Abstract
Business analysis, economic growth, and customer behavior in conflict areas have specific characteristics associated with various challenges. While “stability” plays a fundamental role in the various components of economic growth and prosperity, the repeated absence of this “variable” in conflict areas becomes a key criterion and a critical factor affecting the entire economic cycle. Self-ethics, patriotic feelings, and local values are other essential and decisive factors that are becoming increasingly important. Despite the extensive literature on the theory of competitive advantage, there is a lack of information regarding its application in areas of conflict. This research helps to fill this critical gap. In conflict areas, normal market processes and the rule of law can suddenly break down, so that market players turn to other criteria to determine their behavior. It is therefore more important than ever to understand the role of “patriotic sentiments and ethics” in forming new economic trends and more responsible customer behavior in conflict areas, thus shaping what the author conceptualizes as the “competitive advantage in conflict areas” (CACA). This chapter focuses on the local Palestinian context, which suffers from divergent customer attitudes and unstable growth models due to the illegal Israeli occupation that led to the long-lasting Israeli-Palestinian conflict.