Towards an understanding of how optimal distinctiveness contributes to the achievement of superior performance

Abstract

Key to achieving superior performance is an organisation’s ability to develop a strategy that both conforms to and differentiates from its competitors. This paradox sits at the intersection of strategic management and institutional theory and suggests that organisations should aim to achieve optimal distinctiveness to enable the achievement of superior performance. This research aimed to understand how market and institutional forces influence the strategic position of an organisation. Given the influence from market and institutional forces, the need existed to understand how organisations orchestrate various resources towards a strategic position that is optimally distinct, to enable the achievement of superior performance in a complex context. A qualitative, exploratory research methodology was followed. A total of 18 semi-structured interviews were conducted with senior executives of organisations, that were skilfully selected to include nine new entrants and nine established organisations, equally distributed across three industries (consulting, finance and insurance) to allow comparison across life cycle and industry. The key outcome is an ‘optimal distinctiveness framework’, which helps explain how organisations can orchestrate resources towards an optimal strategic position that enables superior performance given the influence from various market and institutional forces. These findings contribute to the optimal distinctiveness literature in strategic management