Competitive Advantage Project 1

Module 4: Non-Profit Organization Team Project

Joellen Leichner, Amanda Simonson, Erica Beard, Thomas Buster

Arizona State University

 Introduction

Every strategically run organization needs to create a sustainable competitive advantage

for themselves to remain viable over the long-term. A competitive advantage is something that

"sets the organization apart" (Colter, 2013) from its competitors. It gives the customer a reason to

want to buy their product either because it is different, or it is a product they cannot purchase

anywhere else. It could be something as small as the color of the product, a function of the

product, or the price of the product. Competitive advantage is "necessary for an organization's

long-term success and survival" (Colter, 2013). Illustration 1.1 gives a visual representation of

the sources of sustainable competitive advantage.

Illustratio

n 1.1

There are three views to consider obtaining a competitive advantage. An organization

can use the industrial organization view (I/O), in which the organization solely examines external

factors, such as competition and other strategic groups. They can also use the resource-based
view (RBV), from Michael Porter, which looks extensively at the "structural forces within an

industry, the competitive environment of firms and how these influence competitive advantage"

(Colter, 2013). This view looks within the organization and stresses, "exploiting organizational

resources to develop and maintain a competitive advantage" (Colter, 2013). And finally, through

the implementation of the guerrilla view. Characteristics of the guerrilla view would be that

these organizations, "rapidly and repeatedly disrupt the current situation and radically surprise

competitors with strategic actions designed to keep them off balance" (Colter, 2013). Because

the external environment is fluid, this type of competitive advantage cannot last as a long-term

solution, and "successful organizations will repeatedly create new competitive advantages based

on how the context is changing" (Colter, 2013). By making unprecedented changes in the

industry, the organization causes a competitive advantage for themselves temporarily. A few of

the characteristics that help an organization sustain competitive advantage over the long-term are

"value, rarity, a product that is difficult to imitate, and the ability to exploit" (Colter, 2013)

In reviewing the competitive advantage that Young Life holds, it would be appropriate to

review the four foundations of capitalism. Notable because it’s four foundations, purpose,

stakeholder, leadership, and culture, directly relates to why the organization exists and how

higher purpose serves in the lives of those whom Young Life serves and those leaders that serve

to make it what it is today. R. Edward Freeman stated that, “purpose activates us and motivates

us. It moves us to get up in the morning, sustains us when times get tough and serves as a

guiding star when we stray off course” (Skapa & Freeman, 2019).

Our group feels that this is what Young Life is all about. The organization works to

teach and guide youth on how to get through the struggles and challenges in life through their

volunteers and leaders guiding the way. Its stakeholder orientation is not to make money, but to
serve those stakeholders, the volunteers and employees, to continue to work with young adults

and invest in their future. Young Life views their employees as an important resource that they

cannot do their business without. Through conscious leadership, these employees and volunteers

are able to help, “inspire, foster transformation and bring out the best in those around them”

(Skapa & Freeman, 2019). Young Life has created a culture over the years that, “fosters love

and care and builds trust between a company’s team members and its other stakeholders” (Skapa

& Freeman, 2019). Illustration 1.2 listed below, depicts the relationship between the four

foundations of capitalism with respect to conscious leadership ("About The Movement", 2020).

Illustration 1.2

Young Life’s Competitive Advantage

When looking at the competitive advantage of our non-profit organization, Young Life, it

seems as if they have a competitive advantage over their competitors through their ability to

meet the youth where they are comfortable. They "discovered the key to going deep with kids:

spending time with them on their turf, and spent hours each week with kids, developing a

relational style of outreach. Convinced that he had to win the right to be heard, he simply made
friends with them. This approach eventually became known as "contact work," and it has been at

the heart of Young Life's mission ever since. (History)" Young Life's competitive advantage is as

simple as that, meeting kids on their turf and fostering healthy relationships and being there for

them when they need it most throughout middle school, high school, and college. Through being

as accessible as they are for youth, this allows them to have an open-door policy and allows

people to join as freely as they want, creating an environment where there is no pressure, which

allows the youth to feel safe. The reason this is Young Life's competitive advantage is that most

of their competitors do not meet the youth where they are at and are usually just in the

community, but not entirely on the level the Young Life has been able to be present. Young Life

has established itself and the community's relationships, which allows them to continue investing

in the lives of youth throughout their youth and even can continue whenever they go away to

college as they have groups for college students! Illustration 1.2, provides a visual

representation of the sources of sustainable competitive advantage ("About The Movement",

2020).

Why Contact Work as A Competitive Advantage?

The reason that our group has decided that Young Life's competitive advantage is its

policy of "spending time with (kids) on their turf" ("History," n.d.) is that it allows for greater

flexibility in comparison to competitors. Young Life is not limited to a particular school, church,

or other organization, so they can follow and mentor the same students in a community from

junior high through to college. This can be considered an example of Product Differentiation

(Welch, 2019). Another way they differentiate is in the atmosphere: it’s much less formal than

similar groups. The reason Young Life began was to provide the youth of Gainesville, Texas,

who were not interested in traditional church services, a place to congregate. ("History", n.d.)
This likely remains true for students in other communities today. Rather than proselytizing from

the outset, they try to "win the right to be heard" by getting to know the kids before trying to

share their message ("History", n.d.).

Conclusion

As a reader, you may be left wondering, but what does all of this information mean?  As

stated within the opening statement, competitive advantage is necessary for Young Life to

remain competitive within the non-profit organization sector.  Understanding competitive

advantage and knowing the competitive advantage of our non-profit organization has empowered

our group to assess its effectiveness. Young Life's personable style of connecting with youth on

their turf sets the organization apart from its competitors. Connecting with the three views for

obtaining a competitive advantage that has been discussed, our group has concluded that Young

Life has chosen a resource-based view. We arrived at this summation because Young Life has

successfully capitalized on the benefits of employees. Using employees as human resources

within the community, the organization has exploited its human capital to obtain its competitive

advantage by sending employees on to meet the youth on their turf. As our group has learned

human capital refers to “people’s skills and experience, and their capacity and motivations to

innovate, including their loyalties and motivations for improving processes, goods, and services,

including their ability to lead and to collaborate” ("About The Movement", 2020).

This has indicated to our group that the organization is making great use of human capital

resources and making fiscally responsible decisions that have successfully allowed the

organization to remain viable and maintain a competitive advantage.

 References

Coulter, M. K. (2013). Strategic management in action (6th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.

History. Retrieved June 12, 2020, from https://www.younglife.org/About/Pages/History.aspx

Welch, J. (2019, December 17). Sustainable Competitive Advantage: Free Templates. Retrieved
June 10, 2020, from https://www.stratechi.com/sustainable-competitive-advantage/

Skapa, J., & Freeman, R. E. (2019, May 9). Putting the Capital "P" in Purpose By Vawn Hicks.
Retrieved June 12, 2020, from https://www.consciouscapitalism.org/blog/profiles/putting-the-
capital-p-in-purposeby-vawn-hicks

About The Movement. (n.d.). Retrieved June 14, 2020, from

https://consciouscapitalismcmd.org/about-the-movement/