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The aim of this paper is to investigate the usability and applicability of Porter's generic strategies in the current e-business environment. In this paper, a review of Porter's generic strategies was conducted to recognise the limitations and weaknesses of the model, which prevent its effective application in the e-business environment. To do so, a case study approach on three pure online firms, e.g., Amazon, e-bay and Google was employed. The findings acknowledged the application of Porter's generic strategies to pure online firms in order to achieve competitive advantage and proved the positive impact of generic strategies on firms' performance. The paper suggests that although cost leadership strategy is able to generate greater performance, pursuing a differentiation strategy can be more worthwhile and sustainable for pure online firms compared to cost leadership strategy. This research contributes to existing research by suggesting Porter's generic strategies as a valid and viable model for pure online firms which operate in the current e-business environment.

The overall interplay between competitive strategies and dynamic capabilities is an integral part of value creation in terms of novelty, lock-in, complementarities and efficiency. Short title: Competitive strategy, dynamic capability and value creation Key points: -In response to insufficient systematic research on the impact of competitive strategies and dynamic capabilities on value creation, this study expands prior studies (e.g., Rashidirad et al., 2013) by proposing carefully testable research hypotheses and empirically explore the research phenomenon. -This study analyses the complex interrelationships between competitive strategies and dynamic capabilities and the resulting impact on value creation through adopting a multidimensional approach in which each construct is decomposited to its dimensions, so the relationships between each dimension of the research constructs are investigated. -This study prompts rethinking of the impact of dynamic capability and competitive strategy on value creation in firms by using a multidimensional perspective.

One of the areas of significant importance in the growth of Information Technology (IT) in the world is the issue of open source software. The movement of open source software has led to considerable advancement and transformation in the world's IT industry. It is considered as one of the hotly-debated issues today. In Iran, open source software has recently received remarkable attention due to its many advantages. In this study, the problems of software industry in Iran, the opportunities created by using open source software, and the impacts and advantages of producing local open source operating system have been addressed through semi-structured interviews with the producers of local operating system and experts of open source software. Solving security problems, attending international markets, creating the spirit of cooperation and team work and flourishing the software business are some of the main impacts of producing open source software in Iran.

Resource-Based Theory (RBT) has become an acceptable theory to describe the importance of resources and capabilities in generating high performance. Our literature review shows that there are two approaches to RBT: reductionistic and holistic. Adopting a reductionistic approach has led to an inconsistency in the findings about the relationship between RBT constructs (i.e. resources and capabilities), and their impact on performance. This paper proposes that a holistic approach to RBT has a greater power to explain the complex interrelationships between dynamic capabilities, firm’s resources and competitive strategies. Through a critical review on both views, this study highlights areas in which future research is needed for greater understanding of the co-impact of a firm’s internal factors and competitive strategies on performance.

The holistic approach of the technological, organizational, and environmental (TOE) framework, which is based on resource-based theory (RBT), puts forward a valid theoretical background on how different contextual factors contribute to improve e-business value. TOE factors, except firm size, positively affect the ability of e-businesses to generate high value with regard to the strategic alignment between their competitive strategies and dynamic capabilities.

Strategic alignment of competitive strategies and dynamic capabilities may enable e-businesses to create superior value for their stakeholders.