Behavioral strategy and resource-based theory (RBT): application and the resulting implications

As a platform for gaining and sustaining competitive advantage, resource-based theory (RBT) has been the most prevailing and dominant paradigm in strategic management over the past several decades. RBT persuades firms to gain competitive advantage through strategic resources, capabilities and distinctive competencies. Despite its widespread application and its potential for value creation, it has faced criticism on multiple fronts. For example, RBT has failed to explain the way firms could apply resources and capabilities and translate them into a sustained competitive advantage. In particular, it has been criticized on the ground that it is more of a tautological nature thereby lacking sufficient normative contribution to effective decision making in firms. Whilst these criticisms are valid from both theoretical and empirical perspectives, we argue that RBT has greater potential to offer new insights into the transformation of a short-term into a sustained competitive advantage. In this respect and in an attempt to further utilize the potential of RBT in assisting firms to a level of sustained performance above average returns, this chapter aims to explore RBT from a behavioral strategy perspective. Such revisit of RBT is important as behavioral strategy theorists continue to point to the firms’ heterogeneous character which could question the effectiveness of RBT on creating an appropriate economic value. The current competitive economy which requires more rational calculations in strategic decision making leaves even more scope for such revisit of RBT as very few corporate-level strategic decision makers seem to take into account the inherent cognitive biases in their decision making processes.