Competitive advantage can be derived by analyzing the organization’s strengths and opportunities not yet tapped into that competitors are already using to their benefit (Ferrell, 2011). Moreover, competitive advantage can also be a direct result of customers’ impression or lack of knowledge about the organization’s products (Bethel, 2015). Realistically, competitive advantage is in the hands of the customers and comes with some stiff practices to entice them to covet the organization’s product (Dawar, 2013). How does an organization identify their competitive advantage? Positional advantage identifies the necessity and correlation between structure, conduct, and performance (Bradley, 2011). Whereas, special capabilities are important to a company’s profits, but tend to be specific in nature such as patents or innovation (Bradley, 2011). Still, other identify competitive advantage by evaluating three specific strategies, which are: operational excellence, product leadership, and customer intimacy (Ferrell, 2011). Operational Excellence focuses on offering the customer a quality product at a good price without the extravagance or gimmicks (Ferrell, 2011). Theoretically, to complete operational excellence an organization must promote operating standards and processes, which are extremely efficient and inexpensive (Bethel, 2015). Further, operational excellence has been dubbed the “secret weapon” of an organization based upon its ability to focus on its resources
Operating Excellence: this is concerned with the ongoing delivery of superior performance and quality across the business processes.
2.Competitive Advantage – It includes the best product of an Organization in the competitive market.
Competitive advantage exists when a firm has strategy, product or an attribute that makes the firm capable of delivering similar benefit to that of competitors at a cheaper cost. Having competitive advantage is not enough the company should be capable of sustaining that particular competitive advantage for a longer period of time.
Customers prefer cost-effective products and services. They prefer convenient purchase and high quality service. The organizations which aim at this target group of customers orient the value on “operational excellence”. For example, Wal-Mart, Fed-Ex.
Competitive advantage – competitive advantage is the ability of one organization to outperform other organizations because it produces desired goods or services more efficiently and effectively than its competitors. The four building blocks of competitive advantage are superior efficiency, speed, flexibility, innovation, and responsiveness to customers.
To survive and thrive, an organization must create a competitive advantage. A competitive advantage is a product or service that an organization’s customers place a greater value on than similar offerings from a competitor. Unfortunately, competitive advantages are typically temporary because competitors often seek ways to duplicate the competitive advantage. In turn, organizations must develop a strategy based on a new competitive advantage.
Competitive advantage is important in any company’s market structure. A good example of competitive advantage is when a customer asks why he or she should purchase this product over the company’s competitor’s product (Lambardo, 2017). For a company to obtain a substantial competitive advantage, a company has to gain a customer base that trusts their products over their competition’s product. For example, in the beer industry, Anheuser- Busch has created beer products that obtain a strong competitive advantage over their competitors. Budweiser was able to create this competitive advantage because they obtained a strong market structure. Also, there is a huge relation between company brand and competitive advantage (Abbas & Kraidy, 2017). For New Belgium brewing company, the brand and social responsibility are they key competitive advantages.
A Competitive Advantage is a peculiarity for an organization between it's competitors . It's achieved either by lowering prices or by greatening the value of the product or by offering luxury service and benefits to cope with high prices .
Competitive advantage is that a company has better ability in earning profit and profit growth compared to its competitors for the same group of customers in one industry.
Competitive advantage(CA) is an advantage competitors gain by providing or offering customers or consumers greater value for their money through product and service differentiation or through lower prices. Maintaining competitive advantage is crucial to many businesses or organizations' success in order to survive in the market. Competitive advantage is characterized by superior performance which could be an attribute to outperform the competitors whether current or potential; or gaining a higher market share in a particular industry thereby ensuring market leadership; or ultimately, maximization of profit.(JOBBER 2010)
Competitive advantage is the act of a firm being in a more favorable position in the market that its rivals when it comes to operation. McGrath(2013) stated that competitive advantage can be displayed regarding having affordable products or services and having quality product or service. Quality of service or quality is one way to which a firm can beat rivals in endearing itself into customers. Customers prefer consuming the best quality in the market, and the firm with the best quality makes more sales. Affordability of a product or service is another way a firm creates a favorable position among consumers. Customers prefer to purchase an affordable product or service where the substitutes presented to them are of the same quality. A firm with competitive advantage has a higher number of sales from repeat and new customers. The high quality and affordability make customers keep purchasing the product as new customers are attracted to the business at the expense of rivals.
I. Introduction 1. There are several basic approaches to competing successfully and gaining a competitive advantage, but they all involve giving buyers what they perceive as superior value compared to the offerings of rival sellers. 2. This chapter describes the five basic competitive strategy option for building competitive advantage and delivering superior value to customers – which of the five to
Competitive advantage is explained by Mahoney and Pandian (1992) as the function of industry analysis, organizational governance and the firm’s effects in the form of resource advantages and strategies. In order for a firm to be competitive it must adapt to the volatile business environment and through strategic management decisions establish a competitive advantage that will ultimately produce superior performance relative to its competitors (Akimova 2000).
A good business strategy would be that to attain a competitive advantage over other competitors. So what is a competitive advantage? And how company can be able to have a competitive advantage over other competitors? This essay would now discuss what a competitive advantage is and how a company can build a competitive advantage over other competitors in the same industry by using two furnishing stores, Ikea and Courts as examples.
* A competitive advantage is one that distinguishes a firm or a business from the competitors in the minds of the customers. It also refers to the state or condition that make a business more successful than the businesses it is competing with, or a particular thing that makes it more successful such as having a higher sales through offering low or affordable goods and services.