Integration between the Blue Ocean Strategy and the Value Chain and its Role in Achieving Competitive Advantage: An Applied Research in the International Development Bank

The research aims to demonstrate the role of integration between the blue ocean strategy and the value chain in achieving competitive advantage through their application in the International Development Bank, as economic units, including banks, face intense competition at the local and international levels within the contemporary work environment, therefore, they had to prepare and implement new strategies that enable them to withstand the challenges imposed by competition in order to maintain and achieve its goals, as technological developments and market changes stemming from changes in the tastes and desires of customers have led to the development of these strategies, including the blue ocean strategy, which derives its name from the concept of blue oceans, which are calm and clear because they are far from the atmosphere of competition. This strategy is implemented through its four dimensions (reduction, exclusion, increase, innovation). Nevertheless, to apply these dimensions, the value chain contributes to the analysis of activities into value-adding and non-value-adding activities, thus applying the dimensions of strategy at the level of each activity in order to achieve value for the economic unit and the customer. Furthermore, the research reached a set of conclusions, the most important of which is the integration between the blue ocean strategy and the value chain, a framework that contributes to reducing and excluding costs for activities that do not add value, in addition to creating advanced banking services for customers that achieve a competitive advantage for the bank.