Management case write up

Although the resource based view (RBV) framework talks about resources, capabilities, and core competencies, in class discussion we found that often times it is hard to precisely tell whether something is resource or a capability. Further, if you read the textbook word by word, you will realize the authors are not being very clear as to the sources of competitive advantage (CA). Early on they say CA comes from possessing rare, valuable, hard-to-imitate, non-substitutable resources. In later chapters they say CA comes from having core competencies, which derive from having rare, valuable, hard-to-imitate, and non-substitutable capabilities. Despite this and other issues, RBV does show the relevance of looking inside the firm for explanations of CA and success, that I/O model's pure emphasis on market structure and other external factors is not sufficient to explain why some firms become successful.

In this exercise, I would like you to adopt the RBV perspective to consider the following questions:

1: What were some of the most important assets that the Disney company had in its early years (1923-1966)?

2: If you believe these assets were important, you probably also believe they grant Disney company competitive advantage. Why do you think that is the case?

As you can see, I have avoided using resource or capability. The term asset is used loosely here but I believe its meaning is well understood and it probably makes more sense than resource or capability, and meanwhile retain the advantage of the RBV perspective.