Abstract
Prahalad and Hamel name core competence as the collective learning a firm already coordinates — how it integrates skills it actually runs, not a brand sentence it has not earned.
Prahalad, C. K., & Hamel, G. (1990). Harvard Business Review, 68(3), 79–91.
Key findings
- Already run — Distinctive competence lives in a capability the organisation already coordinates.
- Not a slogan — A wished-for profile is not a core competence until it is in use.
Limits
Cite-anchor shelf — HBR magazine essay; no original Crossref journal DOI on the 1990 line (later handbook reprints exist). Expand after a full read. Not a personal-branding recipe.
Application
When you feel you must become a different person before today’s competence may speak, name the capability already in the chair (Unfair advantage).