An Examination of the " Sustainable Competitive Advantage" Concept: Past, Present, and Future

Document Summary) Because of its importance to the long-term success of firms, a body of literature has emerged which addresses the content of sustainable competitive advantage (hereafter SCA) as well as its sources and different types of strategies that may be used to achieve it. The purpose of this paper is to trace the origins of SCA and discuss how it has been applied to marketing strategy. It is organized as follows: First, early contributors are cited and potential sources of SCA are presented. A formal conceptual definition of the construct is given, followed by a discussion of how SCA is linked to other concepts in the strategy field. A theoretical model of how an SCA is achieved in a network setting is offered, and future research opportunities are suggested. <Early Contributions to the SCA Concept< Early literature on competition serves as a precursor to the development of SCA. In 1937, Alderson hinted at a basic tenet of SCA, that a fundamental aspect of competitive adaptation is the specialization of suppliers to meet variations in buyer demand. Alderson (1965) was one of the first to recognize that firms should strive for unique characteristics in order to distinguish themselves from competitors in the eyes of the consumer. Later, Hamel and Prahalad (1989) and Dickson (1992) discussed the need for firms to learn how to <create< new advantages that will keep them one step ahead of competitors. Alderson was considered "ahead of his time" with respect to the suggestion that firms search for ways to differentiate themselves from competitors. Over a decade later, Hall (1980) and Henderson (1983) solidified the need for firms to possess unique advantages in relation to competitors if they are to survive. These arguments form the basis for achieving SCA.