17(5): 1–14

Ssekakubo, J., Ndiwalana, G. and Lwanga, F. (2014) ‘Managerial competency and the financial performance of savings, credit and cooperative societies in Uganda’, International Research Journal of Arts and Social Science 3(3): 66–74.

Steven, K., Howden, S., Mires, G., Rowe, I., Lafferty, N., Arnold, A. and Strath, A. (2017) ‘Toward interprofessional learning and education: Mapping common outcomes for prequalifying healthcare professional programs in the United Kingdom’, Medical teacher 39(7): 720–744.

Teece, D. J. (2012) ‘Dynamic capabilities: Routines versus entrepreneurial action’, Journal of Management Studies 49(8): 1395–1401.

Teece, D. J. (2014) ‘A dynamic capabilities-based entrepreneurial theory of the multinational enterprise’, Journal of International Business Studies 45(1): 8–37.

Teece, D. J., Pisano, G. and Shuen, A. (1997) ‘Dynamic capabilities and strategic management’, Strategic Management Journal 18(7): 509–533.

Tourangeau, R., Rips, L.J. and Rasinski, K. (2000) The Psychology of Survey Response, Cambridge University Press.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives (MTIC) (2016) Ministers Statement on the Status of Cooperatives in Uganda, Ministry of Industry Trade and Cooperatives, Kampala, Uganda.

The National Plannning Authority (2018) ‘Strengthening of cooperatives for social Economic Transformation in Uganda’, Policy Paper for Presidential Economic Council (PEC), Kampala, Uganda.

The Uganda Cooperative Alliance (2015) Annual Performance Report, Kampala, Uganda

Vaneetv, K. and Versha, M. (2017). ‘Dynamic capabilities for competitive advantage: A comparative study of IT multinationals in India’, Paradigm 21(1): 1–21.

Wang, C.L and Ahmed, P.K. (2007) ‘Dynamic capabilities: A review and research agenda’, International Journal of Management Reviews 9(1): 31–51.

Winter, S. G. (2003) ‘Understanding dynamic capabilities’, Strategic Management Journal 24(10): 991–995.

Wright, M. and Stigliani, I. (2012) ‘Entrepreneurship and growth’, International Small Business Journal 31(1): 3–22.

Yamane, T. (1973) Statistics: An introductory analysis. Harper and Row, New York.

Yung, I., Changa, D.Y. and Hung, L. (2016) ‘A study of the relationship between dynamics capabilities and firm’s dynamic growth: A case in Taiwan’, Transactions on Industrial, Financial and Business Management 4(7): 82–90.

Achtenhagen, L., Naldi, L. and Melin, L. (2010) ‘“Business growth” – Do practitioners and scholars really talk about the same thing?’ Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice 34(2): 289–316.

Adizes, I. (1979) ‘Organizational passages – diagnosing and treating lifecycle problems of organizations’, Organizational Dynamics 8(1): 3–25.

Amin, M. (2005) Social Science Research: Conception, Methodology and Analysis, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.

Anyidike-Danes, M., Karen, B., Mark, H., Colin, M. (2009) Measuring Business Growth, -High growth firms and their contribution to employment in UK, Nesta, Aston Publications Explorer.

Auditor General of Uganda (2013) Value for Money Audit Report on the Capacity Building Support to SACCOs by the Rural Financial Services Programme

Beltran, G. and Ramesh, B. (2017) ‘Dynamic capabilities in small service firms’, Engaged Management ReView 1(3): 2.

Breznik, L. and Lahovnik, M. (2016) ‘Dynamic capabilities and competitive advantage: Findings from case studies’, Management: Journal of Contemporary Management Issues 21(Special issue): 167–185.

Chukwuemeka, O.W. and Onuoha, B. (2018) ‘Dynamic capabilities and competitive advantage of fast foods restaurants’, International Journal of Management Science and Business Administration 4(3): 7–14.

Coad, A. and Tamvada, J.P. (2012) ‘Firm growth and barriers to growth among small firms in India’, Small Business Economics 39(2): 383–400.

Creswell, J.W. (2009) Research Design, Qualitatif, Quantitative, and Mixing Approaches, Sage, London.

Cronbach, L.J. (1951) Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika 16(3), 297–334.

D’Annunzio, C., Carattoli, M. and Dupleix, D. (2015) Dynamic Capabilities Associated With A Firm’s Growth In Developing Countries: A Comparative Study Of Argentinean Smes In The Software And Tourism Industries, Journal of Entreprenuership, Management and innovations;Fundacja cognitione, ISSN 2299-7326

Davidsson, P., Achtenhagen, L. and Naldi, L. (2010) ‘Small firm growth’, Foundations and Trends® in Entrepreneurship 6(2): 69–166.

Field, A. (2005) Reliability analysis, in Field, A. (ed.), Discovering Statistics Using spss, 2nd edn, Sage, London.

Froehlich, C., Bitencourt, C.C. and Bossle, M.B (2017) ‘The use of dynamic capabilities to boost innovations in a Brazilian chemical company’, Revista de Administracao 52: 479–491

Girod, S. J. and Whittington, R. (2017) ‘Reconfiguration, restructuring and firm performance: Dynamic capabilities and environmental dynamism’, Strategic Management Journal 38(5): 1121–1133.

Greene, J.C. and Caracelli, V.J. (1997) Advances in mixed-method evaluation: The challenges and benefits of integrating diverse paradigms, Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco United States.

Hair, J., Black, W.C., Babin, B.J. and Anderson, R.E. (2010) Multivariate Data Analysis, 7th edn, Pearson Education International, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

Kagaari, J.R.K. (2010) ‘Performance management practices and managed performance: The moderating influence of organizational culture and climate’, PhD thesis, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.

Kazanjian, R.K. (1988) ‘Relation of dominant problems to stages of growth in technology-based new ventures’, Academy of Management Journal 31(2): 257–279.

Koryak, O., Mole, K.F., Lockett, A., Hayton, J. C., Ucbasaran, D. and Hodgkinson, G.P. (2015) ‘Substantive growth capabilities’, International Small Business Journal 33(1): 89–105.

Lamoureux, E.L., Pallant, J.F., Pesudovs, K., Hassell, J.B. and Keeffe, J.E. (2006). ‘The impact of vision impairment questionnaire: an evaluation of its measurement properties using Rasch analysis’, Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 47(11): 4732–4741.

Little, R.J. and Rubin, D.B. (2002) ‘Bayes and multiple imputation’, in Statistical analysis with missing data, pp. 200–220, Wiley Series in probability and Statistics.

Mafabi, S., Munene, J. and Ntayi, J. (2012) ‘Knowledge management and organizational resilience: Organizational innovation as a mediator in Uganda parastatals’, Journal of Strategy and Management 5(1): 57–80.

Makkonen, H., Pohjola, M., Olkkonen, R. and Koponen, A. (2014) ‘Dynamic capabilities and firm performance in a financial crisis’, Journal of Business Research 67(1): 2707–2719.

Melén, S. and Nordman, E.R. (2009) ‘The internationalisation modes of Born Globals: A longitudinal study’, European Management Journal 27(4): 243–254.

Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., Huberman, M.A. and Huberman, M. (1994) Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook, Thousand Oaks, CA Sage Publications.

Mwakujonga, J. and Bwana, K. M. (2013) ‘Specializing in entrepreneurship field of study on entrepreneurial intentions of university students’, Journal of Education and Practice 4(9): 116–127.

Nunnally, J. (1978) Psychometric theory, 2nd edn, Mcgraw-hill, Hillsdale, New Jersey.

Pavlou, P.A. and El Sawy, O.A. (2011) ‘Understanding the elusive black box of dynamic capabilities’, Decision Sciences 42(1): 239–273.

Priya, D.G., Sumpati, G. and Shiva, S.K. (2013) ‘Firm growth and its determinants’, Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship springer open, 2: 15

Protogerou, A., Caloghirou, Y. and Lioukas, S. (2011) ‘Dynamic capabilities and their indirect impact on firm performance’, Industrial and Corporate Change 21(3): 615–647.

Rengkung, L.R. (2018) ‘Modelling of dynamic capabilities: A system dynamics approach’, Academy of Strategic Management Journal 17(5): 1–14

Ssekakubo, J., Ndiwalana, G. and Lwanga, F. (2014) ‘Managerial competency and the financial performance of savings, credit and cooperative societies in Uganda’, International Research Journal of Arts and Social Science 3(3): 66–74.

Steven, K., Howden, S., Mires, G., Rowe, I., Lafferty, N., Arnold, A. and Strath, A. (2017) ‘Toward interprofessional learning and education: Mapping common outcomes for prequalifying healthcare professional programs in the United Kingdom’, Medical teacher 39(7): 720–744.

Teece, D. J. (2012) ‘Dynamic capabilities: Routines versus entrepreneurial action’, Journal of Management Studies 49(8): 1395–1401.

Teece, D. J. (2014) ‘A dynamic capabilities-based entrepreneurial theory of the multinational enterprise’, Journal of International Business Studies 45(1): 8–37.

Teece, D. J., Pisano, G. and Shuen, A. (1997) ‘Dynamic capabilities and strategic management’, Strategic Management Journal 18(7): 509–533.

Tourangeau, R., Rips, L.J. and Rasinski, K. (2000) The Psychology of Survey Response, Cambridge University Press.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives (MTIC) (2016) Ministers Statement on the Status of Cooperatives in Uganda, Ministry of Industry Trade and Cooperatives, Kampala, Uganda.

The National Plannning Authority (2018) ‘Strengthening of cooperatives for social Economic Transformation in Uganda’, Policy Paper for Presidential Economic Council (PEC), Kampala, Uganda.

The Uganda Cooperative Alliance (2015) Annual Performance Report, Kampala, Uganda

Vaneetv, K. and Versha, M. (2017). ‘Dynamic capabilities for competitive advantage: A comparative study of IT multinationals in India’, Paradigm 21(1): 1–21.

Wang, C.L and Ahmed, P.K. (2007) ‘Dynamic capabilities: A review and research agenda’, International Journal of Management Reviews 9(1): 31–51.

Winter, S. G. (2003) ‘Understanding dynamic capabilities’, Strategic Management Journal 24(10): 991–995.

Wright, M. and Stigliani, I. (2012) ‘Entrepreneurship and growth’, International Small Business Journal 31(1): 3–22.

Yamane, T. (1973) Statistics: An introductory analysis. Harper and Row, New York.

Yung, I., Changa, D.Y. and Hung, L. (2016) ‘A study of the relationship between dynamics capabilities and firm’s dynamic growth: A case in Taiwan’, Transactions on Industrial, Financial and Business Management 4(7): 82–90.