Competitive Advantage:
- always relative, not absolute
- Determined by benchmarking
- *superior performance relative to similar competitors in industry/industry average
Sustainable competitive Advantage
- Outperform competitors & industry average over prolonged period
Competitive disadvantage
- Underperforms relative to competitors/industry average
Competitive Parity – firms performing at same level
*strategy about creating superior value while containing costs to create it OR offering similar value at lower cost
*successful strategy combines activities to stake out unique strategic position within industry
- Strategic positioning = stake out unique position within industry that allows firm to provide value to customers
- Must account for trade-offs
- Strategic Profile – product differentiation, cost, customer service