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The Inside Track: On the Important (But Neglected) Role of Customers in the Resource‐Based View of Strategy and Firm Growth

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  • Ivo Zander
  • Udo Zander

Abstract

abstract This paper argues for the important role of customers as a source of competitive advantage and firm growth, an issue which has been largely neglected in the resource‐based view of the firm. It conceptualizes Penrose's (1959) notion of an ‘inside track’ and illustrates how in‐depth knowledge about established customers combines with joint problem‐solving activities and the rapid assimilation of new and previously unexploited skills and resources. It is suggested that the inside track represents a distinct and perhaps underestimated way of generating rents and securing long‐term growth. This also implies that the sources of sustainable competitive advantage in important respects can be sought in idiosyncratic interfirm relationships rather than within the firm itself.

Suggested Citation

  • Ivo Zander & Udo Zander, 2005. "The Inside Track: On the Important (But Neglected) Role of Customers in the Resource‐Based View of Strategy and Firm Growth," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(8), pages 1519-1548, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jomstd:v:42:y:2005:i:8:p:1519-1548
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-6486.2005.00555.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Vishal K. Gupta & Suman Niranjan & Erik Markin, 2020. "Entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance: the mediating role of generative and acquisitive learning through customer relationships," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 14(5), pages 1123-1147, October.
    2. Heewon Chae, 2022. "Income or education? Community‐level antecedents of firms' category‐spanning activities," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(1), pages 93-129, January.
    3. Liu, Yihui & Wu, Aiqi & Song, Di, 2022. "Exploring the Impact of Cross-side Network Interaction on Digital Platforms on Internationalization of Manufacturing Firms," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(4).
    4. Øystein D. Fjeldstad & Amir Sasson, 2010. "Membership Matters: On the Value of Being Embedded in Customer Networks," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(6), pages 944-966, September.
    5. Ye, Guangliang & Mukhopadhyay, Samar K., 2013. "Role of demand-side strategy in quality competition," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(2), pages 696-701.
    6. Francisco Antunes & Leandro F. Pereira & Álvaro L. Dias & Rui Vinhas Silva, 2023. "Flexible labour policies as competitive advantage," Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, Springer;Global Institute of Flexible Systems Management, vol. 24(4), pages 563-590, December.
    7. Manral, Lalit & Harrigan, Kathryn R., 2018. "The logic of demand-side diversification: Evidence from the US telecommunications sector, 1990–1996," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 127-141.
    8. Asghar Afshar Jahanshahi & Khaled Nawaser & Alexander Brem, 2019. "The EFFECTS OF CUSTOMER CAPITAL ON CUSTOMER RESPONSE SPEED AND INNOVATIVENESS: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF MARKETING CAPABILITY," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 23(06), pages 1-25, August.
    9. Musso, Fabio & Francioni, Barbara, 2011. "Foreign Markets Entry Mode Decision for Italian Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises," MPRA Paper 50067, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 31 Oct 2011.
    10. Ravindra Ojha & Jones Mathew & Umashankar Venkatesh, 2021. "Excellence Through Downstream Innovation in Times of Pandemic: Insights from the Auto Sector," International Journal of Global Business and Competitiveness, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 16-28, December.
    11. Jens Schmidt & Richard Makadok & Thomas Keil, 2016. "Customer-specific synergies and market convergence," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(5), pages 870-895, May.
    12. Maurizio Zollo & Mario Minoja & Vittorio Coda, 2018. "Toward an integrated theory of strategy," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(6), pages 1753-1778, June.
    13. Musso, Fabio & Francioni, Barbara, 2009. "Foreign markets entry mode decision for SMEs. Key factors and role of industrial districts," MPRA Paper 32153, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Niron Hashai & Ivo Zander, 2019. "Dynamics in the Origins of Technological Knowledge in Early Firm Years: Implications for New Product Introductions," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 4(3), pages 217-233, September.
    15. Juan Manuel Ramon-Jeronimo & Raquel Florez-Lopez & Maria Angeles Ramon-Jeronimo, 2017. "Understanding the Generation of Value along Supply Chains: Balancing Control Information and Relational Governance Mechanisms in Downstream and Upstream Relationships," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-31, August.
    16. Guangliang Ye & Richard L. Priem & Abdullah A. Alshwer, 2012. "Achieving Demand-Side Synergy from Strategic Diversification: How Combining Mundane Assets Can Leverage Consumer Utilities," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(1), pages 207-224, February.

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