To analyse the specific activities through which firms can gain a competitive advantage, it is useful to model the firm as a chain of value creating activities. For this purpose, Porter identified a range of interrelated generic activities common to a wide range of firms. The resulting model is known as the value chain. According to Porter (1985), " Competitive Advantage arises out of the way firms organise and arrange discrete activities". Through using the Value Chain, …showed first 75 words of 1309 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1309 total…be beneficial to outsource the activity to remain flexible and avoid the risk of investing in specialised assets. 4.<Tab/>Will outsourcing result in business process improvements e.g. reduced lead-time, reduced inventory, increased flexibility etc. Bank of Ireland have recently outsourced their I.T department to Hewlett Packard as they realised they did not have a competitive advantage in this area and it would be undertaken more efficiently by another company.