The Contingency Relationship between Strategic Orientation and Competitive Advantage: The Influence of Environment Uncertainty

Positioning theory and resource-based theory are both influential in strategic management. However, the two theories hold opposite views on “resources of competitive advantage” and put forward opposite strategic orientation suggestions. This paper argues that the two theories should be viewed from contingency perspective, which means that the two theories are of paramount importance for firm under different strategic conditions. The paper introduces a contingency variable, environment uncertainty, to the model of strategic orientation and competitive advantage. Data are collected through questionnaire survey, and moderated regression analysis is used to test the effect of environment uncertainty on the relationship between strategic orientation and competitive advantage. The research results indicate that under an environment with high uncertainty, enterprises that follow the resource-based view for strategic construction will get better performance and competitive advantage. The paper provides a new angle to evaluate the contributions of the two theories.