A LITERATURE REVIEW ON CORE COMPETENCIES

The purpose of this paper is to outline the major approaches accumulated in the core competence literature. The construct, since its introduction in 1990 by Prahalad and Hamel, has received a lot of attention. Although many researchers have attempted to bring core competence into practical use, the literature depicts a lot of interrelated concepts which are sometimes used interchangeably. Resources, capabilities, competence, core competence, distinctive competence, and core distinctive competence are all used to mean similar or sometimes exactly the same thing. Thus, this work aims to bring forth insight as to the nature of the construct, make a significant contribution in terms of clarification, and finally set a sound ground for further model building. Research shows that core competence is at the heart of all competitiveness. Therefore, we believe that firms, managers, and researchers should have a more clear understanding of a construct that will benefit them in highly competitive business environments.