DDBA 8161 Week 1 Advantage Brief Example

Business Strategy and Innovation for Competitive Advantage Walden University Free custom sample in 24 to 48h

This DDBA 8161 Week 1 advantage brief example defines competitive advantage before using the word, then tests one firm's account of its own success against that definition. Walden DDBA 8161, Business Strategy and Innovation for Competitive Advantage, opens with that discipline, and the sample takes a composite regional airline flying turboprops from Grand Rapids to 14 Midwest cities that credits five years of 9 percent growth to friendly service. Using Peteraf and Barney's definition and Brandenburger and Stuart's value gap, the brief finds customers like the service but do not pay for it, since fares run 6 percent below rivals'. The real sources sit on the cost side: fuel-efficient aircraft, an owned hangar and hub-based crews. An imitation table asks what a larger carrier would copy first, for a DBA reader.

CourseDDBA 8161 Business Strategy and Innovation for Competitive Advantage
WeekWeek 1
Paper typeAdvantage brief
LengthAbout 790 words, 5 pages
FormatAPA 7 student paper
SchoolWalden University
ProgramDoctor of Business Administration (DBA)
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for DDBA 8161 Week 1

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Friendly Service Is Not Yet an Advantage: An Advantage Brief That Defines the Term Before Using It, Applies It to a Regional Airline's Account of Its Own Growth and Asks What a Larger Carrier Would Copy First

Student Name

Walden University

DDBA 8161: Business Strategy and Innovation for Competitive Advantage

Instructor Name

Month Day, Year

What this page is doingThe title states the brief's verdict on the firm's own claim and promises a definition first, which is the order the argument follows.
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Friendly Service Is Not Yet an Advantage: An Advantage Brief That Defines the Term Before Using It, Applies It to a Regional Airline's Account of Its Own Growth and Asks What a Larger Carrier Would Copy First

The Definition

In this brief, a firm holds a competitive advantage when it creates more economic value than the marginal competitor in its market, the rival that only just covers its costs. That definition follows Peteraf and Barney (2003), who proposed it to give resource-based arguments a common yardstick. Brandenburger and Stuart (1996) supply the way to measure economic value: it is the gap between what buyers are willing to pay for a product and what suppliers, including employees, must be paid to provide its inputs. An advantage, then, must widen that gap compared with rivals, either by raising what customers will pay or by lowering what it costs to serve them. A claim of advantage that does not show which side of the gap it moves is not yet a claim.

What this page is doingThe definition comes first and is used the same way throughout, because "advantage" changes meaning more than any other word in strategy writing.
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The Firm and Its Claim

Lakeshore Air, a composite regional airline flying turboprops from a hub in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to 14 cities across the upper Midwest, has grown passenger numbers by about 9 percent a year for five years. Its annual report credits the growth to "friendly, hometown service." Its customer surveys support the description: Lakeshore scores well above the national carriers serving the same airports on courtesy and on helpfulness at the gate.

Testing the Claim Against the Definition

Friendly service could raise willingness to pay. If it does, Lakeshore should be able to charge more than rivals on comparable routes or fill more seats at the same price. Its fares are, in fact, about 6 percent below the national carriers' on overlapping routes, and its load factors are similar. On that evidence, customers like the service but are not paying for it. Friendly service may be helping Lakeshore hold customers it wins on price, but the brief cannot yet count it as raising willingness to pay.

Three other features could lower Lakeshore's cost to serve. Its turboprops burn far less fuel per seat on short routes than the regional jets its rivals fly. It owns its maintenance hangar in Grand Rapids and does its own heavy checks. And its crews live near the hub, so it pays almost nothing for overnight crew lodging. Each of these narrows the cost side of the gap, and together they explain how Lakeshore can price below rivals and still earn a margin.

What this page is doingEach candidate source of advantage is placed on one side of the value gap, so the brief can say whether it raises willingness to pay or lowers cost.
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What a Larger Carrier Would Copy First

A larger carrier entering Lakeshore's routes would match fares first, within days, and could copy friendly service within months. Neither would protect Lakeshore. What the larger carrier could not copy quickly is the cost structure built from the fleet, the hangar and the hub-based crews.

Table 1

Candidate Sources of Value and How Quickly a Larger Rival Could Copy Them

CandidateSide of the value gapTime for a larger carrier to copyWhy |
Friendly gate and cabin serviceWillingness to pay, unprovenMonthsTraining and hiring standards can be matched quickly |
Lower faresNeither; a pricing choiceDaysFares can be matched immediately |
Turboprop fleet on short routesCostTwo to four yearsAircraft must be ordered, pilots retrained, schedules rebuilt |
Owned maintenance hangar at the hubCostThree or more yearsBuilding and certifying a heavy-check facility takes years |
Crews based at the hubCostSeveral yearsRequires relocating crews or hiring locally over time |

Estimates from fleet delivery times and industry experience; composite case.

The Brief's Conclusion

Lakeshore's account of its own growth names the wrong source. Its advantage, as defined here, lies on the cost side, in assets accumulated over years. Friendly service is pleasant and may help retain customers, but it is easy to copy and, so far, customers do not pay more for it. On the tests Barney (1991) set for a durable advantage, which ask whether a resource adds value, is scarce among rivals and resists copying, the hangar and the fleet pass and the service culture, on current evidence, does not.

What Would Change the Verdict

If Lakeshore could show that customers choose it over a cheaper rival because of its service, or that its passengers return more often than rivals' at equal fares, friendly service would move to the willingness-to-pay side. The brief recommends testing that with booking data on routes where a rival undercuts Lakeshore's fare. If Lakeshore keeps most of its passengers on those routes despite charging more, service is doing work on the willingness-to-pay side, and the verdict should change. If passengers move to the cheaper rival, the cost side remains the whole story.

References

Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1), 99-120. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639101700108

Brandenburger, A. M., & Stuart, H. W. (1996). Value-based business strategy. Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, 5(1), 5-24. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1430-9134.1996.00005.x

Peteraf, M. A., & Barney, J. B. (2003). Unraveling the resource-based tangle. Managerial and Decision Economics, 24(4), 309-323. https://doi.org/10.1002/mde.1126

The Walden DDBA 8161 Week 1 instructions

The first week asks you to write a short brief that defines competitive advantage precisely and applies the definition to one firm. Set out a single definition drawn from the strategy literature, and say how you will measure it, for example as value created relative to a marginal rival. Describe the firm and quote or paraphrase what it says is the source of its success. Test that claim against your definition, placing each candidate source on the side of value it affects, willingness to pay or cost. Then ask what a larger rival entering the same market would copy first and how long each copy would take. Conclude whether the firm's own account is right and what evidence would change your verdict. Expect about two pages, with one small table.

How the DDBA 8161 Week 1 example is put together

The brief sets its definition in the opening paragraph, citing Peteraf and Barney, and adds Brandenburger and Stuart's gap between buyers' willingness to pay and suppliers' required payment. It then describes Lakeshore Air and its "friendly, hometown service" claim, supported by survey scores. The test follows: fares about 6 percent below national carriers on shared routes and similar load factors suggest customers enjoy the service without paying for it. Turboprops on short routes, an owned heavy-maintenance hangar and crews living near the hub narrow the cost side. A five-row imitation table rates fares as copyable in days, service in months and the fleet, hangar and crew base in years. Barney's tests close the verdict, and a final section proposes booking data that could reverse it.

Where the marks sit in the DDBA 8161 Week 1 rubric

The brief earns credit first for a definition that is precise, sourced and used consistently. Instructors watch for the word advantage drifting in meaning, which is the commonest flaw at this stage. Testing the firm's own claim, rather than accepting it, is the analytic heart of the brief, and placing each candidate on one side of the value gap shows the writer understands how advantage is created. Evidence such as fares and load factors makes the test real. The imitation table earns marks when time estimates have reasons. A verdict that contradicts the firm's account is acceptable when the evidence supports it. Naming what would change the verdict shows intellectual honesty and gives the firm a way to prove its claim.

DDBA 8161 Week 1 help from the desk

Students often define advantage loosely as doing something better. Pick one definition from a named source and write it down before anything else. Then find the firm's own explanation of its success, in its reports or announcements, and test it. For each source of advantage, ask whether it makes customers pay more or lets the firm serve them for less, and look for evidence such as prices, volumes or costs. Imagine a larger rival entering tomorrow and list what it would copy in days, months and years. Be willing to disagree with the firm. Keep the brief to two pages. A tutor can help you choose a definition and apply it to your firm.

Get a DDBA 8161 Week 1 example written to your instructions

Send the Week 1 prompt and rubric along with the firm your section assigns, or one you would like tested, and a finished brief with its imitation table returns within 24 to 48 hours; your first sample is free. Name the definition your reading list prefers if it differs from the one used here.

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DDBA 8161 Week 1 questions, answered

Where can I find a free DDBA 8161 Week 1 sample paper?

The full advantage brief, with its definition and imitation table, appears lower on this page and is free to read.

How does the DDBA 8161 Week 1 brief define competitive advantage?

As creating more economic value than the marginal competitor, where value is the gap between willingness to pay and supplier cost.

Why is friendly service not counted as an advantage?

Customers rate it highly but do not pay more for it; the airline's fares are about 6 percent below rivals' on shared routes.

Where does the airline's real advantage lie?

On the cost side, in fuel-efficient turboprops, an owned maintenance hangar and crews based at the hub.

What would a larger carrier copy first?

Fares within days and service within months; the fleet, hangar and crew base would take years.