Sustainable Competitive Advantage - Introduction, Definitions, and Concepts - Case Study Example

In other words, it is the dominance of a company forward and backward over the value chain. A company is said to enjoy a sustainable competitive advantage when its unique resource cannot be imitated or duplicated by the competition. Competitive advantage is retained as long as it cannot be imitated by the competition. Imitation of processes and development of resources and capabilities bridges the competitive lead taken by a company.The sustainable competitive advantage is borne out of the sustained market and competitive strategies.

The strategy is a broader term, and in the classical school of economics was based upon external price signals at the market. In the modern context, it can be described as ‘how’ and ‘why’ decisions made for striking a balance in contractual relationships. Dekuyper describes strategy as the positioning of an organization for sustainable competitive advantage. “Strategy involves making choices, about which industries to participate in, what products and services to offer, and how to allocate corporate resources to achieve a sustainable advantage.

” Mintzberg conceptualizes strategy in terms of five P’s of Plan, Ploy, Pattern, Position, and Perspective. In addition to four P’s strategy has ingrained perspective on perceiving the world.It is pertinent to mention that business strategy is different from, and has a broader definition than competitive strategy. Business strategy tries to define the plans of a company in the overall business context, diversification of products and services and increasing the geographical extent and reach.

Competitive strategy is a highly aggressive policy aimed at throttling the power of competition by achieving cost and differentiation leadership through strategic partnerships, alliances, mergers, and downsizing.