According to Ranko et al., (2008) competitive advantage occurs when an organisation obtains or cultivates resources and capabilities that allow it to outshine its competitors. They further posits that these include resources, such as high grade ores, highly trained and skilled personnel. According to Barney (1991) supported by Rothaermel (2012), after establishing the firm’s competitive advantage the organisation has to select a strategy which best exploit the firm’s resources and capabilities relative to external opportunities.According to Ranko et al., (2008) competitive advantage occurs when an organisation obtains or cultivates resources and capabilities that allow it to outshine its competitors. They further posits that these include resources, such as high grade ores, highly trained and skilled personnel. According to Barney (1991) supported by Rothaermel (2012), after establishing the firm’s competitive advantage the organisation has to select a strategy which best exploit the firm’s resources and capabilities relative to external opportunities.
2.3 Conceptual framework
Conceptual framework is a device that is used to organise and distinguish ideas in research (Shields & Tajali, 2006). It is a system of variable relationships. It is logically designed to present the systematic view of the research problem. It specifies more exactly, the variables to be studied, thus the Independent and dependent variables.
This study demonstrated how competitive advantage is depended on critical success factors (independent variables) such as technological innovation, organisational culture and human resource management. It was guided by the resource based view theory which provides a tool for analysing a firm’s competitive advantages from a resource position.
The relationship expressed in the conceptual framework related effects of critical success factors such as technological innovation, organisational culture and human resource management on competitive advantage. The diagrammatic relationship between the independent and dependent variables was summarised below. The directions of the arrows show the interrelationship between the key variables of the study
