What are the components that comprise a sustainable competitive advantage for a firm?

Four components comprise a sustainable competitive advantage. According to Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson (2009), the criteria is as follows:

Valuable: allow the firm to exploit opportunities or neutralize threats in its external environment Rare: capabilities that few, if any,competitors possess Costly to imitate: capabilities that other firms cannot easily develop. Nonsubstitutable: capabilities that do not have strategic equivalents (p. 82).

Core competencies are a foundation for a companys competitive advantage. A competitive advantage is the process a company performs that distinguishes them from the competition. Core competencies emerge over time through an organizational process of...