This paper seeks to illustrate how the basic theory of performance frontiers proposed
by Schmenner and Swink [Schmenner, R.L., and Swink, M.L., 1998. On theory in operations
management. Journal of Operations Management, 17, 97-113] can be extended to apply
to a broader range of operations management issues. It extends the scope of the proposed
theory to include a "between-firm" level analysis which can be useful in assessing
a firm's competitive position and for strategic decision making. In addition, this
paper provides a link between the resource-based view of organizations that has gained
some prominence in the strategy literature and the proposed theory of performance
frontiers. This paper argues that the operating frontiers of organizations represent
unique resources and they are more important than the asset frontiers in achieving
a competitive advantage because these unique resources are valuable, rare and specific
to a given firm, and they are difficult to replicate. Future research directions and
research methods focusing on the internal resources of competitive advantage are also
discussed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
