Year
2002
Abstract
Resource theories try to explain defendable competitive advantages of firms by the posession of a portfolio of idiosyncratic resources. They raise two problems: first, a theoretical problem, i.e. they can seem simply tautological, in so far as they explain competitive advantages by specific assets, and vice versa, only providing ex-post explanations , second, the problem of empirical validation, since strategic resources must be rare, difficult to imitate and difficult to replace. Then they are difficult to observe. Identifying strategic resources with tacit knowledge or competences does not solve this problem, since they are hardly observable. To overcome such shortcomings, we develop the concept of strategic processes, in which resources of a firm are put into action and produce some specific output which brings value to external clients. Strategic processes are observable, they can be difficult to imitate or to replace, and they are direct sources of value. We shall illustrate this concept by presenting a case on Port Express company.
LORINO, P. et TARONDEAU, J.C. (2002). From Resources to Processes in Competence-based Strategic Management. Dans: Systems Perspectives on Resources, Capabilities, and Management Processes. 1st ed. Pergamon, pp. 127-152.