A company can earn above-average returns only when the value it creates is less than the costs incurred to create that value

The learning generated by making and correcting mistakes is generally unimportant to efforts to create new capabilities and core competencies

Apple has combined some of its tangible resources (such as financial resources and research laboratories) and intangible resources (such as scientists, engineers, and organizational routines) to complete research and development tasks to create a capability in R&D

The need to meet quarterly earnings results causes managers to accurately examine the firm’s internal organization

Resources, capabilities, and core competencies are the foundation of competitive advantage

Firms achieve strategic competitiveness and earn above-average returns by acquiring, bundling, and leveraging their resources for the purpose of taking advantage of opportunities in the external environment in ways that create value for customers

Firms should seek to continually develop new core competencies because all core competencies guarantee above-average profit

The value of tangible assets, such as the firm’s borrowing capacity and its physical plant, is high because these assets can be easily leveraged to derive additional value

Eavesdropping is an ethical way to obtain information about competitors’ actions

The UK’s exit from the EU and political upheavals in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and Syria illustrate uncertainties in the political/legal segment of the general environment that could affect the performance of business firms