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The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the relationship patterns between competitive advantage and superior performance.

This study empirically investigates the aforementioned relationship patterns using a cross-sectional, self-administered survey methodology.

The results indicate that there are four relationship patterns between competitive advantage and superior performance. In addition, this study provides empirical evidence of the reasons, underpinning the relationship pattern of competitive advantage without superior performance as well as the relationship pattern of superior performance without competitive advantage.

This study contributes to our knowledge that competitive advantage is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for superior performance.

In finding support that there can be cases of underperformance despite competitive advantage and superior performance despite the absence of competitive advantage, the study’s findings are useful to practicing managers involved in the strategic management process of their firms.

This study fills an important gap in the empirical research, by responding to the literature call to test the possible relationship patterns between competitive advantage and superior performance. In addition, this study formally introduces the relationship pattern of competitive advantage without superior performance, and the relationship pattern of superior performance without competitive advantage that until now were largely ignored by the existing literature in the field of strategic management.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of superior IT capability on financial performance of firms in the chemicals and chemical products industry in India.

Financial performance of 28 firms with superior IT capability has been compared with benchmark over a period of six years.

This research has five important findings for the chemicals and chemical products industry in India: there is positive association between superior IT capability and return on sales (ROS); firms with superior IT capability are able to earn higher margins on their products; asset turn of firms with superior IT capability is less than benchmark; capital markets give higher valuation to firms with superior IT capability; and this superior performance in terms of better ROS and higher capital market valuation is sustainable over a period of time.

This is the first empirical study that has analysed the influence of IT capability on financial performance of firms in a specific industry in the context of India.

Although competitive advantage is the cornerstone concept in strategic management it still remains a poorly defined and operationalized construct. The purpose of this paper is to revisit the concept of competitive advantage, to identify the problems that stem from its current conceptualization from the majority of the literature.

The paper undertakes an extensive literature review, audit of logical inference, syllogistic reasoning and Bayesian expressions in order to examine the problems associated with the current conceptualizations of competitive advantage.

Several drawbacks and fallacies relating to current conceptualizations of competitive advantage were identified that create an urgent need for a more robust definition which could better serve the needs of both empirical research and management practice.

The authors by no means claim that the literature review undertaken in this paper on the concept of competitive advantage and on the problems derived from its conceptualization was exhaustive or absolute. Rather, this paper constitutes an attempt to stimulate efforts and provide directions on the further conceptual development of competitive advantage.

The findings allow practising managers to not necessarily associate competitive advantage with its sources and with the determinants of superior performance.

The findings contribute to the evolution of the strategic management field by identifying, categorizing and mapping potential problems, drawbacks and fallacies, associated with the conceptualization of competitive advantage as currently delineated in the literature, and by suggesting some criteria for the development of a conceptually more robust definition.

Competitive advantage is perhaps the most widely used term in strategic management, yet it remains poorly defined and operationalized. This paper makes three observations regarding competitive advantage and conceptually explores the various patterns of relationship between competitive advantage and firm performance. First, competitive advantage does not equate to superior performance. Second, competitive advantage is a relational term. Third, it is context‐specific. This paper examines three patterns of relationship between competitive advantage and firm performance: 1) competitive advantage leading to superior performance; 2) competitive advantage without superior performance, and 3) superior performance without competitive advantage. The ultimate purpose of this article is to help generate a healthy debate among strategy scholars on the usefulness of the competitive advantage construct for our theory building and testing. This paper proposes that we re‐examine the notion of competitive advantage and formally assess its usefulness for theory building and testing in the field of Strategic Management. The notion of competitive advantage has been a cornerstone of our field. As such, research on competitive advantage occupies a central position in strategy literature (e.g., Porter, 1980, 1985; Rumelt, 1984, 1987; Barney, 1986, 1991; Ghemawat, 1986, 1991; Peteraf, 1993; Teece, Pisano, & Shuen, 1997). However, the notion of competitive advantage itself has rarely been systematically addressed and, to date, remains poorly defined and operationalized. Is competitive advantage what it takes to compete, a characterization observed during competition, or an outcome of competition? Is competitive advantage contingent on the competitive situation or is it a more general trait of the firm? Put differently, how is competitive advantage different from competence, strengths and, ultimately, performance? This article, addressing the above questions, makes three observations regarding competitive advantage. First, competitive advantage does not equate to (superior) performance. Second, competitive advantage is a relational construct. Third, competitive advantage is context‐specific. In presenting these three observations, this article proposes suggestions to refine and operationalize “competitive advantage.” It then conceptually explores the relationship between competitive advantage and performance, which is argued to be much more complex than it is currently being treated in the literature. Concluding remarks follow.

The purpose of this paper is to examine relationships between a priori‐chosen personality traits and the tendency for a manager to rate his/her job performance more favourably than well‐acquainted superiors, peers, and subordinates do.

The job performance of 204 managers was evaluated using multi‐source (i.e. 360E) ratings (self, subordinates, peers, and superiors). Managers also completed personality measures. Relationships between managers' personality and the tendency for managers to rate their own job performance higher than subordinates, peers, and superiors did were analyzed using advanced regression techniques.

The paper finds that self‐superior and self‐peer disagreement in performance ratings (i.e. self‐rating inflation) was associated with high Achievement and high Self‐Esteem. Additionally, self‐superior disagreement (i.e. self‐rating deflation) was associated with high Anxiety. Self‐subordinate disagreement was not associated with self‐rater personality.

The paper studied a single sample of financial services managers. Generalization requires cross‐validation with other occupational groups and organizations.

Human resources professionals should be informed that self‐superior and self‐peer disagreement (i.e. self‐rating inflation) in multi‐source job performance ratings is potentially beneficial because it is associated with personality traits that can facilitate positive responses to feedback. Peers and superiors should therefore not inflate their ratings of managers in an effort to reduce self‐superior and self‐peer disagreement in ratings.

This study improved upon most previous investigations of this topic by using a field setting, considering a wider range of personality variables, using 360( job performance ratings (self‐, supervisor‐, peer‐, and subordinate‐ratings) rather than just a subset of these rating sources, and employing superior statistical procedures.

This paper aims to analyze challenges of subjective performance evaluation (SPE) and their effects on team performance. It focuses on discretionary bonus allocations in teams and challenges driven by cognitive biases on the superior or the employee side. This is important as efficient teamwork is a relevant source of competitive advantages in firms, and firms often rely on teams to coordinate various, mutually supportive organizational activities.

The author analyzes results that have recently been discussed in the literature and link them to each other to create a more holistic picture about potential performance effects of SPE. Based on the analyses, the author develops avenues for future research and point out open questions.

Exploring employees’ fairness perceptions in team settings in which there is no clear standard for a “fair” team bonus allocation, the author finds that perceived fairness of team bonus allocation may decrease under SPE because employees interpret the “fairness” of the bonus allocation from an egocentric perspective. Such decrease in perceived fairness can eventually even lead to decreased team performance. Likewise, on the superior side, more complex, but highly relevant team can cause cognitive biases of superiors in assessing employee performance, thereby decreasing the potentially positive effects of SPE on team performance.

This paper contributes to the literature by analyzing recently discovered challenges of SPE in teams and linking them to each other to draw more general conclusions about the performance effects of SPE. For practice, my findings imply that firms may want to be cautious when evaluating the potential effects of SPE – as it is made by human beings with their cognitive biases. For research, the paper opens up new research possibilities and points out open questions.

To determine the effect that implicit leadership theories have on the relevance of 360‐degree review techniques used to assess managerial behavior.

The relationships of subordinate, superior and self ratings of manager leader behaviors with three performance indicators were examined in 60 retail stores located in the USA.

Nearly, all of the subordinate ratings of manager behaviors were significantly related to performance of internal processes, while nearly all ratings of the same manager provided by superiors were related to performance in store merchandizing.

The performance indicators were derived from company records, independent of influence from the rater groups.

Multi‐source ratings of managerial behaviors may be based on overall work unit performance rather than observation and should be assessed and interpreted cautiously in providing feedback for management development.

The ratings of managerial behaviors may reflect implicit leadership models activated by observation of store performance rather than rater observations of the manager's behaviors.

The purpose of this study is to investigate a set of competencies that are important for superior performance across three top levels of management in the provincial government executive offices.

Using the case of the West Java Province Government, Indonesia, a qualitative approach with document analysis and behavioural event interview techniques were employed. The results were confirmed using focus group discussions. The Mann–Whitney U test was also conducted to further analyse the results.

The authors found 19 competencies grouped into five competency clusters: managing personal, managing task, managing work unit, managing socio-cultural and functional aspects. The Mann–Whitney U test results showed that managing work unit and socio-cultural aspects were more important for upper-level management, while functional aspects were more necessary for lower and middle levels of management. Two competencies, that is, achievement orientation and innovation, were the main characteristics of superior performers across all management levels, differentiating them from average performers.

The study suggests the need for the Government of Indonesia to improve the current competency model. Its implications on educational and training institutions are discussed.

This study considered three different levels of management, grouped into superior and average performers and thematically analysed their past experiences when performing their jobs. It thus extends previous competency studies that mostly focus on a particular management level and individuals' perceptions.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between a company’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance and its financial performance. This paper also investigates the relationship between ESG performance and a company’s market valuation. This paper provides convincing empirical evidence that delivering superior ESG performance pays off financially.

The financial data and ESG scores of 150 publicly traded companies listed in the Standard and Poor’s 500 index for 2017–2020, comprising 5,750 observations, were collected. STATA was used to run a fixed-effect regression and a weighted least squares model to analyze the panel data.

The results of the empirical analysis suggest that companies with superior ESG performance perform better financially and are valued higher in the market compared to their industry peers. The ESG rating score impacts both return-on-capital-employed as a proxy for financial performance and Tobin’s Q as a proxy for the market valuation of a company.

This study contributes to the existing research on ESG performance and financial performance relationship by providing empirical evidence to resolve confusion in the existing literature caused by contradictory evidence. Taking advantage of worldwide crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, this study shows that a positive relationship between ESG performance and a company’s market valuation holds even during times of unexpected crises. Further, this study contributes to business practitioners’ knowledge by showing that ESG aspects constitute highly relevant non-financial information that impact the market’s perception of a company and that investing in sustainability positively impacts a company’s bottom line.

Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) is an exploratory orientation because its dimensions such as innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking are the essence of exploration that entails uncertain returns. While literature suggests firms might need to counterbalance and complement EO with another orientation for organisational success, research on this area remains limited. Drawing on organisational learning theory, the purpose of this article is to explore whether and how the EO dimensions and organisational ambidexterity complement each other to enhance new product performance. More specifically, the authors explore the configurations of innovativeness, proactiveness, risk-taking and ambidexterity for superior new product performance under different levels of market turbulence.

Based on a configurational perspective, the authors applied fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) on a sample of 88 small and medium-sized firms from the UK. Using fsQCA allows the authors to uncover the potential complementary role between the EO dimensions and ambidexterity for superior new product performance.

The results of this paper reveal three configurations that are sufficient to produce superior new product performance. The results suggest that the EO dimensions and ambidexterity can complement each other to enhance new product performance. Further, under the turbulent market environment, the EO dimensions are also sufficient to produce superior new product performance.

By adopting a configurational perspective using fsQCA, the study provides a more holistic understanding of how the EO dimensions work together to influence new product performance. It also contributes to the literature by uncovering the complementary role of the EO dimensions and ambidexterity in shaping new product performance.