ABSTRACT
Strategic management is about creating and sustaining competitive advantage. Competitive advantage emerges when a firm creates value for its customers, some of which it captures and extracts in the form of profits. Firms are constantly seeking to gain advantage and to translate that advantage into profits. The desirability of a resource, however, is insufficient to assure competitive advantage. If every firm had the buying power and logistical capabilities of Wal-Mart, consumers would not find Wal-Mart uniquely attractive. The final criterion for a resource to be a source of competitive advantage for a firm has less to do with how that resource sets the company apart from others in the marketplace and more to do with the firm’s ability to obtain the financial benefit from the resource. Value chain also illustrates the support activities which maintain the firm and provide the necessary infrastructure.
