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Agility as a Source of Competitive Advantage

In: The Limits of Business Development and Economic Growth

Author

Listed:
  • Mats Larsson

Abstract

Competition in all industries has become tougher. Companies are not only more adept at strategic planning, they are also gradually improving their operations. When Sony developed the Walkman this company became expert at miniaturization and no other company could contest its expertise in this area for a long time. Today there are often a number of companies that compete even in cutting-edge technologies and if the leader makes a wrong move this company may lose its leading position. The growing management consulting market and the growing market for IT consulting services testify to the fact that companies spend more and more money on the improvement of their business. The improved skills in strategy and operations in many companies usually do not show as improved profits. They show as tougher and tougher competition between more and more equal competitors. In his 1996 article ‘What is Strategy?’ in the Harvard Business Review, Porter complains that companies are focusing too much on operational efficiency which is easy to copy and focusing too little on the development of unique strategies. It may be that companies focus on operational improvement because they realize that it is difficult to find ‘uninhabited’ areas in markets where they can develop a sustainable uniqueness or unique business processes.

Suggested Citation

  • Mats Larsson, 2004. "Agility as a Source of Competitive Advantage," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: The Limits of Business Development and Economic Growth, chapter 4, pages 49-53, Palgrave Macmillan.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palchp:978-0-230-51143-9_5
    DOI: 10.1057/9780230511439_5
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