Strategic marketing & Austrian economics: The foundations of resource-advantage theory

Abstract

Contrary to popular belief, marketing was not born under management, but under economics. Issues such as markets and exchanges are at the core of both disciplines even though they are studied under different lenses. The common ground makes it possible to use one approach to analyze the other. That is the goal of this paper: to show that “Austrian economics” is helpful in understanding the key phenomena of strategic marketing. The aim is to show how business schools can adopt an Austrian approach in their economics classes to facilitate students’ understanding of market dynamics. This qualitative and exploratory study analyzes a general theory of competition, the Resource-Advantage Theory, using the Austrian concepts — action, time, and knowledge — to better understand business competition and what leads companies to achieve and maintain competitive advantages. By comparing these two theoretical frameworks, the paper analyzes, in a detailed manner, each one of the R-A Theory’s premises using ideas of the Austrian School and concludes that these ideas are helpful not only for understanding the Resource-Advantage Theory, but also Strategic Marketing as a whole and that, consequently, the Austrian approach should be taught at business schools economics courses.