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While knowledge management has been shown to be a strategic source of competitive advantage, processes designed to enhance the productivity of knowledge do not, however, equally contribute to the organization's capabilities. Consequently, this research aims to focus on the relationship between each mode of the knowledge management process and multiple sources of competitive advantage.

This research, using questionnaire data collected from the entire population of a pharmaceutical company's head office in Japan, investigates how different perceptions and behaviors related to knowledge management affect the perceived contribution of certain types of organizational knowledge acting as sources of competitive advantage.

The study finds that the perceived importance of knowledge management activities, especially combination, appears as an important source of competitive advantage related to technical knowledge, and more time spent on knowledge management tasks, in particular socialization, contributes to a competitive advantage related to affective knowledge. Further analysis involves a taxonomy of employees based on their perceived importance of, and the time they spend on, knowledge management activities

This paper focuses on the entire population of a single firm, and for that reason, further research with other companies in different industries is necessary.

There is evidence suggesting that knowledge management strategies should be tailored to fit the discriminate beliefs and actions of each group of workers, identified based on their level of congruence between their espoused theories and theories‐in‐use related to knowledge management.

The taxonomy of workers introduced in the paper emphasizes the fact that the workforce is not a uniform body and therefore that intrinsic differences need to be taken into account to maximize the efficiency of knowledge management.

Decisions about strategies to be implemented and organization design are important in having competitive advantage for companies. Although this statement widely takes place in management literature, very little research has been done on this subject in Turkey. The aim of this study is to examine the mediating role of competitive strategies in the impact of organizational flexibility on competitive advantage in order to extend about empirical literature of the structure-strategy-competitive advantage paradigm based on the resource-based view (RBV). In this context, the data were collected from the top 500 industrial enterprises in Turkey. The data were tested via structural equation model. The findings of our research show that the direct effect of organizational flexibility on competitive superiority was marginally significant and when three different competitive strategies were included between these two variables in the model, the marginally significant effect of organizational flexibility on the competitive advantage disappeared. In other words, the full mediating role of applied competition strategies in the effect of organizational flexibility on competitive advantage has been identified. Our findings are similar to the findings of other studies that consider organizational structure as a valuable resource and examine the relationship between the structure and the strategy according to the RBV.

In the author's experience, even veteran executives often make statements about competitive advantage that reflect either genuine misunderstanding or casual misuse of the term. This paper aims to offer a clear explanation of what constitutes competitive advantage so as to facilitate identification, assessment and strategizing.

The paper proposes a definition of competitive advantage that differs from that proposed by many textbooks. It is based on the idea that competitive advantage can only be defined in terms of customer value.

A number of cases are examined in the light of the customer value approach to identifying competitive advantage.

Company executives learn to periodically engage in systematic information gathering regarding customer‐perceived competitive advantages.

Organizations that adopt this customer‐perceived approach to competitive advantage can make better assessments of where to expend their efforts and resources to outmaneuver their rivals and improve profitability.

Extant research has yielded conflicting results regarding the relationship between adoption of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices and competitive advantage. The purpose of this paper is to further investigate this relationship by examining the case of green reverse logistics (GRL).

Through the lens of diffusion of innovation and resource‐advantage theory, the authors examine whether or not consumers perceive products made via GRL practices to be equivalent to brand‐new products in terms of quality. A survey method is used to gather data from a diverse sample of 533 participants. Data are analyzed via ANOVA to test the hypotheses.

The findings suggest that consumers perceive products made via some GRL practices to be inferior to brand‐new products in terms of quality. However, participants indicated no perceived quality difference between products made with recycled materials and brand‐new products.

The findings suggest that adoption of some GSCM practices may not necessarily lead to competitive advantage, which may inhibit diffusion of GSCM. This study is limited by its focus on just one aspect of competitive advantage. Future studies should examine the relationship between GSCM adoption and other measures of competitive advantage.

Understanding that consumers may perceive products made via some GRL activities as being inferior in quality to brand‐new products, firms wishing to employ GRL may wish to compete on other dimensions, such as low price or service.

This research corroborates previous research findings that suggest adoption of GSCM may not lead directly to competitive advantage. Future research is suggested to continue to build this body of literature.

Past research showed that overly positive attitudes and intentions towards fast food contribute to obesity. In the face of rising childhood obesity, the purpose of this paper is to explore attitudinal and behavioral reasons behind adolescents' suboptimal food choices. It tests hypotheses about differences between teenagers and adults in customer attitudes and intentions regarding fast food restaurants.

The hypotheses are tested with German survey data and moderated regression analysis.

Teenagers do not underestimate the negative effects of fast food. However, their decision making fails to incorporate existing knowledge on competitive advantages and gives greater weight to customer satisfaction compared with adults. Behavioral differences between teenage and adult consumers result from differences in cognitive development rather than social pressure.

As this study uses subjective consumer data from Germany, future research could validate the conclusions with objective behavioral data from various countries.

Of importance to fast food restaurant managers, the primary determinants of customer attitudes and intentions are food quality, the public brand image, social recognition, and perceived competitive advantages. By contrast, service quality and perceived value are less influential. Satisfying teenage customers is more important than informing them about competitive advantages.

The results imply that fast food‐related childhood obesity may be caused by lack of rationality rather than peer pressure or lack of knowledge.

As an original contribution, the paper compares adolescents' and adults' decision making regarding fast food restaurants and captures the regularly overlooked influences of the public brand image, social recognition, and perceived competitive advantages.

In drawing attention to certain important gaps in the exporting literature, reports on a systematic study of the export competitive advantages of indigenous manufacturers in a small European country. The focus is on the examination of potential differences in perceptions of export competitive advantages with regard to firms′ size, export involvement and export market experience. The research findings suggest the existence of significant differences in perceived export competitive advantages between different exporter groups in terms of company size and degree of export involvement. However, no relationship is established between perceptions of competitive advantages and export market experience. Discusses managerial and public policy implications of these findings and outlines directions for future research.

The purpose of this study is to develop an integrated conceptual framework to better understand the psychological pathways connecting consumer perceptions to purchasing intentions for premium sustainable products.

The study develops a conceptual model that theorizes relationships between consumer perceptions of a firm’s innovation, competitive advantage, sustainable practices and stakeholder orientation. It proposes that stakeholder orientation mediates the effects of these perceptions on consumers’ willingness to purchase premium sustainable products. Additionally, lifestyle is hypothesized as a moderator. The model advances knowledge through eight testable propositions.

The conceptual framework specifies indirect, mediated and moderated relationships that have not been fully captured by past literature. It theorizes that perceptions of a firm’s innovation, competitive advantage from sustainable practices and stakeholder orientation indirectly influence purchase willingness through the mediating role of stakeholder orientation. Lifestyle is proposed to moderate these relationships.

This conceptual model offers insights for cultivating consumer perceptions that strengthen a firm’s stakeholder image and endorsement of premium sustainable products. Its validated theoretical lens and propositions can provide strategic guidance for addressing the challenges of higher price points for sustainable products through capturing psychological drivers of values-based decision-making. Future empirical assessment is recommended to validate the specified relationships in the model.

The purpose of this paper is to critically investigate the discourse on “competitive advantage”, a concept that has been widely applied in the public higher education sector, but rarely defined and conceptualised.

In order to get some insightful understanding about how “competitive advantage” is actually manifested in the life and activities of public higher education institutions (PHEIs), it is necessary to obtain data about the perceptions held by education practitioners in different sub-sectors and at various job function levels. In total, 73 interviews at 16 Dutch PHEIs were conducted in the period of 2009-2011.

By studying the diversified meanings, 13 elements were identified in constructing the competitive advantages sought by PHEIs, and, more importantly the significance of each element is rated and ranked. Furthermore, this research discovered that the research universities and universities of applied sciences perceive this concept differently; also, the practitioners holding different job functions gave divergent meanings to this term. The clarification of this container concept “competitive advantage” leads to the conclusion that the business way of defining “competitive advantage” should be critically reviewed and verified in the context of the public higher education sector.

This study used just two parameters for the selection of individual respondents: their job function and the length of their working experience. Further studies that adopt different selection parameters are, therefore, encouraged as offering the potential to further enrich our knowledge about how competitive advantage is perceived and put into practice. It is hoped that the findings from this research offer some guidance in developing a framework for such further studies.

The sectorial differences revealed by this study can help research universities and universities of applied sciences design their competitive strategies more suitable with their specific characteristics. The job function level differences shown by the research findings can help institutions to identify and close the gaps between the central level and faculty level in their strategic planning and implementation.

The clarification of the container concept “competitive advantage” is unique in the current educational management literature, particularly in both qualitative and quantitative ways. The comparisons between two institutional types and two job function levels may help PHEIs to effectively design competitive strategies according to their specific institutional characteristics and by understanding the gaps between the central and faculty level.

This study aims to suggest an integrative model to investigate design orientation by analyzing its links with market orientation and its ability to generate and maintain a competitive advantage and improve effectiveness.

The structural equation technique is used to test the research hypotheses based on data from the Spanish furniture and lighting industries. The data are obtained from the responses of 209 companies to a questionnaire targeted at design and marketing managers.

The results suggest that design orientation helps companies to gain competitive advantages in product differentiation and improve business effectiveness. The design orientation is stimulated by proactive market orientation and by marketing-design integration during the development of new products. The design orientation fully mediates the effect of proactive marketing orientation on perceived effectiveness.

This study uses a quantitative research approach to propose and test an integrative model that relates design orientation with the generation of competitive advantage in product differentiation and perceived effectiveness.

How do purchasing and supply management (PSM) practices create value for the business customers of a focal company? The purpose of this study is to approach the question by investigating the delivery of value over three tiers in the supply chain, that is, from suppliers to the focal company, and further to the focal company’s customers following value chain logic.

The study is carried out as a qualitative interview study in four focal companies operating in business-to-business markets. A total of 32 interviews are conducted targeted to managers and directors of sales and marketing, purchasing, product/service development and business units.

The study unveils the characteristics and interplay of supplier-oriented and cross-functional PSM practices in customer value creation. The findings indicate that cross-functional integration between purchasing and the other functions of a focal firm is most beneficial in improving supply flexibility to fulfill customer preferences, identifying new supplier offerings for the customer and facilitating time-to-market of new products.

This study enhances managers’ understanding of the characteristics of the non-financial benefits of purchasing and the role of PSM practices in customer value creation and business success. The findings are indicative of potentially successful practices in the contexts studied.

This study contributes to the supply chain management literature on the benefits of the purchasing function by highlighting the value created for the customer of a focal company. It also extends the discussion in the supply chain management literature on customer value creating interaction processes in business relationships by focusing on PSM practices.