Strategic competition

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Strategic competition is a commitment within an organization or polity to make a very large change in competitive relationships. One of the main principles of strategic competition is that the response of an organization regarding another one's introduction of a new product defines the impact of such in the market. This type of competition has proven itself useful when trying to explain a firm's executive compensation schemes, leading to time compensation. [1] [2]

Contents

Within a market where strategic competition is present, investment provides a much bigger capability of taking advantage of future opportunities of growth which also implies obtaining a greater market share. If such interaction between rivals is efficiently used, even all actors of the industry in which strategic competition was applied may be compensated on their profits. This is implemented either by putting entry barriers to new competitors or to dissuading others from 'making space' for stronger ones. [3] [4]

Also, the application of strategic competition may lead to outsourcing activities used by rival firms involved in the process. [5]

Basic elements

Strategic competition consists of five basic elements:

In order for strategic competition to be successful, the analysis of these elements require a constant update of the firm's environment, considering that this type of competition possesses a rapidly evolving nature. Despite this, the shift from natural to strategic competition is a long process that might require generations to be fully implemented by a certain market. [1] [6]

Models

According to economics professor Timothy Van Zandt, there exist two models of strategic competition: competition in quantities between firms producing perfect substitutes and competition between firms producing substitute goods by price. [7]

Other uses

Not only strategic competition is applied to the business area but also to other ones such as political science and international relations as well as a process to apply public policies. Even geopolitics and military, and many other areas that involve many actors that struggle for leadership or power, may use this approach. [1]

This happens because such kind of competition brings about distinctive outcomes linked to capital structure. [8] For example, the current status of Syria have provided a fertile terrain for strategic competition of the many actors involved in the conflict. This element is likely to persist well beyond any formal resolution of the current situation there. [9]

United States government

Strategic competition is often used by the United States government to describe the economic and geopolitical competition between the U.S. and the People's Republic of China. [10]

In 2021, the U.S. Department of Defense changed their description of competition with China from 'great power competition' to that of 'strategic competition.' [11]

Further reading

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Xavier Vives is a Spanish economist regarded as one of the main figures in the field of industrial organization and, more broadly, microeconomics. He is currently Chaired Professor of Regulation, Competition and Public Policies, and academic director of the Public-Private Sector Research Center at IESE Business School in Barcelona.

The composition-based view (CBV) was recently developed by Luo and Child (2015). It is a new theory that explicates the growth of firms without the benefit of resource advantages, proprietary technology, or market power. The CBV complements some existing theories such as resource-based view (RBV), resource management view, and dynamic capability – to create novel insights into the survival of firms that do not possess such strategic assets as original technologies and brands. It emphasizes how ordinary firms with ordinary resources may generate extraordinary results through their creative use of open resources and unique integrating capabilities, resulting in an enhanced speed and a high price-value ratio that are well suited to large numbers of low- to mid-end mass market consumers. The CBV has been commented as “a new view with significant application” for emerging market firms and for small and medium sized enterprises in many countries. The view cautions though that composition-generated advantages are temporary in nature and that composition itself mandates special skills in distinctively identifying, leveraging, and combining open or existing resources inside and outside the firm.

References

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  2. Chen, Sheng-Syan; Ho, Kim Wai; Ik, Kueh Hwa; Lee, Cheng-few (2002-01-01). "How Does Strategic Competition Affect Firm Values? A Study of New Product Announcements". Financial Management. 31 (2): 67–84. doi:10.2307/3666223. JSTOR   3666223.
  3. Boyer, Marcel; Gravel, Éric; Lasserre, Pierre (May 2004). "Real Options and Strategic Competition: A survey" (PDF). Real Options. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  4. Aggarwal, Rajesh K.; Samwick, Andrew A. (1999). "Executive Compensation, Strategic Competition, and Relative Performance Evaluation: Theory and Evidence" (PDF). Journal of Finance . 54 (6): 1999–2043. doi:10.1111/0022-1082.00180. S2CID   154817522.
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  7. Van Zandt, Timothy (August 2012). "Firms, Prices, And Markets" (PDF). INSEAD. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  8. Thu Thuy, Nguyen (2008). Capital Structure, Strategic Competition and Governance. Erasmus Research Institute of Management. ISBN   978-90-5892-178-9.
  9. Martini, Jeffrey (2013). "Syria as an Arena of Strategic Competition" (PDF). RAND Corporation. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  10. Ming-Te, Hung; Tai-Ting, Tony Liu (2011). "Sino.U.S. Strategic Competition in Southeast Asia: China's Rise and U.S. Foreign Policy" (PDF). Political Perspectives. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  11. "Pentagon's Joint Concept for Competing". USNI News . 2023-03-09. Retrieved 2023-03-19.