Sustaining Competitive Advatag

Abstract

An examination of the strategies that enabled overall best-practice champions to achieve excellence revealed eight factors for sustaining competitive advantage. The research was part of a broad Cornell University-based study of the American hotel industry's best practices. The eight factors that underlie sustained competitive advantage are (1) a competitive strategy based on capability and distinctive value; (2) focused strategic positioning; (3) structural alignment of facility and operations; (4) alignment of the human-resources strategy with the strategic position; (5) distillation of strategic positioning into day-to-day operations; (6) alignment of brand, franchisee, and owner; (7) balance between innovation and wisdom; and (8) growth by operational and financial muscle. Each best-practice champion executed those factors in a way that was congruent with its market position and overall strategy.