Modelové prístupy k tvorbe, vzniku a udržiavaniu konkurenčnej výhody v podmienkach globalizácie[Model approaches to creating, formation and retaining a competitive advantage under conditions of globalization]

Competitive advantage is a key precondition for setting up a successful business and the foundation stone for establishing oneself on the market and increasing one’s market share, which leads companies towards becoming profitable. Permanent and fast changes in the turbulent entrepreneurial environment represent challenge for managerial professionality and they lead to search for appropriate internal strategies aimed at developing the potential of companies for success. The solution for securing long-term success for companies seems to be the focus on the company’s internal potential. Increasing competition leads to uncovering further competitive advantages. For firms to grow and be profitable in the long-term, they have to build a significant competitive advantage, however, most firms have only vague idea of such advantage in practice. The method of three circles is one of the strategic tools for identifying a competitive advantage. Those are: the circle that represents customer needs, i.e. what they want; how they perceive what companies offer and; the third circle represents the way customers perceive the offer by competitors. The intersections of the three are strategically important areas that can be analyzed via answering the following questions: How big and sustainable are the company’s advantages? Are they built upon different abilities? Is the company effective in terms of parity? How can a company face the advantage by its competitors? The contribution describes selected aspects and methods for improving companies’ competitive advantage under conditions of economies going global. Furthermore, it points out that competitive advantage is for many companies a basic way of presenting themselves.