Does your organization use knowledge to gain competitive advantage?

Abstract

Many information and knowledge management programmes do not achieve all the anticipated benefits, one reason being that they do not have increasing competitive advantage as an objective.' AbstractThe rationale behind this article is that frequently the link is not made between organizations gaining competitive advantage and the use of good quality information and maintaining the infrastructure to store, organize and retrieve that knowledge and information. It will examine what constitutes competitive advantage and the use of knowledge to create it. Specific types of knowledge that generate competitiveness will be reviewed along with some examples of proactive usage. Business advantageWhat is meant by competitive advantage? Competitive advantage is mainly used to differentiate company performance in the profit-making sector. In fact virtually all organizations have competitors. A good example is the charity sector in which firms are actively competing for donations. The same can be said for theatres, which are competing for audiences and schools, which compete for the most talented pupils and the best exam results -hence the growth in league tables.Competitive advantage is a great deal more than financial performance and shareholder value; these are both a measurement at a moment in time, usually short-term. Competitive advantage is built slowly over time from a number of different aspects: one of the most important is organizational image and integrity.Professor Michael E. Porter from Harvard Business School has been the guru of competitive strategy since 1980, when he published his classic book on the subject [1]. Five years later, he took this a stage further and wrote a book called Competitive Advantage, which explains 'how a firm can actually create and sustain a competitive advantage in its industry ' [2]. Sustain is a key word. He goes Competitor intelligence38

Leadership and Management in Elite Sport: Factors Perceived to Influence Performance

“…To address the self-related factors identified in the present study, psychological support could include sessions on coping with pressure and increasing resilience [79], developing an optimal work-life balance [80], enhancing leadership, psychological, and communication skills [81][82][83], improving decision making and delegation [84], and effectively drawing from previous experiences [85]. To address environment-related factors, psychological support sessions could involve: working with a mentor [86], creating discussion groups and forums [87], gaining a competitive advantage by working with the media [88], utilizing modern technology for enhanced business intelligence [89], and relationship and team-building [90]. To provide such support, applied sport psychologists will likely have to develop their own skills and competencies [15,16,91] and draw lessons from professionals who have provided similar support to other populations (e.g., executive coaches, business psychologists).…”

The Impact of Leadership, Creativity, and Innovation on Competitive Advantage: Proposing a Comprehensive Framework for a Better Indonesia

“…He explains that there are two basic types of competitive advantage: cost leadership and differentiation. The main factors that may lead to these two types of competitive advantage are sustained revenue, innovation and new product development, brand and reputation, employee relations, acquisitions and mergers (Freeman, 2001). Mentioned by Porter, the differentiation is an essential aspect in the owning of competitive advantage (Freeman, 2001).…”

“…The main factors that may lead to these two types of competitive advantage are sustained revenue, innovation and new product development, brand and reputation, employee relations, acquisitions and mergers (Freeman, 2001). Mentioned by Porter, the differentiation is an essential aspect in the owning of competitive advantage (Freeman, 2001). There is an extensive literature that examines various enterprise-specific factors involved in creating a position of competitive advantage for the firm, and the complex interplay between the firm's internal organizational factors and environmental factors.…”

The E-world, information and competitive advantage: what works?

“…Continuing the competitiveness theme of her contribution to BIR 18 (3), Ms Freeman looks at corporate uses of Internet and intranet technology.…”

“…The features of the Internet have enabled unimaginable access to information and to ways of making information available. In my previous article on competitive advantage [3], it was stated that market intelligence used to be available slowly and only to a limited audience. These barriers have now been removed and been replaced by problems such as information overload.…”