The Definition of Strategic Liabilities, and their Impact on Firm Performance

Strategic Liabilities are processes and tangible and intangible holdings that are firm-specific, context-specific and create competitive disadvantage. They are scarce, inconvertible, costly, and appropriated. The concept of Strategic Liabilities contrasts and complements the resource-based view's Strategic Assets. A firm is likely to possess Strategic Liabilities at some time because these liabilities can originate from endowments, from bad luck, from Strategic Assets, from rival actions, and from unfavourable changes in context. They represent the other side of the firm's ledger often implicitly ignored in the strategy literature. Thus, the formal definition and analysis of Strategic Liabilities is warranted. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2004.