Toward the Development of Measures of Distinctive Competencies among Small Independent Retailers
研究了255家独立药店的资源和能力，通过验证性因子分析识别出三个竞争力构念与绩效构念的正相关关系，帮助理解小型零售商如何获得竞争优势。
To remain competitive in markets increasingly dominated by large discount chains, category killers, and other mass-merchandisers, small independent retailers need to develop competencies. This study provides insight into the multidimensional character of competencies by measuring the resources and capabilities possessed by a sample of 255 independent drugstores. Specifically, three competency constructs and one performance construct were simultaneously measured using a rigorous confirmatory factor analysis approach. Positive and strong correlations among the competency constructs provide evidence of a high degree of relatedness among competencies. Moreover, the positive relationship between the competency constructs and the performance construct helps identify which firm resources and capabilities may lead to a competitive advantage for the small retailer. As we approach the 21st century, small retailers across the United States are facing some of the most daunting challenges since the introduction of the automobile and the arrival of the suburban mall (Arthur Andersen 1997). Fierce competition from mass merchandisers, changing demographics, and shifting consumer purchasing patterns are forcing small independent retailers to alter the ways they have traditionally conducted business. The velocity of these changes may be threatening the survival of the local merchant--more than 100,000 U.S. retail companies have filed for bankruptcy in the last five years, representing a 60 percent increase over the previous five years (Fine 1998). Although the problems facing small, independent retailers are well documented, many local shopkeepers are actually doing quite well. These merchants conceivably enjoy a competitive advantage because they possess unique capabilities or competencies that their competitors do not. Managers and theorists alike recognize that organizational performance is often influenced by the possession of such but studies addressing this relationship among small retailers are rare. Much of the existing empirical research has focused on industrial firms (Hitt and Ireland 1985; Neil 1986; Miller, Droge, and Vickery 1997) or much larger non-retail businesses (Conant, Mokwa, and Varadarajan 1990). Moreover, there is little consistency in the measurement of the competency construct, and researchers have made repeated calls for new instruments that enhance the validity of future research findings (Conant, Smart, and Solano-Mendez 1993; Chandler and Hanks 1994). Accordingly, this study represent s a preliminary attempt toward developing a comprehensive instrument for the description and assessment of two types of constructs for small, independent retailing establishments--distinctive competency and performance. Theoretical Considerations Every organization possesses many capabilities that enable it to provide its products or services. Some of the necessary activities may simply be performed adequately, while others may actually be performed rather poorly. However, successful organizations conceivably possess certain capabilities which allow them to perform key activities exceptionally well. These capabilities have been termed distinctive competencies, a term that generally refers to the unique skills and activities that a firm can do better than its rivals (Selznick 1957; Lado, Boyd, and Wright 1992). These are the capabilities that support a market position that is valuable and difficult to imitate, allowing a firm to attain a competitive advantage. Most of the earliest attempts to define and assess competencies used nominal and single-item scales to measure the relative strength of an organization's functional activities (Snow and Hrebiniak 1980; Hambrick 1983). For instance, in a study of the relationships between strategy, competency, and the performance of large industrial firms, Snow and Hrebiniak (1980) measured competencies by having executives rate ten of their company's functional activities as a strength, weakness, or as average. …