Knowledge in Management, Competitive Advantage and Business Performance: Proposition and Test of a Resource Advantage Theory Based Model in MSEs

Abstract

Micro and small enterprises (SMEs) represent almost 30% of the Brazilian GDP, in addition to formally employing 44% of the national workforce. Therefore, the concern with the performance of micro and small enterprises (SMEs) gains outstanding social relevance. In this scenario, it is fundamental to understand how to create sustainable competitive advantages (VCS) that are Valuable, Rare, difficult to Imitate and dominate the Organization (VRIO). In this perspective the work started from a review on the concepts of sustainable competitive advantage, the Resource Based View (VBR) and its VRIO concept and the Resource Advantage Theory (RA theory) of Shelby Hunt (1996), a theory that integrates strategy of Business and marketing. The work sought to operationalize a model composed initially by eighteen hypotheses, about how the management knowledge impacts on the performance of MPEs. After quantitative research, based on the perception of entrepreneurs, it was concluded that management knowledge, as a resource of the company, leads to the superior performance of MSEs, but not necessarily through sustainable competitive advantages. The high degree of Imitability among MSEs appears as a factor that impacts performance. The study contributes by proposing a way to operationalize the R-A theory and VRIO approach in order to analyze the impact of the resources on the company's performance. The study presented evidence favorable to the general propositions of the model, reinforcing the importance of management knowledge as one of the essential resources for the construction of competitive advantages.