The difference between a core competence and a distinctive competence is that a core competence is an activity that a company not only performs quite well but is central to its strategy and competitiveness, whereas a distinctive competence is a competitively relevant activity that a firm performs better than rival firms. a core competence qualifies as a resource strength whereas a distinctive competence qualifies as a competitively valuable capability. a distinctive competence qualifies as a company's strongest resource whereas a core competence only qualifies as an efficiently executed value-chain activity. a core competence is achieved by performing a value chain activity better than any other company in the industry whereas a distinctive competence is achieved by having a bigger number of competitively valuable capabilities than rival companies. a core competence concerns a company's most efficiently performed value chain activity whereas a distinctive competence concerns the value chain activity that a company performs at the lowest cost compared to rivals