Knowledge Acquisition and Sharing: A Sustainable Source of Competitive Advantage in Supply Chains

The level of success enjoyed by an organisation is dependent upon the level of competitive advantage it enjoys over its competitors. Competitive advantage is known to be a function of the extent to which an organisation adapts and applies its resources in the exploitation of prevailing market conditions; and this is in turn dependent on the level of knowledge about existing market conditions, modern production techniques and processes. Although it was previously believed that tangible or physical economic assets of an organisation were the major sources of sustainability and profitability, there has, however, been a gradual but steady change in perception of a firm's real source of competitive advantage, sustainability and profitability. The contemporary view is that sustainability, profitability, as well as competitive advantage no longer come from tangible economic assets but rather from sources that ensure adequate utilisation of the knowledge or intellectual capital inherent in an organisation. While it is possible that several organisations may have access to the same or similar knowledge at the same time, the level of utilisation of this knowledge varies from organisation to organisation. It is this variation that holds the key to sustainable competitive advantage. Although more of a theoretical and qualitative work, this paper shall, through a literature review of competitive advantage, knowledge acquisition and sharing, learning, partnerships and networking, supply chain management, as well as citing results from earlier research surveys, as well a PhD research conducted by the author, highlight how organisations in supply chains can improve their competitiveness by leveraging on the intellectual capabilities and resources of their partners. Sustained competitive advantage through improved customer relationship/loyalty, greater awareness of business processes and performance, faster and better management decision making, as well as effective product/service development are some of the motivations for engagement in knowledge acquisition and sharing activities by organisations.