Resources

• Broad in scope, resources cover a spectrum of individual, social, and organizational phenomena.
• inputs to the firm’s production process

  resources
• assets that can be observed and quantified

  tangible resources
• examples of tangible resources

  Production equipment

  manufacturing facilities

  distribution centers

  formal reporting structures
• assets that are rooted deeply in the firm’s history, accumulate over time, and are relatively difficult for competitors to analyze and imitate

  intangible resources
• intangible resources

  • Knowledge
  • trust between managers and employees
  • managerial capabilities
  • organizational routines (the unique ways people work together)
  • scientific capabilities
  • the capacity for innovation
  • brand name
  • the firm’s reputation for its goods or services and how it interacts with people (such as employees, customers, and suppliers)
  • organizational culture
• Intangible resources require nurturing to maintain their ability to help firms engage in competitive battles.
• four primary categories of tangible resources

  • Financial resources
  • Organizational resources
  • Physical resources
  • Technological resources
• three primary categories of intangible resources

  • human resources
  • innovation resources
  • reputational resources
• TANGIBLE RESOURCES

  • the firm's capacity to borrow
  • the firm's ability to generate funds through internal operations

  financial resources
• TANGIBLE RESOURCES

  • formal reporting structures

  organizational resources
• TANGIBLE RESOURCES

  • the sophistication of a firm's plant and equipment and the attractiveness of its location
  • distribution facilities
  • product inventory

  physical resources
• TANGIBLE RESOURCES

  • Availability of technology-related resources such as copyrights, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets

  technological resources
• INTANGIBLE RESOURCES

  • knowledge
  • trust
  • skills
  • abilities to collaborate with others

  human resources
• INTANGIBLE RESOURCES

  • ideas
  • scientific capabilities
  • capacity to innovate

  innovation resources
• INTANGIBLE RESOURCES

  • brand name
  • perceptions of product quality, durability, and reliability
  • positive reputation with stakeholders such as suppliers and customers

  reputational resources
• It is difficult to derive additional business or value from a tangible resource.
• Although production assets are tangible, many of the processes necessary to use them are intangible.
• Intangible resources are a superior source of capabilities and subsequently, core competencies.
• The more unobservable a resource is, the more valuable that resource is to create capabilities.
• Another benefit of intangible resources is that, unlike most tangible resources, their use can be leveraged.
• A reputation indicates the level of awareness a firm has been able to develop among stakeholders and the degree to which they hold the firm in high esteem.