Quinn, Doorley, and Paquette (1990, p. 60) state that “physical facilities—including a seemingly superior prod uct—seldom provide a sustainable competitive edge.” Quinn, Doorley, and Paquette’s suggestion that “a maintain able advantage usually derives from outstanding depth in selected human skills, logistics capabilities, knowledge bases, or other service strengths that competitors cannot reproduce and that lead to greater demonstrable value for the customer” is consistent with our own views. Normann and ramirez (1993, p. 69) state, “the only true source of com petitive advantage is the ability to conceive the entire value creating system and make it work.” Day (1994) discusses competitive advantage in terms of capabilities or skills, especially those related to market-sensing, customer linking, and channel-bonding. Barabba (1996, p. 48) argues that marketing-based knowledge and decision making pro vide the core competence that “gives the enterprise its com petitive edge.”