Identifying the Competitive Advantages of the Organization’s Image

To address modern challenges and issues, efficient managerial instruments should be represented as a set of measures aimed at identifying and supporting the competitive advantages of the organization based on the components of its image. The aim of the article is to develop methodological recommendations for determining and evaluating the competitive advantages of a restaurant business entity based on the components of its image. The article presents an authors’ definition of the essence of the organization’s image. Within the terms of the study, the main characteristics of the image have been systematized and supplemented (in particular, through characteristics such as manipulability and independence). Key requirements for competitive advantages as strategic success factors, which are based on the unique capabilities of utilizing the organization’s image, have been outlined. In order to utilize the desirability theory method as a classical tool for assessing competitive advantages, criteria for evaluating the competitive advantages of the components of an organization’s image have been proposed: alignment with the chosen competitive strategy; potential for further development; level of perception by key stakeholders; uniqueness (difficulty of replication by competitors); sustainability (duration of use); cost of formation and development; complexity of maintenance. Within the research, an evaluation of the degree of contribution of each parameter of the organization’s image component to the formation of sustainable competitive advantage was conducted using the VRIO analysis model (considering the components of external and internal image). The use of the proposed instruments allows for the categorization of the parameters of the organization’s image into «competitive disadvantage», «temporary competitive advantage», «competitive parity», and «sustainable competitive advantage». This may subsequently become a basis for the organization’s leaders to make informed managerial decisions regarding the assessment of the risk resilience of the components of the image and the necessity of investing in their development.