What is the secret to creating real competitive advantage? Michael Tanner’s analysis, which reflects the approach of the Chasm Group popularized by Geoffrey Moore, goes beyond Michael Porter’s foundational work. Whereas Porter’s framework brought competitive forces into focus, it assumed relatively fixed industry boundaries. Tanner’s approach has the advantage of enhancing a company’s view across multiple, differing competitive situations while connecting these strategic positioning issues to front-line marketing strategy. This involves much more than merely identifying core competencies since you may need to acquire competencies, and you may find it productive to outsource or partner for real competencies that fall outside the core of your business model. The approach explained here emphasizes identifying both current core competitive advantage (GAP) and what is needed for future advantage (CAP, or competitive advantage period).
In addition to GAP and CAP, a third source of competitive advantage comes from how your company executes. In this content, Tanner mentions the three value disciplines of Product Leadership, Operational Excellence, and Customer Intimacy identified by Treacy and Wiersema. Tanner adds a fourth source of advantage: managing disruptive innovation. [ManyWorlds Annotation]
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