Chapter 5
Competitive Rivalry and
Competitive Dynamics
Michael A. Hitt
R. Duane Ireland
Robert E. Hoskisson
©2003 Southwestern Publishing Company
1
Strategic Inputs
Chapter 2
The External
Environment
Strategic Intent
Strategic Mission
Chapter 3
The Internal
Environment
Strategic Outcomes
Strategic Actions
Strategy Formulation
Chapter 5
Chapter 4
Competitive Rivalry
Business-Level
and Competitive
Strategy
Dynamics
The Strategic
Management
Process
Strategy Implementation
Chapter 10
Corporate
Governance
Chapter 11
Organizational
Structure and
Controls
Chapter 12
Strategic
Leadership
Chapter 13
Strategic
Entrepreneurship
Strategic
Competitiveness
Above-Average
Returns
Feedback
2
Definitions

Competitors
– firms operating in the same market, offering
similar products and targeting similar
customers

Competitive rivalry
– the ongoing set of competitive actions and
responses occurring between competitors
– competitive rivalry influences an individual
firm’s ability to gain and sustain competitive
advantages
3
Definitions

Competitive behavior
– the set of competitive actions and competitive
responses the firm takes to build or defend its
competitive advantages and to improve its
market position

Competitive dynamics
– the total set of actions and responses taken by
all firms competing within a market
4
From Competitors to
Competitive Dynamics
Competitors
Engage in
Why?
Competitive
rivalry
How?
What results?
• To gain an advantageous
market position
• Through competitive
behavior
• Competitive actions
• Competitive responses
What results?
Competitive Dynamics
• Competitive actions and responses taken by all
firms competing in a market
5
Effect of Competitive Rivalry on
a Firm’s Strategies

Success of a strategy is determined by:
– the firm’s initial competitive actions
– how well it anticipates competitors’ responses
to them
– how well the firm anticipates and responds to
its competitors’ initial actions

Competitive rivalry
– affects all types of strategies
– most dominant influence is on the firm’s
business-level strategy or strategies.
6
A Model of Competitive
Rivalry
Competitive Analysis
• Market commonality
• Resource similarity
Drivers of Competitive
Behavior
• Awareness
• Motivation
• Ability
feedback
Outcomes
• Market position
• Financial performance
Interim Rivalry
• Likelihood of Attack
• First mover incentives
• Organizational size
• Quality
• Likelihood of Response
• Type of competitive action
• Reputation
7
• Market dependence
Competitive Rivalry

Firms are mutually interdependent
– one firm’s competitive actions have noticeable
effects on competitors
– one firm’s competitive actions elicit
competitive responses from competitors
– competitors feel each other’s actions and
responses

Marketplace success is a function of both
individual strategies and the
consequences of their use
8
Competitor Analysis

Competitor analysis
– a technique firms use to understand their
competitive environment. Along with the
general and industry environments, the
competitive environment comprises the firm’s
external environment
– a technique used to help the firm understand
its competitors
– the first step to being able to predict
competitors’ behavior in the form of its
competitive actions and responses
9
Market Commonality

Market Commonality is concerned with
– the number of markets with which a firm and a
competitor are jointly involved
– the degree of importance of the individual
markets to each competitor

Most industries’ markets are somewhat
related in terms of
– technologies
– core competencies

Multimarket competition
– Firms competing in several markets
10
Resource Similarity

Resource similarity
– the extent to which the firm’s tangible and
intangible resources are comparable to a
competitor’s in terms of both type and amount

Firms with similar types and amounts of
resources are likely to
– have similar strengths and weaknesses
– use similar strategies

Assessing resource similarity can be
difficult if critical resources are intangible
11
rather than tangible
A Framework of Competitor
Analysis
High
II I
III IV
Market
Commonality
Low
KEY
The shaded area represents
degree of market commonality
between two firms
Low
Resource
Similarity
High
Resource endowment A
Resource endowment B
12
Drivers of Competitive Actions
and Responses: Awareness
Drivers of competitive behavior

Awareness
Awareness is the extent to which
competitors recognize the degree of
their mutual interdependence
– mutual interdependence results
from
• market commonality
• resource similarity
13
Drivers of Competitive Actions
and Responses: Motivation
Drivers of competitive behavior

Awareness
Motivation
Motivation concerns the firm’s
incentive
– to take action
– or to respond to a competitor’s
attack
– and relates to perceived gains and
losses
14
Drivers of Competitive Actions
and Responses: Ability
Drivers of competitive behavior

Awareness
Motivation

Ability
Ability relates
– to each firm’s resources
– the flexibility these resources
provide
Without available resources the firm
lacks the ability
– to attack a competitor
– to respond to the competitor’s
actions
15
Drivers of Competitive Actions
and Responses: Market Commonality
Drivers of competitive behavior influenced by
Market
commonality


A firm is more likely to attack the
rival with whom it has low market
commonality than the one with whom
it competes in multiple markets
Because of the high stakes of
competition under the condition of
market commonality, there is a high
probability that the attacked firm will
respond to its competitor’s action in
an effort to protect its position in one
or more markets
16
Drivers of Competitive Actions
and Responses: Resource Similarity
Drivers of competitive behavior influenced by
Market
commonality
Resource
similarity

The greater the resource imbalance
between the acting firm and
competitors or potential responders,
the greater will be the delay in
response by the firm with a resource
disadvantage
 When facing competitors with greater
resources or more attractive market
positions, firms should eventually
respond, no matter how challenging
the response
17
Competitive Rivalry

Competitive action
– a strategic or tactical action the firm takes to
build or defend its competitive advantages or
improve its market position

Competitive response
– a strategic or tactical action the firm takes to
counter the effects of a competitor’s
competitive action
18
Strategic and Tactical Actions

Strategic action or a strategic response
– a market-based move that involves a
significant commitment of organizational
resources and is difficult to implement and
reverse

Tactical action or a tactical response
– market-based move that is taken to fine-tune a
strategy; it involves fewer resources and is
relatively easy to implement and reverse
19
Factors Affecting Likelihood of
Attack: First Mover Incentives
First mover
incentives

First movers allocate funds for
– product innovation and
development
– aggressive advertising
– advanced research and
development
 First movers can gain
– the loyalty of customers who may
become committed to the firm’s
goods or services
– market share that can be difficult
for competitors to take during
20
future competitive rivalry
Factors Affecting Likelihood of
Attack: Size
First mover
incentives
Size

Small firms are more likely
– to launch competitive actions
– to be quicker in doing so
 Small firms are perceived as
– nimble and flexible competitors
– relying on speed and surprise to
defend their competitive
advantages or develop new ones
while engaged in competitive
rivalry
 Small firms have the flexibility needed
to launch a greater variety of
21
competitive actions
Factors Affecting Likelihood of
Attack: Size
First mover
incentives

Size

Large firms are likely to initiate more
competitive actions as well as
strategic actions during a given time
period
Large organizations commonly have
the slack resources required to
launch a larger number of total
competitive actions
“Think and act big and we’ll get smaller. Think and
act small and we’ll get bigger.”
- Herb Kelleher,
Former CEO, Southwest Airlines
22
Factors Affecting Likelihood of
Attack: Quality
First mover
incentives

Size

Quality
Quality exists when the firm’s goods
or services meet or exceed
customers’ expectations
Product quality dimensions include
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Performance
Features
Flexibility
Durability
Conformance
Serviceability
Aesthetics
Perceived quality
23
Factors Affecting Likelihood of
Attack: Quality
First mover
incentives

Size

Quality
Quality exists when the firm’s goods
or services meet or exceed
customers’ expectations
Service quality dimensions include
–
–
–
–
–
–
Timeliness
Courtesy
Consistency
Convenience
Completeness
Accuracy
24
Factors Affecting Likelihood of
Response

Firms study three factors to predict how a
competitor is likely to respond to
competitive actions
– type of competitive action
– reputation
– market dependence
25
Factors Affecting Likelihood of
Response: Type of Competitive Action
Type of
competitive
action

Strategic actions receive strategic
responses
 Tactical responses are taken to
counter the effects of tactical actions
 Strategic actions elicit fewer total
competitive responses
 A competitor likely will respond
quickly to a tactical action
 The time needed to implement and
assess a strategic action delays
competitors’ responses
26
Factors Affecting Likelihood of
Response: Reputation
Type of
competitive
action


Reputation

An actor is the firm taking an action
or response
Reputation is the positive or negative
attribute ascribed by one rival to
another based on past competitive
behavior
The firm studies responses that a
competitor has taken previously when
attacked to predict likely responses
27
Factors Affecting Likelihood of
Response: Market Dependence
Type of
competitive
action
Reputation
Market
dependence


Market dependence is
– the extent to which a firm’s
revenues or profits are derived
from a particular market
In general, firms can predict that
competitors with high market
dependence are likely to respond
strongly to attacks threatening their
market position
28
Competition

Competitive Dynamics
– competitive dynamics concerns the ongoing
actions and responses taking place among all
firms competing within a market for
advantageous positions

Competitive Rivalry
– building and sustaining competitive
advantages are at the core of competitive
rivalry
– competitive advantages are the link to an
advantageous market position
29
Strategic Conduct is Dynamic
• A firm’s strategic conduct is dynamic in
nature
• Actions and responses shape the
competitive positions of each firm’s
business level strategy
Firm A
Firm B
30
Strategic Conduct is Dynamic
• Actions taken by one firm elicits
responses from competitors
• Competitive responses lead to additional
actions from the firm that acted
originally
Firm A
Actions
New
Actions
New
Response
Response
Firm B
31
Competitive Dynamics:
Slow-Cycle Markets
Slow-cycle
markets



Slow-cycle markets
– the firm’s competitive advantages
are shielded from imitation for long
periods of time
– imitation is costly
Competitive advantages are
sustainable in slow-cycle markets
A proprietary, one-of-a-kind
competitive advantage leads to
competitive success in a slow-cycle
market
32
Returns from a Sustainable
Competitive Advantage
Gradual Erosion of a Sustainable
Competitive Advantage
Exploitation
Counterattack
Launch
0
5
Time (Years)
10
33
Competitive Dynamics:
Fast-Cycle Markets
Slow-cycle
markets
Fast-cycle
markets

Fast-cycle markets
– the firm’s competitive advantages
aren’t shielded from imitation
– imitation happens quickly and
somewhat inexpensively
 Competitive advantages aren’t
sustainable
 Competitors use reverse engineering
to quickly imitate or improve on the
firm’s products
 Non-proprietary technology is
diffused rapidly
34
Returns from a Series
of Replicable Actions
Obtaining Temporary Advantages to
Create Sustained Advantage
Exploitation
Launch
0
Firm has already moved
to next advantage
Counterattack
5
10
15
Time (Years)
35
Competitive Dynamics:
Standard-Cycle Markets
Slow-cycle
markets
Fast-cycle
markets


Standard-cycle
markets

Standard-cycle markets
– the firm’s competitive advantages
may be shielded from imitation
– imitation is moderately costly
Competitive advantages are partially
sustainable if the firm is able to
continuously upgrade the quality of
its competitive advantages
Firms
– seek large market shares
– gain customer loyalty through
brand names
36
– carefully control operations