Core Competences

• Lesson
• Exercise
• Answer

The Core Competences of Amazon.com

Here’s a recap. A core competence is the result of a specific unique set of skills or production techniques that deliver value to the customer. Such competences give an organization access to a wide variety of markets. Hamel and Prahalad (1990) refer to a number of organizations and their products to support their concept including NEC, Honda and Canon.

Three tests of core competence.

• Provides potential access to a wide variety of markets.
• Should make a significant contribution to the perceived customer benefits of the end product.
• Should be difficult for competitors to imitate.

Consider the well-known brand Amazon.com

• 1. What are Amazon’s core competences, threshold competences, scarce resources, and threshold competences? Plot them onto the diagram

• 2. What are Amazon’s material resources, human resources, and intangible resources? Plot them onto the diagram.