Developing consensus on firm competencies and capabilities

Abstract

Executive Overview The experiences of Casio, Southwest Airlines, Caterpillar, Canon, Honda, Wal-Mart and others have propelled the resource-based view of the firm to center stage in the arena of general management. These leading companies have gained a sustained competitive advantage by developing and leveraging unique resources and capabilities. It would be difficult today to conceive of a planning effort that did not consider an organization's core competencies and capabilities. But despite the compelling logic to base future decisions regarding products and markets on these attributes, few guidelines exist to help managers define their competencies and capabilities. This paper describes the experiences of three management teams, each seeking a shared understanding of the core capabilities at their disposal. The outcomes of their deliberations, the strategic issues informed by such an understanding, and the pitfalls experienced provide guidelines for other teams as they approach similar planning tasks.