In this article the author described the subject of building competitive advantage by modern enterprises operating in an environment dominated by globalisation, technological progress and intangible resources. To this end, the characteristics of the modern knowledge-based economy have been defined, as well as the relationship between the concepts of competition, competitiveness and competitive advantage. The main aim of the article is to identify new challenges and conditions for building competitive advantage by modern enterprises. The analysis of source materials, market observations and data from the conducted empirical survey confirmed that the main determinants of building competitive advantage, in such turbulent market conditions, is the knowledge, competence and skills of employees, who are responsible for creating and implementing new solutions.