CONCLUSION
The resource-based view of the firm is an important, emerging theory of firm heterogeneity. It is well grounded in indus-trial economics and has benefited in its development from a multiplicity of contributions by management writers. But like any developing body of knowledge, it is not short of confusion, ambiguity and both conceptual and empirical difficulties. This paper provides an integrated review of the resource-based view of the firm in an effort to eliminate much of the am-biguity caused by weak taxonomies and the inconsistent and conflicting use of terminology. It provides a detailed insight into the logic of the RBV and illuminates its contributions to the debate on the nature of competitive advantage. Finally, giving due regard to some conceptual and empirical issues, it highlights a number of promising research directions in the field of strategic marketing.