Understanding and using the competitive advantage pyramid.

1. Choose a company you would like to work for. Using the competitive advantage pyramid, analyze the strength (or weakness) of competitive advantage for your target company and for the two rival firms. Begin your research by looking at news reports, company filings,

and press releases to create a working model of the competitive advantage pyramid. Then, identify and interview someone who works at that company. Find out what elements they would include in the pyramid. How did the pyramid differ when you included “inside”

information? How would you evaluate the company’s prospects for future performance?

2. Identify two companies in the same industry. Using their 10-K filing or other available data, determine the operating performance

(market share, customer satisfaction, new product introductions, etc.)

and financial performance (return on sales, return on assets or equity,

free cash flow) of both companies. Using the data in the 10-K or annual report, create a list of resources and capabilities for each company.

How do the differences in the strength of competitive advantages correlate with firm performance?