What are resources capabilities and core competencies How are these concepts related?

What is Resources and Capabilities?

Resources and Capabilities are the sources of competitive advantage and the primary source of profitability for any firm. Resources and capabilities empower a company to drive the business and face competition with their products & offerings for the need of customers.

Importance of Resources and Capabilities

Resources and organizational capabilities play an important role in business. They can be explained as:

A) Resources can be divided into:

1. Tangible – Physical and financial assets. Eg: Machinery, offices, warehouses

2. Intangible – Skills, reputation and brand names. Eg: Whatsapp, Disney

3. Human Resources – Skilled Employees

B) Organizational capabilities:

They refer to the business routines, processes and the organizational culture. Identification of core competencies or capabilities can be useful in identifying what contributes more to customer value and which market segments to target. A firm must analyse which resources and capabilities are most important in providing a sustainable competitive advantage to the firm. It should also identify its strengths and weaknesses with respect to its competitors. The firm must ensure that all resources and capabilities are fully employed and exploited. It must focus on regenerating valuable resources and building competencies. In a rapidly changing external environment a focus on internal resources and capabilities is more secure than market focus.

Hence, this concludes the definition of Resources and Capabilities along with its overview.

This article has been researched & authored by the Business Concepts Team. It has been reviewed & published by the MBA Skool Team. The content on MBA Skool has been created for educational & academic purpose only.

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The core competencies definition is a resource or capability that gives a firm competitive advantage. Core competencies are the business functions or operational activities that a company does best. A company’s core competencies are what differentiate it from the other competitors in its industry. They are also the resources and capabilities that allow the company to achieve profitability. A firm should devise its strategy so as to exploit the resources and capabilities that comprise its core competencies.

Resources

A company’s resources are the operational inputs that allow it to perform its business activities. Resources are often divided into three categories, including the following:

  • Physical assets
  • Human resources
  • Organizational capital

Resources can also be classified as either tangible resources or intangible resources. Tangible resources are physical assets, such as equipment or property. Intangible resources are non-physical assets, such as reputation, brand equity, or superior organizational architecture. Resources become core competencies or contribute to core competencies when they meet the criteria outlined below.

Capabilities

A company’s capabilities are the activities and functions it performs to utilize its resources in an integrative fashion. Capabilities are practiced and honed over time. As they become stronger, the company enhances its expertise in a particular functional or operational area. This expertise allows the company to differentiate itself from competitors. Furthermore, capabilities are operational activities that the company has mastered. They are inimitable or difficult for competitors to figure out and replicate. When capabilities meet the criteria outlined below, they contribute to the company’s competitive advantage and profit potential, and are considered core competencies.
When a company determines its core competencies, it may decide to focus on these activities only, and to outsource other peripheral or non-core activities. Provided that non-core activities can be performed more efficiently and economically by an outside organization that has expertise in that activity, it may benefit the company to outsource all possible peripheral business activities in order to devote itself to core business activities and competencies.

Core Competencies Criteria

When a company’s resources or capabilities meet certain criteria they can be called core competencies. If a resource or capability meets the following criteria it contributes to a firm’s competitive advantage over industry rivals and allows the firm to achieve profitability. A resource or capability is a core competency if it is valuable, rare, costly to imitate, and non-substitutable.
A capability or resource is valuable when it allows the company to capitalize on opportunities or defend against external threats. It is rare when few or no other industry competitors possess the resource or expert capability. A resource or capability is costly to imitate when competitors must incur heavy costs to replicate them or they are altogether inimitable. It is non-substitutable when no other resource or capability can be utilized as an equivalent.
See the following for the core competencies criteria:
1. Valuable
2. Rare
3. Costly to imitate
4. Non-substitutable
If you want to learn what your core competencies are, then click here to access our free Internal Analysis whitepaper.

What are resources capabilities and core competencies How are these concepts related?

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What are resources capabilities and core competencies How are these concepts related?

Source:

Harrison, Jeffrey S., Michael A. Hitt, Robert E. Hoskisson, R. Duane Ireland. (2008) “Competing for Advantage”, Thomson South-Western, United States, 2008.

Resources are a business's assets, capabilities are the ability to exploit its resources, and competency is a cross-functional integration and coordination of capabilities.
If a resource or capability meets the following criteria it contributes to a firm's competitive advantage over industry rivals and allows the firm to achieve profitability. A resource or capability is a core competency if it is valuable, rare, costly to imitate, and non-substitutable.
While resources refer to what an organization owns, capabilities refer to what the organization can do. More specifically, capabilities refer to the firm's ability to bundle, manage, or otherwise exploit resources in a manner that provides value added and, hopefully, advantage over competitors.
The resource-based theory of competitive advantage argues that the long-term success of any business innovation (e.g., pharmacy service) is based upon the internal resources of the firm offering it, the firm's capabilities in using those resources to develop a competitive advantage over competing options, and the ...