Gaining Strategic Advantage via Relative Superiority

Building on relative superiority means that a business unit can gain strategic advantage, in an otherwise stalemated situation, by exploiting areas within the KFS where it has a distinct advantage over its competition. It avoids “head-on” competition but involves playing the “same game.”

Methodology

1. Identify key success factors. Understand what is required to succeed in the industry.
2. Understand organizational capabilities. Understand the company’s capabilities: strengths and weaknesses beyond the KSF. Examine the execution capacity of the company in terms of: operations, organization, and IT.
3. Perform benchmarking. Examine company’s positioning relative to that of its competitors. Execute a gap analysis to reflect disparities through which relative superiorities can be exploited.
4. Exploit relative superiority. Apply an analytic overview of the company’s advantages, when competing via KSF. Exploit them with regard to competitive actions and reactions.

Notes

• Such a strategy should be costly and difficult for a competitor to imitate
• Assumes that the KSF will not change

Strengths

• Employs existing resources and capabilities to maximize competitive advantage

Weaknesses

• Difficult to follow if competitors compare favorably across the board