A core competence is something unique that a business has, or can do, strategically well.
The concept was developed by Prahalad & Hamel
”The key to competing in the future is building, deploying, protecting and defending core competencies…”
When linked to SWOT Analysis, core competencies are a strength
The Three Key Conditions
If a quality meets all three conditions, then it is a core competency.
- Does it provide consumer benefits?
- Is it easy for competitors to imitate? (NO)
- Can it be leveraged widely to many products and markets?
Prahalad & Hamel’s suggest
- Outsource areas that you don’t specialise in
- Focus on the core competencies