International Journal of Learning and Intellectual Capital

Strategy management is concerned with understanding the forces and causes that explain performance differences between organisations. One approach studies industry structures as external determinants of organisational performance. An alternative approach focuses on internal resources and capabilities as sources of sustained competitive advantage. This is the resource and capabilities theory of the firm. On the other hand, the knowledge-based view of the firm considers the firm as a repository of knowledge-based resources and capabilities. To the extent that these resources and capabilities are unique, rare, difficult to imitate and non-substitutable, they confer sustained competitive advantage on the firm.