 He identified the factors which determine whether the firm that wins from innovation is the firm that is first to market, a follower firm, or a firm that has related capabilities that the innovation requires to provide value to a customer.The key elements in what has been called the Teece Model are the imitability of the innovation (how easily competitors can copy it) and the ownership of complementary assets.Sidney Winter has argued that Teece’s paper contributes “en passant but fundamentally, to the clarification of basic questions.” 

Teece is identified as being partially responsible for the dynamic capabilities perspective in strategic management.