For this week’s assignment, you will read the articles and watch the video on competitive advantage (TRANSCRIPT ATTACHED). Your assignment this week is to record a presentation discussing what you learned about competitive advantage.
Your presentation may be of you in front of a webcam speaking to the camera or of your voice as you share no more than five (5) PowerPoint slides. You will include the references used in proper APA format in one page at the end of your transcript document.
For this assignment you will use PowerPoint.
You should not read directly from the slides, and your presentation should be presented in a comfortable conversational manner.
You will be expected to submit a transcript of the dialogue with your presentation submission. Your presentation should include a logical progression of ideas that would allow your audience to achieve a basic understanding of this important business principle with just the information in your presentation.
Please consider that your audience for the presentation will be undergraduate business school students, who do not yet understand what competitive advantage is. You may choose to address the topic in general terms and concepts, or you may wish to use a specific company and demonstrate what strategic advantage is to your selected company.
Length: Your presentation should be no more than 5 minutes
References: Include at least 3 scholarly resources, but no more than 1 from the weekly readings.
VIdeo link ( transcript attached)
http://proxy1.ncu.edu/login?url=https://fod-infobase-com.proxy1.ncu.edu/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=102745&xtid=52670
Side note: my professional background: *I am a Franchise Business owner of a Tutoring Company *I am in the process of finishing my book that will be published in a couple of months ** Currently a Forbes Council Member and Forbes publishes my articles on a monthly basis on topics on business and education that I write about * Married with two small kids * a Board member for various organizations * looking to have my get my Doctoral degree to help my goals with my Business/Motivational Speaker business that I plan on launching in a couple of years and the doctoral degree will allow me to charge more for my consultation services.
7112: Wk 1 – Assignment: Analyze Organizational Capability Toward Competitive Advantage
Competitive advantage is a highly studied concept and an essential element in strategic management. Scholars attribute competitive advantage to performance differences among firms, whereby entities with a competitive advantage perform better than their counterparts (Sigalas, 2015). Despite the considerable attention that this concept receives in the scholarly field, there is still confusion among individuals on its meaning. Therefore, this presentation aims to enlighten students on the meaning of competitive advantage and explore other related concepts and terms.
So far, there lacks consensus on the definition of competitive advantage; various scholars define the concept differently. For example, Sigalas (2015) defines competitive advantage as an entity’s ability to provide superior value for buyers. On the other hand, Hosseini et al. (2018) state that competitive advantage is a firm’s attractiveness relative to competitors. Despite the lack of a standard definition, there is a common theme from these definitions. Notably, all descriptions point to the idea that competitive advantage is a firm’s ability to perform better or outperform other industry participants.
Firms that have a competitive advantage over their counterparts derive this capability from various sources, explained using three theories: industry organization theory, market-led theory, and resources-based theory. On the one hand, the industry organization theory provides that mobility barriers are a source of competitive advantage for entities (Sigalas, 2015). Arguably, other firms’ inability to enter or leave a market due to factors such as high costs of entry may be a source of competitive advantage for an entity in the industry. The market-led theory states that cost leadership, differentiation, and niche market focus are a source of competitive advantage (Sigalas, 2015). In this context, firms may outperform their competitors by charging relatively low prices, differentiating their products through innovation to make them more appealing to the target consumers, and filling a niche in the market focus that is yet to be addressed by other market participants. On the other hand, the resources-based theory states that firms derive their competitive advantages from personal resources (Sigalas, 2015). Arguably, firms can use their rare, inimitable, and valuable resources as a source of competitive advantage to provide their clients with superior value.
The concept of competitive advantage can be illustrated using the example of Samsung. As is evident from industry analysis, Samsung ranks among the largest smartphone manufacturer and sellers globally. The company’s success and superior performance relative to its competitors can be attributed to factors that comprise its competitive advantages, such as cost leadership and differentiation. In terms of cost leadership, Samsung offers premium and low-cost pricing for its products across different markets, making it more appealing among consumers. Moreover, its high investment in innovation accounts for its quality and differentiated products, which provide superior value to consumers. In essence, cost leadership and product differentiation make Samsung more attractive than other industry competitors.
Samsung’s case scenario also presents the issue of quality as a source of competitive advantage. As noted, innovation is a competitive advantage; however, the sustainability of the superior performance in innovation depends on product and service quality. Therefore, quality plays a critical role in sustaining a firm’s innovative competitive advantage (Nguyen & Chau, 2017). The vitalness of quality in maintaining a competitive advantage can be analyzed using the scenario of Samsung. A few years ago, Samsung faced many issues following an explosion of a Galaxy Note 7 battery and mechanical challenges associated with the Samsung washer (Nguyen & Chau, 2017). Despite the two products being highly innovative, they did not receive a positive reception, probably because of the quality issues. This scenario exemplifies the importance of producing quality, innovative products which contribute to a firm’s competitive advantage.
To sum it up, competitive advantage is a firm’s ability to outperform other market players. Firms can derive this competitiveness from mobility barriers, cost leadership, differentiation, and niche market focus. Besides focusing on the sources of competitive advantages, firms should also be vigilant about their product quality to ensure that they maintain a competitive advantage.
References
Hosseini, A., Soltani, S., & Mehdizadeh, M. (2018). Competitive advantage and its impact on new product development strategy (Case study: Toos Nirro technical firm). Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market and Complexity, 4(2), 1-12. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/joitmc4020017
Nguyen, V. C., & Chau, N. T. (2017). Research framework for the impact of total quality management on competitive advantage. Review of International Business and Strategy, 27(3), 335–351. https://doi.org/10.1108/ribs-02-2017-0016
Sigalas, C. (2015). Competitive advantage: The known unknown concept. Management Decision, 53(9), 2004-2016. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1108/MD-05-2015-0185
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