Distinctive Capabilities

Elements Distinctive Capabilities:

Architecture

  • Corporate networks and relationships, internal and external architecture, win-win, supply chain management

Reputation

  • Brand, and power of people in the organisation

Innovation: Hard and risky to sustain

  • technological success but commercial failure – difficult process to manage and budget – number 2 developer often more successful (marketing R&D)

Strategic assets: Sustainability problems

  • Natural monopoly due to regulations, sunk cost and only one supplier market demand

Principle:

Distinctive Capabilities – result of actions of many throughout the organisation


Issues:

Must be sustainable and appropriate to business

Experience curve: increased efficiency, specialization, innovation, greater productivity, improved resource mix

Thompson & Richardson, 1996, generic strategic competencies: Content – reflect ways adding value, Process – changing and improving content, awareness and learning – change management process in satisfying needs.


Applications:

To determine the organisations competitive advantage


Source Distinctive Capabilities:

Kay (2003)