An Integrated View on Sustained Competitive Advantage

Abstract

Existing views on sustained competitive advantage (SCA) remained largely fragmented. Currently, dominant theories focus largely on the internal supply-side value creation mechanisms, while alternative views addressing such challenges have developed independently. As a result, some of the prescriptions of these theories become misleading, especially in the discordant world characterized by constant environment changes. Acknowledging the progress made by existing theories of SCA (e.g., model dynamics and importance of internal resources) and integrating the insights from various corners of strategic management literature (e.g., business models, managerial cognition), we offer a novel theory of SCA. Using it, we show that SCA is a function of strategic, microfounded, adaptive, relevant, and timely (SMART) responses to external environment changes and internal business model innovation.