Exploring the black box of competitive advantage-An integrated bibliometric and chronological literature review approach

Competitive advantage has been a perpetual area of research in strategic management in different forms. Business strategies in organizations have been underpinned to the objective of attaining competitive advantage. This study explores the academic literature to track the theoretical and chronological evolution of the notion of 'competitive advantage'. This study also examines the emerging themes with insights obtained from a bibliometric analysis of the area. The insights generated from the bibliometric mapping and decadal conceptual evolution are integrated. The results indicate that although competitive advantage has been manifested in different forms over time, the newer areas of exploration are inclined in the direction of achieving social advantage along with superior financial performance. The findings from this study would facilitate in identifying the trajectory of themes in the study of competitive advantage and isolate potential areas of explorations for future research.