How Can A Company Measure Its Competitive Advantage?

2.Competitive Advantage – It includes the best product of an Organization in the competitive market.

According to Hill & Jones (2008), a business is said to enjoy competitive advantage when that business is able to generate a superior profitability than the average industry profitability and profit growth of the other companies in the same industry competing for the same set of customers. In simpler terms, a company is said to have competitive advantage when it enjoys greater profitability in comparison to its competitors. A company is able to generate such competitive advantage through developing its unique strengths and competencies, which the competitors in the market are unable to replicate. By focusing on these unique strengths and competencies, a company is able to significantly differentiate its offerings, or provide a significant cost benefit to

Competitive advantage exists when a firm has strategy, product or an attribute that makes the firm capable of delivering similar benefit to that of competitors at a cheaper cost. Having competitive advantage is not enough the company should be capable of sustaining that particular competitive advantage for a longer period of time.

competition, both in attributes and in products. In order to supply an attribute that no

As number of firms in the industry keeps increasing, greater competition force firms to earn more market share, innovate substitutes, produce differentiate products and be cost leadership to keep or improve their position in the industry. For example, some of the products of Billabong and Quiksilver are similar, consumer will choose to buy the one with lower price if they have similar function, or buy the one with higher price if the product is different from others. Thus, a firm could run well if it has different products and lower cost compared with rivals.

A Competitive Advantage is a peculiarity for an organization between it's competitors . It's achieved either by lowering prices or by greatening the value of the product or by offering luxury service and benefits to cope with high prices .

Competitive advantage is that a company has better ability in earning profit and profit growth compared to its competitors for the same group of customers in one industry.

Only one firm in any sector or industry can have this advantage (Porter, 1985). The alternate source of competitive advantage is differentiation, this is where the firm "provides something unique that is valuable to buyers beyond simply offering a low price” (Porter, 1985; p120). The firm needs to show that it is different in some way, this may be a product or service characteristics, or may be an intangible aspect such as a firm image or brand (Porter, 1985). The brand is a useful tool that can support the differentiation, by creating the image or association that the consumers will link with the differentiation (Kotler and Keller, 2008). There are many examples; from premium quality brand such as Cartier, to high tech firms such as Apple and mass market brands such as Coca-Cola, in each case the brand has been developed to be associated with specific values and characteristics that help to identify the firm and why it is different (Kotler and Keller, 2008).

Competitive advantage(CA) is an advantage competitors gain by providing or offering customers or consumers greater value for their money through product and service differentiation or through lower prices. Maintaining competitive advantage is crucial to many businesses or organizations' success in order to survive in the market. Competitive advantage is characterized by superior performance which could be an attribute to outperform the competitors whether current or potential; or gaining a higher market share in a particular industry thereby ensuring market leadership; or ultimately, maximization of profit.(JOBBER 2010)

They must also gain strategic advantage by positioning their offerings strongly against the competitors’ offerings in the minds of consumers. To plan effective competitive marketing strategies, the company needs to find out all it can about its competitors. It must constantly compare its products, prices, channels and promotion with those of close competitors. In this way the company can find areas of potential competitive advantage and disadvantage. Also, it can launch more effective marketing campaigns against its competitors and prepare stronger defenses against competitors’ actions.

Competitive advantage is explained by Mahoney and Pandian (1992) as the function of industry analysis, organizational governance and the firm’s effects in the form of resource advantages and strategies. In order for a firm to be competitive it must adapt to the volatile business environment and through strategic management decisions establish a competitive advantage that will ultimately produce superior performance relative to its competitors (Akimova 2000).

In order to achieve competitive advantage, a firm must perform one or more value-creating activity that is more superior compared to other competitors. Superior value is created through lower costs or superior benefits to the buyers.

*  A competitive advantage is one that distinguishes a firm or a business from the competitors in the minds of the customers. It also refers to the state or ​condition that make a ​business more ​successful than the ​businesses it is ​competing with, or a particular thing that makes it more ​successful such as having a higher sales through offering low or affordable goods and services.

attributes, price and quality, offering the product in a different way than the competitors do. The

exists when the firm is able to deliver the same benefits as competitors but at a