Abstract
Resource-Advantage theory has been an important addition to the marketing literature generally, and the marketing strategy literature in particular. Twenty years after its introduction, this paper explores R-A theory in the context of marketing strategy research and considers three main issues. First, while R-A theory has clearly been impactful, why it has not been relatively more impactful. Second, it identifies and elaborates on some important marketing strategy phenomena and questions that have not been explicitly addressed by R-A theory. Third, it offers some suggestions for the further development of R-A theory.
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I confess that I have not read every R-A paper and book ever published, and thus such a set of unique R-A theory characteristics and predictions may exist somewhere in the extant literature. However, I would also say that I am not a marketing (or management or economics) theory neophyte—at least relative to the bulk of my colleagues, so this explanation may hold for many marketing academics, even if factually incorrect.
However, I am not sure that this is true with “superior value” vs. “differentiation” in this respect since superior value can be delivered by reducing costs relative to benefits (consistent with a cost-reduction strategy) and by increasing benefits relative to costs which is more consistent with a differentiation strategy (Narver and Slater 1990).
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Morgan, N.A. Commentary on Shelby Hunt’s “The theoretical foundations of strategic marketing and marketing strategy: foundational premises, R-A theory, three fundamental strategies, and societal welfare”. AMS Rev 5, 91–97 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13162-015-0070-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13162-015-0070-z