Benchmarking strategic resources and business performance via an open framework

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test a way to overcome specific issues related to the assessment of the strategic capital and to propose a viable solution for its benchmarking. In order to fully appreciate this type of entity an audit on the strategic alignment of the resources involved and of the dynamics of value creation is required. This study tested a procedure to make such findings comparable with other organizations in terms of business performance. Design/methodology/approach – The 7SF is proposed as an alternative method for effective gauging and benchmarking. It is based on an open framework which embraces procedural flexibility, so that different organizations can be processed an compared. A multiple case study (ceramic industry) is provided, where performances driven by strategic resources were detected. Eventually, conducting a comparative analysis of their scores. Findings – The results unveiled some undisclosed knowledge about the value-creation mechanism and potential/actual performance gaps of each tested organization and confirmed the capability of this framework of being used as a benchmark tool. Practical implications – Performance gaps can be correctly located and directly related to the resource type that caused them, therefore promptly managed and strategy can be re-aligned accordingly. The flexibility features of the seven-step framework allowed to utilize it as an effective gauge for entities that generally can hardly be measured and compared. Originality/value – This study proposes an assessment solution which can achieve two objectives at the same time: rating the strategic capital and making such results comparable between other organizations, for a consistent benchmarking.