Competitive advantage
In business, a competitive advantage is an attribute that allows an organization to outperform its competitors.
Not to be confused with comparative advantage.A competitive advantage may include access to natural resources, such as high-grade ores or a low-cost power source, highly skilled labor, geographic location, high entry barriers, and access to new technology and to proprietary information.
Overview[edit]
The term competitive advantage refers to the ability gained through attributes and resources to perform at a higher level than others in the same industry or market (Christensen and Fahey 1984, Kay 1994, Porter 1980 cited by Chacarbaghi and Lynch 1999, p. 45).[1] The study of this advantage has attracted profound research interest due to contemporary issues regarding superior performance levels of firms in today's competitive market. "A firm is said to have a competitive advantage when it is implementing a value creating strategy not simultaneously being implemented by any current or potential player" (Barney 1991 cited by Clulow et al.2003, p. 221).[2]
Competitive advantage is the leverage a business has over its competitors. This can be gained by offering clients better and greater value. Advertising products or services with lower prices or higher quality piques the interest of consumers. This is the reason behind brand loyalty, or why customers prefer one particular product or service over another. Value proposition is important when understanding competitive advantage. If the value proposition is effective, that is, if the value proposition offers clients better and greater value, it can produce a competitive advantage in either the product or service.[3]
Competitive strategy is defined as the long term plan of a particular company in order to gain competitive advantage over its competitors in the industry. It is aimed at creating defensive position in an industry and generating a superior ROI (return on investment ).
American academic Michael Porter defined two ways in which an organization can achieve competitive advantage over its rivals: a cost advantage and a differentiation advantage. A cost advantage arises when a business can provide the same products and services as its competitors but at a lower cost. A differentiation advantage arises when a business can provide different products and services from its competitors which are more closely aligned to customers' needs.[4] In Porter's view, strategic management should be concerned with building and sustaining competitive advantage.[5]
Competitive advantage seeks to address some of the criticisms of comparative advantage. Competitive advantage rests on the notion that cheap labor is ubiquitous and natural resources are not necessary for a good economy. The other theory, comparative advantage, can lead countries to specialize in exporting primary goods and raw materials that trap countries in low-wage economies due to terms of trade. Competitive advantage attempts to correct this issue by stressing on maximizing scale economies in goods and services that garner premium prices (Stutz and Warf 2009).[6]
Successfully implemented strategies will lift a firm to superior performance by facilitating the firm with competitive advantage to outperform current or potential players (Passemard and Calantone 2000, p. 18).[7] To gain competitive advantage, a business strategy of a firm manipulates the various resources over which it has direct control, and these resources have the ability to generate competitive advantage (Reed and Fillippi 1990 cited by Rijamampianina 2003, p. 362).[8] Superior performance outcomes and superiority in production resources reflect competitive advantage (Day and Wesley 1988 cited by Lau 2002, p. 125).[9]
The quotes above signify competitive advantage as the ability to stay ahead of present or potential competition. Also, it provides the understanding that resources held by a firm and the business strategy will have a profound impact on generating competitive advantage. Powell (2001, p. 132)[10] views business strategy as the tool that manipulates resources and creates competitive advantage. Hence, a viable business strategy may not be adequate unless it possesses control over unique resources that have the ability to create such a relatively unique advantage.
Johnson and Foss have provided a formal account of what constitutes an optimal business strategy.[11] According to well-established variational methods, a business pursuing an optimal strategy will follow the shortest economic path that makes the most efficient use of resources.
Unfair competitive advantage[edit]
An unfair competitive advantage may arise to the benefit of one or more businesses operating within a competitive context, for example in public procurement if one bidder has access to information not available to other bidders.[27]