An activity is a core competency if it provides substantial value to the customer and is difficult for competitors to copy
I have trouble understanding this notion in practice, especially (as you’ve noted) from the outside it is often hard to tell what core competencies of companies actually are. For example, what is the core competency of Uber/Lyft if not the network effects of having lots of drivers and customers in one place? Other plausible contenders like “brand” or “UI” or “scalable software” don’t seem quite right to me.
I would have said “network effect” (though I don’t know much about either of them). This seems analogous to the claim that one of Walmart’s core competencies is purchasing power.
Hmm doesn’t network effect entail that people in the network (here, drivers and arguably customers) are your core competency? Or am I missing something?
I have trouble understanding this notion in practice, especially (as you’ve noted) from the outside it is often hard to tell what core competencies of companies actually are. For example, what is the core competency of Uber/Lyft if not the network effects of having lots of drivers and customers in one place? Other plausible contenders like “brand” or “UI” or “scalable software” don’t seem quite right to me.
I would have said “network effect” (though I don’t know much about either of them). This seems analogous to the claim that one of Walmart’s core competencies is purchasing power.
Hmm doesn’t network effect entail that people in the network (here, drivers and arguably customers) are your core competency? Or am I missing something?
Yeah I think that’s right. “Having drivers in every major city in the world” is a core competency.