America's Team

America's Team: Sustainability of Competitive Advantage

Liz Parker

MGT488

University of Phoenix

Mr. Professor

May 12, 2011

America's Team: Sustainability of Competitive Advantage

Football season in America seems to create a nation-wide unity, and rivalry, as fans faithfully follow their favorite teams throughout the football season. Within the fanatic communities, it is not uncommon to witness the ignition of the great debate. Who is America's team? The top contenders of this debate are Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, and Pittsburgh Steelers (Mosley, Walker, Seifert, & Graham, 2010); however, the Dallas Cowboys were coined "America's Team" in 1978 by NFL Films editor-in-chief, Bob Ryan. A year later Columbia Broadcasting Systems (CBS) mentioned the title at the start of the 1979 season, and play-off consistency thereafter confirmed that America's Team is The Dallas Cowboys. As the business of professional sports continues to explode with increasing revenue and profit maximization, the sustainability of competitive advantage for the Dallas Cowboys sparks significant interest. This discussion describes to components of sustainable competitive advantage and the business of professional sports. Included in the discussion are the four criteria of sustainable competitive advantage and the classification of team characteristics, in addition to a description of how these factors contribute to the success of the Dallas Cowboys.

Competitive advantage in the sports industry means attracting customers by possessing special qualities that are superior to industry rivals. Sustainability of competitive advantage is a function of three factors: Environmental changes' affect on core competence obsolescence; availability of substitutes for the competence; and imitatability of the core competence (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2009). The Resource-Based Model of Above-Average Returns assumes that the National Football League's (NFL) various franchises acquire a collection of resources and unique capabilities, which is the basis for the franchise's competitive strategy. Core competencies are both tangible, and intangible, and very valuable to the team since they are non-substitutable. Unique resources for the Dallas Cowboys are physical, human, and organizational capital. Nielsen's Sports Media Exposure measures NFL teams based on television ratings, both local and national, and internet trending of each team. America's Team, Dallas Cowboys is crowned number one for leading the way in national television ratings and website traffic (Alper, 2010). National televised broadcasting a valuable, intangible resource for the franchise. Human resources include the owners, managers, coaches, and players. According to Hitt, el. (2009), strategic planning should be structured around three or four core competencies, which are identified as capabilities that meet the criteria of sustainable competitive advantage.

Patents, trademarks, reputation, organizational culture, exceptional players, and expert coaches are a few firm-specific resources and capabilities; however, Hitt, el. (2009) places strong emphasis on the four criteria of sustainable competitive advantage. To recognize a capability as a core competence it must be valuable, or unique from the consumer's perspective. An example of this is the Cowboys Stadium, which replaced Texas Stadium in 2009. Not only is the Cowboys stadium an exceptional work of architecture, but owner Jerry Jones created additional revenue opportunities through stadium naming rights, luxury suites, corporate entertainment, and sponsorship (Maske &