Corporate Ethical Values and Sustainable Competitive Advantage: The Strategic Roles of Integrity and Transparency in the Electronics Industry

Abstract

In an increasingly competitive and ethically demanding business environment, organizations are called upon to translate ethical values into strategic outcomes. This study examines the relationship between integrity, transparency, and sustainable competitive advantage among employees at Condor Electronics, a leading Algerian manufacturer of household and technological appliances. Using a quantitative, descriptive-correlational design, data were collected from 74 valid questionnaires (out of 100 distributed) using a 28-item instrument validated by academic referees and tested for reliability (Cronbach's α ranging from 0.919 to 0.949). The results indicate that employees hold a high level of awareness of integrity, transparency, and sustainable competitive advantage. Pearson correlation analysis revealed statistically significant positive relationships between integrity and sustainable competitive advantage, and between transparency and sustainable competitive advantage. Simple linear regression analysis further confirmed that both integrity and transparency exert statistically significant, independent effects on sustainable competitive advantage, explaining 32.9% and 22.5% of its variance, respectively. These findings suggest that ethical capability anchored in integrity and transparency constitutes a meaningful, though not exclusive, driver of sustainable competitive advantage, offering practical implications for managers seeking to strengthen ethical practices at Condor Electronics and comparable Algerian manufacturing firms.