The main contrast between the resource-based view and competitive positioning approaches is the ideologies behind the two. In a resource-based view, the usefulness of the available resources at the business’s disposal is critical in gaining its competitive advantage (Shibin et al., 2017). Therefore, when formulating a business strategy, the effectiveness of the resource-based view lies in its ability to help the business utilize the available assets. Moreover, the availability and the quantity of the assets are significant in how they approach helps the business explain its rent-earning resource capabilities (Shibin et al., 2017). When referring to the resource-based view approach, what the business controls and how it uses in formulating business strategy become the underlying concept towards achieving competitive gains.
In contrast, the effectiveness of competitive positioning is attributed to the value an organization gains from consumers. Therefore, competitive positioning presents a mental relationship between consumers and an organization’s brand (Hooley et al., 2020). Moreover, when considering business strategy formulation, one begins to relate to the consumer loyalty domain, independent of brand control or the business itself. As such, consumer loyalty assumes a significant position in how business strategies are influenced (Hooley et al., 2020). The consumer’s perception can therefore become a decisive factor in how an organization approaches business and how it gains a competitive advantage in the market.
However, the main similarity between the competitive positioning approach and the resource-based view is both approaches’ perspectives in formulating business strategy, especially when goals or objectives must be met. Both approaches are central in identifying market opportunities or challenges and the developed solutions significant in supporting data or research (Mckeown, 2019). In simple terms, both competitive positioning and resource-based view approaches are responsible for formulating business strategies that facilitate firms’ ability to conduct competitive analysis when gaining or finding competitive advantage.
References
Hooley, G. J., Nicoulaud, B., Rudd, J. M., & Lee, N. (2020). Marketing strategy and competitive positioning. Pearson.
Mckeown, M. (2019). The Strategy Book. Harlow, United Kingdom: Pearson Education Limited. Pearson Education Limited.
Shibin, K. T., Dubey, R., Gunasekaran, A., Hazen, B., Roubaud, D., Gupta, S., & Foropon, C. (2017). Examining sustainable supply chain management of SMEs using resource-based view and institutional theory. Annals of operations research, pp. 1-26.