Analysis of Core Competencies for Securing Sustainable Competitive Advantage in Churches - Application of Resource-Based View and VRIN Framework -
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Amid accelerating secularization, religious disaffiliation, and the proliferation of alternative spiritualities, Korean Protestant churches confront significant challenges to their identity, relevance, and long-term viability. This study examines how churches may secure a sustainable competitive advantage by identifying and cultivating core competencies consistent with their theological mission. Employing the Resource-Based View (RBV) as a theoretical framework, and applying its VRIN criteria—Value, Rarity, Inimitability, and Non-substitutability—the research analyzes both the external environment and internal capacities of the church. Externally, churches face threats such as declining institutional trust and cultural secularism, while opportunities emerge through increased societal demand for ethical leadership, communal belonging, and public theology. Internally, churches possess theological coherence, sacramental traditions, and global networks, but are hindered by weakened community structures and generational discontinuity. The study argues that sustainable advantage can be achieved by: (1) generating Value through ministries rooted in kingdom of God-oriented ethics and public witness; (2) fostering Rarity via sacramental spirituality and deep relational communities; (3) securing Inimitability through contextually embedded worship and comprehensive discipleship systems; and (4) ensuring Non-substitutability by offering experiences of divine grace, forgiveness, and ontological transformation that cannot be replicated by secular institutions. This research contributes to the interdisciplinary integration of theology and strategic management, offering a conceptual framework through which ecclesial communities can pursue faithful and contextually viable practices. It calls for a strategic reorientation from programmatic expansion to identity-driven mission, thereby enabling the church to respond constructively to complex socio-cultural shifts while remaining rooted in its foundational calling.
Abstract
Amid accelerating secularization, religious disaffiliation, and the proliferation of alternative spiritualities, Korean Protestant churches confront significant challenges to their identity, relevance, and long-term viability. This study examines how churches may secure a sustainable competitive advantage by identifying and cultivating core competencies consistent with their theological mission. Employing the Resource-Based View (RBV) as a theoretical framework, and applying its VRIN criteria—Value, Rarity, Inimitability, and Non-substitutability—the research analyzes both the external environment and internal capacities of the church. Externally, churches face threats such as declining institutional trust and cultural secularism, while opportunities emerge through increased societal demand for ethical leadership, communal belonging, and public theology. Internally, churches possess theological coherence, sacramental traditions, and global networks, but are hindered by weakened community structures and generational discontinuity. The study argues that sustainable advantage can be achieved by: (1) generating Value through ministries rooted in kingdom of God-oriented ethics and public witness; (2) fostering Rarity via sacramental spirituality and deep relational communities; (3) securing Inimitability through contextually embedded worship and comprehensive discipleship systems; and (4) ensuring Non-substitutability by offering experiences of divine grace, forgiveness, and ontological transformation that cannot be replicated by secular institutions. This research contributes to the interdisciplinary integration of theology and strategic management, offering a conceptual framework through which ecclesial communities can pursue faithful and contextually viable practices. It calls for a strategic reorientation from programmatic expansion to identity-driven mission, thereby enabling the church to respond constructively to complex socio-cultural shifts while remaining rooted in its foundational calling.