Competitive positioning and the resource-based view of the firm

Abstract

Two apparently contradictory paradigms have come to dominate the strategic management literature over the last decade. The resource-based view (RBV) of the firm seeks to explain sustainable competitive advantage through the rent earning capability of internal scarce resources while the marketing paradigm stresses the need for external market orientation to achieve competitive success. This paper reconciles the two through the concepts of competitive positioning. It develops a hierarchy of marketing resources, assets and capabilities and discusses how these can be deployed to achieve alternative competitive positions. A research agenda is proposed.