Searching for Sustainable Competitive advantage-From Tangibles to Intangibles

The purpose of this paper is to emphasize on the growing importance of the intangible assets for a firm's sustainable competitive advantage-by considering both the features that a strategic asset must meet and the high potential of the intangible assets to fulfill those features. First, we outline the changing environment firms are operating in-at global and industry's level as well; second, we emphasize on the evolving theory of the resource-based view of the firm-as the main framework integrating all the assets of a firm and its relationships with the environment; third, we underline the need for organizational and managerial change and development by making the shift from tangibles to intangibles. We find that the theory in the field evolved within last years, but the conceptual framework is far from being exhaustive and unitary. The paper may be continued with the developing of a conceptual framework which is able to identify the specific intangible assets that may become strategic, their determinants, the interconnections between them, and their integration into successful competitive strategies. The practical implications of the paper consist in offering some guidelines for firms in the search of global competitiveness through the valorization of there intangible assets. The paper emphasizes that, in order to achieve sustainable competitive advantage, strategic management must develop a comprehensive, dynamic and innovative resource-based model-unique for each firm.