Theoretical and Methodological Content of the Concept “Competitive Advantage”

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to compare certain theoretical concepts that are developing today in the field of competitive management: the strategic architecture (by V. Kvint) and constructive theory of competition (by Yu. Rubin) with the concept of competitive advantage (by M. Porter). As part of the scientific discussion, the authors answer questions about the place of competitive advantage in the strategic management system, the essence of competitive advantage, and the sustainability of competitive advantage. To do this, we review and analyze the systems of views of the above scientists in the cited sources. Different approaches to understanding and using the term “competitive advantage” are considered in the work as different research programs, the contradiction of which to each other does not require the rejection of an older concept. At its core, competitive advantage is understood as the content of a strategic decision, a strategic task, a system for its implementation, and its manifestation in the results of competitive activity. Two different directions of competitive advantage management are distinguished in the work: creation/ formation (positive side) and protection / providing sustainability (negative side) of competitive advantage. Value chain (M. Porter) and transient advantage (R. McGrath) tools can be called as the positive side of competitive advantage. The negative side of competitive advantage can be considered in certain types of economic moats. The ideas of economic moat and transient advantage respond differently to the question of sustainability of competitive advantage. The paper substantiates the conclusion that both in the theory of strategic architecture (Kvint) and in the constructive theory of competition (Rubin), the term “competitive advantage” is used in completely different meanings, which are complex interpretations of the original meaning.