THE POSITIONING APPROACH & THE RESOURCE BASED VIEW (RBV)

The Positioning Approach and the Resource Based View (RBV)

THE POSITIONING APPROACH AND THE RESOURCE BASED VIEW (RBV)

For the purpose and objective understanding the positioning tool that has been undertaken for the purpose and objective of making effective use of the tools that have been intended in the context of making marketing attempts more effective connections and bonds with current and potential customers respectively.

For the objective of making significant attempts towards gaining more momentum in the market, there are two key techniques that have been readily practiced within the context of setting the product. These include the positioning approach and the resource based view. Now both have been accounted for a lot of criticism in their own respects, so we shall discuss them in detail regarding all the accounts of confirmation thereof.

Resource-Based View (RBV)

We argue that the RBV of the firm, as a complement to Porter's competitive positioning view, can enhance our understanding of manufacturing flexibility and its significance as a strategic weapon (Trout, 1969, 51-55). To achieve this, we first draw upon the competitive positioning view of strategic management to explain the emergence of manufacturing flexibility in firms. We then identify shortcomings of the theory, and introduce critical features of the RBV that we rely on to propose a theoretically derived framework that sheds additional light on the elusive concept of manufacturing flexibility, its components, and its effect on competitive advantage. Finally, we conclude with implications for both practitioners and researchers, suggesting avenues for future research that recognize the need for integrating these two theories.

For years, management strategists have strived to understand the factors that influence a firm's success in the marketplace (Conner, 1996, 477-501). Among the different theories of strategic management, the dominant paradigm is the competitive view proposed by Porter (1980) in his seminal book Competitive Strategy. In this book, Porter's core idea is that “strategy is the act of aligning a company and its environment.”

For a firm, the key to success lies in the identification of a profitable industry and, through deliberate actions, its positioning to become a dominant player in that particular industry (Makadok, 2001, 387-401). Porter identifies five sets of players (i.e. competitors, customers, suppliers, potential entrants, and substitute products), developing the so-called “five forces” framework, to assess the inherent attractiveness of industries. Once an attractive industry is found, a firm must then decide on the ways in which it might enter and/or position itself within this industry to gain a dominant position. After having identified the position to attain given the forces at play, the firm then engages in the activities necessary to fit the requirements of that position.

These shifts that have been witnessed were due to the increased globalization of markets, further fragmentation of markets into smaller niches, and rapidly changing technologies. With more non-US firms moving into the US market, product offerings proliferated while the total volume of sales slightly increased (Stigler, 1961, ...