Strategies and resources: Pathways to success?

Scholars hold that resource management comprises the foundation of sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) Wernerfelt, 1984 [Wernerfelt B. A resource-based view of the firm. Strat Manage J 1984; 5(2), 171-180.]. Morgan (2000) [Morgan RM. 2000. Relationship marketing and marketing strategy: the evolution of relationship strategy within the organization. In: Sheth J, Parvatiyar A, editors. Handbook of Relationship Marketing. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, pp. 481-504.] posits that superior resource management involves four sequential activities: (a) efficient acquisition of resources, (b) bundling/combining resources, (c) positioning resources, and (d) maintaining/protecting resources. The present study links firm strategy to Morgan's resource management tasks. Specifically, the authors suggest that managers at businesses emphasizing a low cost strategy should stress efficient acquisition and maintenance/protection of resources; managers at firms emphasizing a differentiation strategy should stress bundling/combining and positioning of resources. Regression analyses confirm that (a) managers link firm strategy and resource management and (b) firms benefit financially from this practice. However, these models have low explanatory power. Strategy and resource management activities, therefore, are perhaps not the major factor in business performance. Other factors must also play a major role in determining firm financial performance.