Exploring Marketing Strategy as a Catalyst for Sustainable Competitive Advantage in Nigerian Manufacturing Sector: A Theoretical Review

Abstract

Manufacturing firms are key initiators of innovation and economic growth but fail in attempt to gain sustainable competitive advantage. Achieving competitive advantage in any organization through various marketing strategies is pertinent to achieving organizational success. The formulation of theories that help explain how organization can achieve sustainable competitive advantage has increased in recent time. Through the lens of theoretical review, this paper aims to explore the key theories in literatures that best explain how sustainable competitive advantage is achieved through marketing strategies. The review exclusively makes use of systematic sampling in reviewing existing literatures on marketing strategies and sustainable competitive advantage from 1960s to 2019. The finding reveals four major normative theories that are distinctively competitive and marketing oriented: resource advantage theory, organizational capability theory, industrial organization theory and theory of competitiveness. Although there is no consensus that one theory is the best practice considering the future and turbulent nature of business environment, the paper further singled out resource advantage and capability theory as the best theory that can help organization achieve sustainable competitive advantage. Hence, business owners should put in place adequate resources and capabilities to help them gain sustainable competitive advantage over their competitors.