Sustainable competitive advantage through organisational leadership and learning in a service environment : a resource-based view

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The determination of what the concept 'sustainable competitive advantage' means within aservice environment and the consequent establishment of key resources within Pam GoldingProperties and the role that leadership and the creation of a learning organisation play, formedthe core of this study. The case study was therefore undertaken to glean relevant informationfrom reality in order to determine which resources that can be described as intangible assetsand competences contribute in a sustainable manner to the organisation's competitiveadvantage in a dynamic and changing business environment.Existing and historical resources including leadership and learning within the organisationwere identified by means of semi-structured interviews with a range of company executives.These resources were then assessed by means of questionnaires that were distributed to a widerange of stakeholders within the organisation in terms of value for the client, sustainabilityand transferability. These outcomes, in turn, provided the basis for conclusions andrecommendations for future utility in order to maintain competitive advantage that wouldultimately lead to sustained superior performance on all fronts.The findings that were made, culminated in a visual representation of leadership andorganisational learning that form the core of the organisation and simultaneously illustratingtheir interdependence with the other key resources, namely organisational culture, the PamGolding Properties brand, reputation, teamwork, relationships, systems and procedures,managers and agents. These resources form the essence of the organisation.The organisational culture within Pam Golding Properties that is representative of the corevalues of integrity, honesty, sincerity and service delivery was found to be the overallresource that provides the organisation with sustainable competitive advantage. This wasclosely followed by the value of the brand and reputation, teamwork and inter-personalrelationships, the utilisation of efficient systems and procedures and the recruitment andretention of competent managers and agents. Organisational leadership was found to instil confidence in the organisation. A common,shared vision that is understood and underwritten by all employees is however lacking andchange needs to be managed in such a way that the organisation's core ideology is notcompromised, but an envisioned future should be communicated throughout. The brandcarries out the promise of the culture and core values, but can be tarnished if the reputation forservice excellence is not upheld and it can lose credibility if expectations are not met. Thebrand thus needs protection from within and this can only happen if the people in theorganisation share in the process of and toward an envisioned future.It was established that meaningful change presupposes continual improvement in a dynamic,yet sustainable organisation. It was therefore also recommended that a concerted effort bemade to actively promote and strive towards the company becoming a true learningorganisation in order to sustain its culture, brand, reputation and other intangible assets andcompetences.In the event that these and other recommendations in terms of resources are seriouslyconsidered and strived for by company leaders, this organisation should be an example to therest of the world regarding sustainable competitive advantage.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University