Sustainable Competitive Advantage: A Survey of Companies in Southern Brazil

Abstract

A Sustainable Competitive Advantage emerges as an important factor in the perception of value of goods and services, which should be considered as elements of competitive differentiation. This study aims at identifying the relationship between sustainable competitive advantage and organizational performance, as well as measuring the relationship of environmental sustainability and social responsibility as attributes of sustainable competitive advantage. In order to achieve that, a survey was carried out in 1496 different size companies and activity sectors in Brazil. For the data analysis and interpretation we used a structural equation modeling technique. The results indicate that the Sustainable Competitive Advantage construct is an important antecedent of organizational performance because it highlights fundamental attributes for organizations to achieve positive economic consequences. This research contributes to organizational management and to the scientific community with the provision of a framework that assists in the identification of relevant strategic resource features.

A resource-based framework for strategically managing identity

“…More recently, corporate scandals and market upheavals have placed pressure on firms to pursue profit and competitive advantage in ways that honor principles of environmental sustainability and social responsibility (De Guimaräes et al ., 2017; Dorion et al ., 2015; Ghoul et al ., 2011; Lo and Sheu, 2007; Moneva et al ., 2007). Specific approaches include the use of renewable natural resources and reducing environmental impact (Kolk, 2003; Roy et al ., 2001; Severo et al ., 2015), ensuring quality of life for local populations (Agrawal, 2001) and philanthropy (Porter and Kramer, 1999).…”

“…Organizations in the current business environment face unprecedented degrees of global competition, ongoing market turbulence, currency fluctuation and devaluation as well as threats from existing and potential competitors. Various inside-out and outside-in approaches have been offered to help organizations achieve advantages relative to their competitors and to sustain these advantages over the long term (de Guimarães et al ., 2017).…”

Using structural equation modelling to assess the sustainable competitive advantages provided by the low-cost carrier model

“…As SCALE is influenced by profitability and growth, to achieve peak performance LCCs need to understand factors influencing competitive advantage. The concept of SCALE is measured by three dimensionsresource-based (Barney, 1991;Bharadwaj et al, 1993;Low and Lee, 2014;Newbert, 2007;Oliver, 1997;Pearson et al, 2015;Porter, 1985;Sethi and King, 1994;Steininger et al, 2011;Vaibhav et al, 2011a), market-based (Barney, 1997;Grant, 1991b;Henry, 2008;Hunt and Morgan, 1995;Pearson et al, 2015;Sethi and King, 1994;Steininger et al, 2011;Vaibhav et al, 2011aVaibhav et al, , 2011bWharton School, 1997) and performancebased (Alamdari and Fagan, 2005;De Wit and Zuidberg, 2012;Fikre, 2015;Gonzalo Ramirez and Hachiya, 2008;Guimarães et al, 2017;Kuosuwan, 2015;Liao et al, 2015;Morrison and Mason, 2016;Newbert, 2007;Riasi, 2015;Srinivasan, 2017;Vaibhav et al, 2011aVaibhav et al, , 2011b. The construction of resource, market and performance-based dimensions includes factors such as indigenous efficiency (IEL), LCC dexterity (LD), LCC strategic persuasions (LSP), LCC threat perceptions (LTP) and the degree to which the LCC adopts an enabler role (ERL).…”

“…Evans (2016) developed a strategic model of SCA in a tourism organization by using service dominant logic and tourism as defining characteristics. Guimarães et al (2017) identified the relationship between SCA and organizational performance, and the findings indicated that the SCA construct is an important antecedent of organizational performance. Yaseen et al (2016) analysed the impact of intellectual capital on competitive advantage.…”

Cognitive flexibility and entrepreneurial self-efficacy of Young Entrepreneurs' Alliance Leaders and the Ibero-American Federation of Young Entrepreneurs

“…No entanto, é difícil conquistar a almejada vantagem competitiva sustentável, na medida em que as estratégias empresariais enfrentam desafios frequentes devido às influências e mudanças globais no ambiente de negócios (Camozzato, Verdinelli, Lizote, & Serafim, 2017). O ambiente global permeado por constantes turbulências de mercado, como por exemplo a concorrência em potencial, desvalorização da moeda, aumento nas taxas de juros e flutuações cambiais, influencia no alcance de uma posição vantajosa no mercado, sem a qual uma organização não consegue manter a competitividade (Guimarães, Severo, & Vasconcelos, 2017).…”