The difference between a core competence and a distinctive competence is that:
A. a distinctive competence refers to a company's strongest resource or competitive capability, while a core competence refers to a company's lowest-cost and most efficiently executed value-chain activity.
B. a core competence usually resides in a company's base of intellectual capital, whereas a distinctive competence stems from the superiority of a company's physical and tangible assets.
C. a core competence is a competitively and strategically relevant activity that a firm performs well compared to its other activities, whereas a distinctive competence is a competitively relevant activity a firm performs well compared to other rival firms.
D. a core competence represents a resource strength, whereas a distinctive competence is achieved by having more resource strengths than rival companies.
E. a core competence usually resides in a company's technology and physical assets, whereas a distinctive competence usually resides in a company's know-how, expertise, and intellectual capital.
Answer: a core competence is a competitively and strategically relevant activity that a firm performs well compared to its other activities, whereas a distinctive competence is a competitively relevant activity a firm performs well compared to other rival firms.