The Difference Between a Core Competence and a Distinctive Competence

question 70

Multiple Choice

The difference between a core competence and a distinctive competence is that

• A) a distinctive competence refers to a company's strongest resource or competitive capability, whereas a core competence refers to a company's lowest-cost and most efficiently executed value-chain activity.
• B) a core competence usually resides in a company's base of intellectual capital, whereas a distinctive competence stems from the superiority of a company's physical and tangible assets.
• C) a core competence is a competitively and strategically relevant activity that a firm performs well compared to its other activities, whereas a distinctive competence is a competitively relevant activity a firm performs well compared to other rival firms.
• D) a core competence represents a resource strength, whereas a distinctive competence is achieved by having more resource strengths than rival companies.
• E) a core competence usually resides in a company's technology and physical assets, whereas a distinctive competence usually resides in a company's know-how, expertise, and intellectual capital.

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