Introduction to Competitive Advantage

Read this section for an understanding of competitive advantage and the role technology can play in sustaining a competitive advantage. While a bit dated, the principles remain the same, as do the processes and understanding needed to execute them. Complete the exercises at the end of this section. Also, answer the following questions in your notes: What is strategic positioning? How might technology be used to achieve strategic positioning?

Introduction

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • Technology can be easy to copy, and technology alone rarely offers sustainable advantage.
  • Firms that leverage technology for strategic positioning use technology to create competitive assets or ways of doing business that are difficult for others to copy.
  • True sustainable advantage comes from assets and business models that are simultaneously valuable, rare, difficult to imitate, and for which there are no substitutes.