- it is difficult to imitate;
- it is rare;
- it possesses value if a firm can codify it into improved competencies, capabilities,
processes, and products; and
- it is difficult to find substitutes for the ‘‘know-how’’ that flow out of individual’s tacit
knowledge (Grant, 1996).
Therefore, the source of the sustained competitive advantage does not come from the
human resource practices but from the tacit knowledge (Jayne, 2006).
Furthermore, Muscatello (2003) implies the idea of Grant (1991) that for knowledge
management to become a competitive advantage, its value must be associated with
durability (the rate at which it becomes obsolete), transparency (the speed with which other
firms can develop the same knowledge), transferability (how easily firms can transfer and
share it) and replicability (how easily firms can reproduce and use it) (Muscatello, 2003).
Jayne (2006) has taken Wright et al.’s (1994) model one step further by addressing
knowledge and the knowledge creation process into the strategy-competitive advantage link. She proposes that human resource practices moderate the relationship between tacit
knowledge and sustained competitive advantage by affecting human resource behaviors
(Jayne, 2006).