... capabilities relative to other firms. Many companies can produce personal computers; the critical issue is whether they can produce PCs with a cost, quality, and speed that can match Dell Computer. Establishing competitive advantage requires that a firm identify what the firm can do better than its competitors. A strategic focus on capabilities rather than products is also observable in Canon's development. Canon's technological capalibities lie in the intergration of microelectronics, fine optics, and precision engineering. To identify a firm's capabilities, we need to have some basis for classifying and disaggregating its activeties. Micheal Porter value chain distinguishes between primary activities and support activeties. Although the concept of an organisation possessing the capability to perform certain activities is straightforward, understanding the structure and determinants of capability is much more complex. Capabilities requires the expertise of various individuals to be integrated with capital equipment, technology, and other resources. But how does this ...

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