A perspective on knowledge, competence and strategy

Highlights that although the idea that competences are underlying sustainable competitive advanta ges is central, there has been no thorough investigation into the very nature of competences in the strategic management literature. Uses theories on the sociology of knowledge to advance the resource‐based perspective of the firm into a coherent perspective of competences. Discusses the implications on sustainable competitive advantages by focusing on the processes of imitation of competences in different social contexts. Proposes that the emergent competence‐based perspective of the firm has several important implications for management research and theory building.