Use of resource-based view in industrial cluster strategic analysis

The resource-based view of the firm has recently emerged as a new paradigm in strategic analysis. According to this view, firms are heterogeneous collections of resources that lead them to distinct market performance. This paper uses this approach not to analyse an individual firm but a cluster of firms, whose competitiveness depends not only on their individual resources and capabilities but also on those shared by the cluster as a whole. The analysis was developed for a wine cluster located in southern Brazil. The main objective was the identification of the resources and capabilities shared by the cluster in its effort to formulate sustainable competitive strategies. The research method employed combined the techniques of cognitive mapping analysis with the theoretical basis of the resource-based view approach. The results of the study produced a significant improvement in managers' and strategists' perceptions about the competitive potential of the cluster.