An organization has its own core competencies that are different from another organization’s. It needs many different competencies in order to operate efficiently and effectively. Core competencies can be defined as the few competencies in an organization that ensure long-term success. They are those competencies that are rare, valuable, non-substitutable, and non-imitable. For a competency to qualify as “core”, it has to fulfill the above four criteria. It is quite evident that knowledge is crucial in building core competencies. In the context of the knowledge economy and international markets, firms localized anywhere have access to resources from wherever they need them. Ironically, it is the local factors that are of increasing importance for competitive strength and prosperity, and even as components of core competencies.
These core competencies differ from one organization to another depending on available resources, the organization’s position in the global market, and the strategies that an organization is perusing. The higher an organization is positioned in the market, the more core competencies it has. Core competencies are acquired through embracing innovation and undermining traditional strengths. It is advisable for all organizations to continue renewing their core capabilities in order to have some competitive advantage in the growing global markets.
Core competencies differentiate the competitive advantage of one organization from another. It is through them that we are able to recognize an organization’s strength that helps it maintain a given share of the markets. As we have seen earlier on, these competencies are rare and non-substitutable hence one organization can not be able to acquire core values that are similar to another organization irrespective of the efforts that may be applied for the same.