The resource-based view and sustainable competitive advantage: the case of a financial services firm
Val Clulow School of Business, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Australia Julie Gerstman School of Business, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Australia Carol Barry School of Business, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Australia
Keywords
Resources, Competitive advantage, Financial services, Intangible assets
Introduction
The study of sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) within particular service industries was encouraged as far back as 1993. Bharadwaj et al. (1993, p. 83) proposed a conceptual model which attempted to integrate SCA issues from the fields of marketing, strategic management and …show more content…
86-7).
style and way of doing business will not change:
So what makes the staff valuable is not their qualifications and experience since this is common to many employees in the funds management industry, but the firm's philosophy practised by the staff. In terms of differentiation, both personnel and technology are regarded as valuable but not rare assets and therefore are not factors in conferring a competitive advantage.
People can trust us because they saw what we said was our style and we were happy to take whatever came our way (pp. 27-9). . . . it is a direction there was never any doubt about (p. 33).
Intangible assets and barriers to duplication
Tangible assets and appropriability
The manager made several comments explaining the firm's culture and the way it is reflected in their choice of surroundings. The tangible assets represented by offices and furnishings, whilst not regarded as either a key resource or a point of differentiation, were described as exuding the conservative nature of the …show more content…
. . we continued to do what we said we'd do . . . and in the end we were proven right. So that is where the consumer trust has really been emphasized in a very strong way (pp. 23-7).
Consumer trust, firm reputation and networks were identified by the manager as key intangible assets, which add value to the firm:
. . . (for) clients it is important that we do what we say we do. So we have a particular investment style and a particular way of doing business and . . . through hell or high water we keep to it. Reputation . . . is closely tied to trust and our reputation is based upon things like our good performance record over a long period of time and . . . it is tied in with basic things like honesty and decency (pp. 1520).
The firm's particular investment style has been maintained over a long period of time and has been adhered to irrespective of changes in the economic environment. This has created trust in the way the firm operates and, combined with the good performance record, has resulted in a strong reputation among its own clients and within the industry. Furthermore, the firm's superior performance history has created value by reinforcing the solid reputation of the firm. Clients can be confident that the
Val Clulow School of Business, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Australia Julie Gerstman School of Business, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Australia Carol Barry School of Business, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Australia
Keywords
Resources, Competitive advantage, Financial services, Intangible assets
Introduction
The study of sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) within particular service industries was encouraged as far back as 1993. Bharadwaj et al. (1993, p. 83) proposed a conceptual model which attempted to integrate SCA issues from the fields of marketing, strategic management and …show more content…
86-7).
style and way of doing business will not change:
So what makes the staff valuable is not their qualifications and experience since this is common to many employees in the funds management industry, but the firm's philosophy practised by the staff. In terms of differentiation, both personnel and technology are regarded as valuable but not rare assets and therefore are not factors in conferring a competitive advantage.
People can trust us because they saw what we said was our style and we were happy to take whatever came our way (pp. 27-9). . . . it is a direction there was never any doubt about (p. 33).
Intangible assets and barriers to duplication
Tangible assets and appropriability
The manager made several comments explaining the firm's culture and the way it is reflected in their choice of surroundings. The tangible assets represented by offices and furnishings, whilst not regarded as either a key resource or a point of differentiation, were described as exuding the conservative nature of the …show more content…
. . we continued to do what we said we'd do . . . and in the end we were proven right. So that is where the consumer trust has really been emphasized in a very strong way (pp. 23-7).
Consumer trust, firm reputation and networks were identified by the manager as key intangible assets, which add value to the firm:
. . . (for) clients it is important that we do what we say we do. So we have a particular investment style and a particular way of doing business and . . . through hell or high water we keep to it. Reputation . . . is closely tied to trust and our reputation is based upon things like our good performance record over a long period of time and . . . it is tied in with basic things like honesty and decency (pp. 1520).
The firm's particular investment style has been maintained over a long period of time and has been adhered to irrespective of changes in the economic environment. This has created trust in the way the firm operates and, combined with the good performance record, has resulted in a strong reputation among its own clients and within the industry. Furthermore, the firm's superior performance history has created value by reinforcing the solid reputation of the firm. Clients can be confident that the