What Competitive Advantage in the Era of Generative Artificial Intelligence?

Since its emergence, strategic management has undergone continuous change and disruption. However, the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), and especially generative artificial intelligence (GAI), has brought about an unprecedented upheaval. GAI is not merely a technological advancement; it represents a major technological rupture capable of profoundly transforming the most fundamental foundations of strategic management, including those related to competitive advantage. It automates complex cognitive activities and accelerates the diffusion of knowledge. As a result, the core assumptions underlying traditional approaches to strategic management are increasingly being called into question. The objective of this work is precisely to highlight this challenge and to assess its significance. To this end, we will first examine the two dominant frameworks of competitive advantage, namely Michael Porter’s positioning approach and Jay Barney’s resource-based view. Then, in a second step, we will show how GAI weakens the fundamental postulates of these two approaches. Finally, we will propose the dynamic capabilities approach, developed by Teece, as a more relevant conceptual framework for understanding firm competitiveness in an environment characterized by permanent technological instability, and for developing and sustaining competitive advantage.