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Resources Underlie Comeptencies, Whereas Competencies Build Resources

Decent Essays

‘Resources underlie competencies, whereas competencies build resources’
Discuss this statement and explain under what conditions both resources and capabilities can create a competitive advantage for a company

Introduction
This essay will discuss how resources and competences are linked with regards to a firm’s performance and under what conditions they can be fully utilized to create a competitive advantage for the company in question.

Main
Generally it can be found that in a particular industry some firms will out- perform other firms usually to do with their internal environment. The main reason for this is due to the resources and competences, or capabilities that a firm possesses. Resources refer to ‘inputs to an …show more content…

Superior efficiency helps a company attain a competitive advantage through a lower cost structure. Superior quality means that a customer perceives greater value in attributes of the product therefore will be willing to pay a higher price. Successful innovation provides a company with something unique that another firm may be lacking in. Superior responsiveness to customers differentiates a firm’s products and services and can lead to brand loyalty and premium pricing.
However resources and competencies are not always strengths to the company, for example if the resources are not efficient or up to date with current technology, then no matter how strong the competencies, the resources will have a negative effect on the quality or production rate. Inefficient resources may also result in high costs and take up space.
To asses an organisations resources and therefore determine its possibilities and strengths, Porter’s Value chain analysis (1985) can be used, which determines which activities add value to the product or service. Porter identified primary and support activities, and the firm’s profit depends on the effectiveness in performing these activities efficiently so the customer is willing to pay more for the product than exceeds the cost of the activities in the value chain. It is in these activities that a firm has the opportunity to generate superior value and a competitive

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