| Amoako-Gyampah and Meredith (2007) | | x | x | | Qual – Cost – Deliv – Flex | Sequence is different in developing countries | Survey | Developing |
| Boyer and Lewis (2002) | x | | | x | – | Halo effects may impede measurement of trade-offs among prios | Survey | Developed |
| Chung and Swink (2009) | | x | x | | – | Technology use promotes all capabilities but not costs – four different performance groups emerge | Survey | Developed |
| Ferdows and De Meyer (1990) | x | x | x | | Qual – Deliv – Flex – Cost | Suggests the cumulative “sand cone” model as a new theory | Survey | Developed |
| Ferdows et al. (1986) | | x | x | | Qual – Deliv – Flex – Cost | Projects developments of industries based on the cumulative model | Survey | Developed |
| Ferdows and Thurnheer (2011) | | x | x | | Safety – Variability - Codify know-how – Responsiveness - Efficiency | Suggests “fitness” (building capa) as more appropriate concept vis a vis leanness | Field/case | Both |
| Flynn and Flynn (2004) | | x | x | | Several | The sequence depends on contingencies like country and industry | Survey | Developed |
| Größler and Grübner (2006) | | x | x | | Qual – Deliv – Flex and Cost | Flex and cost are exclusive/simultaneous depending on the practices applied | Survey | Both |
| Hallgren et al. (2011) | | x | x | | Qual – Deliv – Cost and Flex (parallel) | Cost and flex do not build on each other, they need a “balanced” co-development | Survey | Developed |
| Kathuria (2000) | x | | x | | – | Small manufacturers that focus on all capas achieve higher customer satisfaction | Survey | Developed |
| Kortmann et al. (2014) | | x | x | (x) | – | Costs and flex face a trade-off that can be resolved via ambidextrous investments | Survey | Both |
| Longoni and Cagliano (2015) | | x | x | | – | Sustainability behaves cumulative to other capas and focusing on all is advisable | Survey | Both |
| Martín-Peña and Díaz-Garrido (2008) | x | | x | | – | Prios seem to behave cumulative in a particular strategy aiming at “excellence” | Survey | Developed |
| Miller and Roth (1994) | (x) | x | | (x) | Flex – Qual and Productivity – ? | Maps different emphasis of strategies along the product lifecycle | Survey | Developed |
| Noble (1997) | | x | x | | | Firms addressing multiple capas are performing better than their competitors | Survey | Developed |
| Noble (1995) | | x | x | | Qual – Deliv – Cost – Flex - Innovation | Support for cumulative model and emphasis of the central relevance of quality | Survey | Developed |
| Pagell et al. (2000) | | x | | x | – | Indicating trade-offs in three companies that are successful in their industry | Field/case | Developed |
| Peng et al. (2011) | x | x | | | – | Examines fit between innovation and improvement capas and prios | Survey | Developed |
| Rosenzweig and Easton (2010) | x | x | x | x | – | Trade-offs exist among prios and among management choices, not among capas | Archival/meta | Both |
| Rosenzweig and Roth (2004) | | x | x | | Qual – Deliv – Flex – Cost | Evidence for cumulative, yet job shops may imitate the constraints of an asset frontier | Survey | Both |
| Schmenner and Swink (1998) | | x | x | x | – | Proposes that theories of trade-offs and cumulative capas are not in conflict | Conceptual | n.a. |
| Safizadeh et al. (2000) | | x | x | x | – | Differentiates the trade-off discussion with process types – some show them, others not | Survey | Developed |
| Schoenherr et al. (2012) | | x | x | | – | Capas are more inter-linked and related to performance in developing countries | Survey | Both |
| Squire et al. (2006) | | x | x | x | – | Full customization reveals trade-offs and partial customization can resolve them | Survey | Developed |
| Vastag (2000) | | x | x | | – | Argues for the higher relevance of the operating frontier based on the RBV | Conceptual | n.a. |
| Ward and Duray (2000) | x | | x | | – | Examines capas and performance – only quality affects performance | Survey | Developed |
| White (1996) | | x | x | | – | Performance improvement works primarily via costs, which are affected by other capas | Archival/meta | Both |
| Note(s): x: set membership; (x): implicit/partial set membership; Prio: Competitive priorities; Capa: Competitive capabilities; Cumul: Cumulative model; Qual: Quality; Deliv: Delivery (or dependability); Flex: Flexibility |