The principal contribution of the resource based view of the firm to date has been as a
theory of competitive advantage. Its basic logic is a relatively simple one. It starts with the assumption that the desired outcome of managerial effort within the firm is a
sustainable competitive advantage (SCA).
Achieving an SCA allows the firm to earn economic rents or above-average returns. In
turn, this focuses attention on how firms achieve and sustain advantages. The resource-based view contends that the answer to this question lies in the possession
of certain key resources, that is, resources having the characteristics of value, barriers to duplication and appropriability.