4. Sustaining Competitive Advantage Skip to question Sustaining Competitive Advantage VRIO resources can lay the foundation of competitive advantage, but no competitive advantage can be sustained forever. Several conditions can potentially protect a successful company by making it more difficult for competitors to imitate the resources, capabilities, and competencies that underlie its competitive advantage. However, a company's external environment is rarely stable and in many industries such as technology, fashion, and consumer electronics, the rate and pace of change can be intense. Companies that fail to adapt their core competencies to a changing external environment lose their competitive advantage and may go out of business. In order for a company to maintain its competitive edge, the fit between its internal strengths and the external environment must be dynamic. Rather than focusing on a static fit at one point in time, a company must change its internal resource base as the external environment changes. This activity is important because a company's competitive advantage does not last when the external environment in which the company is operating is changing rapidly. As a manager, you must be able to determine when it is necessary to adjust or change your core competencies to match