Optimizing Slack Resource Allocation: An Economic Approach to Sustainable Competitive Advantage
This study explores how slack resources can enhance firms’ sustainable competitive advantage by combining economics and organizational behavior within a strategic management framework. Specifically, we examine the relationships between three types of slack resources—available, recoverable, and poten...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | SAGE Open |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440251313587 |
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| author | Lu-Yao Zhang Xing-Can Zhang Seong-Jin Choi |
| author_facet | Lu-Yao Zhang Xing-Can Zhang Seong-Jin Choi |
| author_sort | Lu-Yao Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study explores how slack resources can enhance firms’ sustainable competitive advantage by combining economics and organizational behavior within a strategic management framework. Specifically, we examine the relationships between three types of slack resources—available, recoverable, and potential—and three environmental dimensions: munificence, dynamism, and complexity. Our dataset comprises 34,261 observations from 4,045 listed firms across 34 provincial-level administrative regions in China, spanning the years 1993 to 2021. The results indicate that each type of slack resource has an inverted U-shaped relationship with performance, suggesting the existence of a Pareto optimal level of resource allocation. However, this relationship and the position of the Pareto optimal point are not constant. Environmental factors moderate the relationship between slack resources and performance, leading to fluctuations in Pareto optimal values and per-unit value. By expanding and integrating the resource-based view and the structure–conduct–performance paradigm, we explain the relationships between various slack resources and different industrial environments. Based on our findings, we provide suggestions for enhancing sustainable competitive advantage. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2d7add12d32b44fd9da815228d089c05 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2158-2440 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SAGE Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-2d7add12d32b44fd9da815228d089c052025-01-15T08:03:21ZengSAGE PublishingSAGE Open2158-24402025-01-011510.1177/21582440251313587Optimizing Slack Resource Allocation: An Economic Approach to Sustainable Competitive AdvantageLu-Yao Zhang0Xing-Can Zhang1Seong-Jin Choi2Ningbo University of Finance and Economics, ChinaHanyang University, Seoul, South KoreaHanyang University, Seoul, South KoreaThis study explores how slack resources can enhance firms’ sustainable competitive advantage by combining economics and organizational behavior within a strategic management framework. Specifically, we examine the relationships between three types of slack resources—available, recoverable, and potential—and three environmental dimensions: munificence, dynamism, and complexity. Our dataset comprises 34,261 observations from 4,045 listed firms across 34 provincial-level administrative regions in China, spanning the years 1993 to 2021. The results indicate that each type of slack resource has an inverted U-shaped relationship with performance, suggesting the existence of a Pareto optimal level of resource allocation. However, this relationship and the position of the Pareto optimal point are not constant. Environmental factors moderate the relationship between slack resources and performance, leading to fluctuations in Pareto optimal values and per-unit value. By expanding and integrating the resource-based view and the structure–conduct–performance paradigm, we explain the relationships between various slack resources and different industrial environments. Based on our findings, we provide suggestions for enhancing sustainable competitive advantage.https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440251313587 |
| spellingShingle | Lu-Yao Zhang Xing-Can Zhang Seong-Jin Choi Optimizing Slack Resource Allocation: An Economic Approach to Sustainable Competitive Advantage SAGE Open |
| title | Optimizing Slack Resource Allocation: An Economic Approach to Sustainable Competitive Advantage |
| title_full | Optimizing Slack Resource Allocation: An Economic Approach to Sustainable Competitive Advantage |
| title_fullStr | Optimizing Slack Resource Allocation: An Economic Approach to Sustainable Competitive Advantage |
| title_full_unstemmed | Optimizing Slack Resource Allocation: An Economic Approach to Sustainable Competitive Advantage |
| title_short | Optimizing Slack Resource Allocation: An Economic Approach to Sustainable Competitive Advantage |
| title_sort | optimizing slack resource allocation an economic approach to sustainable competitive advantage |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440251313587 |
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